Another bad news hit Vancouver: the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks shed tears as four of his star players made a final decision to terminate their huge contracts.
Following an unsightly 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Canucks must once again demonstrate their capacity to rebound as the two clubs prepare for a crucial Game 7 in the second-round playoff series on Monday. The two teams are now deadlocked 3-3 in the best-of-seven series. “Our job right now is to flush the game,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “Obviously, some players understand the necessity to improve their game. And you have 48 hours to regain your vitality. That’s just the way things are.
“It’s Game 7. People would kill to be in this position right now. And we must act as if we desire to be in that circumstance. Canucks right-winger Brock Boeser admitted that finishing a series against the Oilers would never be easy. Vancouver had two chances to eliminate the Nashville Predators in round one, he said. “I think we knew this (second round) was going to be a hard series from the start and it’s gone back and forth,” he stated. “I believe that is the beauty of playoff hockey. We need to forget about this one and focus on playing better in the next game.”
Vancouver has not lost consecutive games since March 25-28, but the stakes have not been higher this season either.
“I mean, it’s not a recipe for success,” Elias Pettersson remarked about his team’s shot total. “Obviously, we have won games with little shots. But it is what it is. They won today. There’s a reason why this series is seven games long. “I’ll concentrate on that.” The Oilers also shut down Vancouver’s power play, which went 0-for-4. The Canucks have not scored on their previous 12 power plays, dating back to Game 3. “Obviously not good enough,” Hughes replied. “And we’ll have to be ready to go. We want to be at our best when it really counts. And we’ll need to accomplish it.” Having played in 145 NHL playoff games during his career,
