Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet had few updates for the media ahead of a potential series-clinching Game 6 in Edmonton Saturday.
The veteran bench boss told reporters his team is not thinking about a possible Game 7 back in Vancouver on Monday, nor a Western Conference final matchup with the Dallas Stars that would be the Canucks’ first trip to the postseason’s penultimate round since 2011.
“I know it’s cliche,” Tocchet said, as he explained the team’s focus on starting Saturday’s game well.
“You can’t think of anything else. You start letting things in your head, then you start playing on your heels, you know? You’re watching. You’re pausing. I think you’ve just got to worry about your first shift in the first period.”
It’s a mentality that has served the Canucks well in their second-round series so far, with the team consistently finding themselves in close games late, and coming out on top more often than not.
Most recently, it was J.T. Miller breaking a 2-2 tie with less than a minute left in the third period of Game 5 to push Vancouver to the brink of a series win.
Tocchet was full of praise for Miller’s emergence in recent years as a “matchup guy” who wants to be on the ice against the other team’s best players.
The Canucks have had success so far in slowing down Edmonton’s talisman Connor McDavid, but with the series on the line, Tocchet said he expects a player of McDavid’s skill to elevate his game to another level.
“Oh yeah, just look at the odds,” the coach said. “How many times can you shut a guy like that down?”
“This is going to be the hardest game we’re ever going to play,” Tocchet added. “Until the next game, whenever that game is. That’s the way I look at it.”
The puck drops at 5 p.m., Pacific Time, and Vancouver fans will once again be packing Rogers Arena for an away game viewing party that’s sure to have the atmosphere of the real thing.
