Rick Tocchet opens up on the meaning of a series' game seven

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Cooper Godin
May 19, 2024 (12:16)

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Game 6 on Saturday night didn't go the Canucks' way, but thankfully for Rick Tocchet's group, they'll have another opportunity to win their second-round series on Monday night.

After 20 minutes on Saturday night, the Canucks and Oilers were tied at 1-1, and while it was a slow start for Vancouver, they had needed to head into the second period and make a big push. However, that wasn't the case, as the Oilers scored twice in the middle frame and added two more in the third period to take Game 6 by a score of 5 to 1.

It was a difficult loss for the Vancouver Canucks, but they can't hang their heads for long as they'll need to regroup and get ready for Game 7 on home ice tomorrow night.

Following the Game 6 loss, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet met with reporters and discussed the opportunity the team has in Game 7, being on home ice in front of their fans. Tocchet says this is what players want: to be on this stage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and play in a winner-take-all game at home.

"48hrs to get ready for a huge game that not many players are playing in this type of atmosphereWe play the game as players to be on that stage." Tocchet said.

Game 7's are where you need your stars to shine, and for the Canucks, they need everyone to give it their all. After a very quiet playoff so far, one player that needs to break out in Game 7 is Elias Pettersson. Everyone knows what Elias Pettersson is capable of, and if he's able to give the team his best performance of the season tomorrow night, the Canucks will have a good chance of advancing.

Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser will all be relied on heavily, and between the pipes, it's a bit unclear who Rick Tocchet may go with. Silovs has been solid all playoffs long, but could Tocchet go back to Casey DeSmith? We'll have to wait until tomorrow, but most expect it to be Arturs Silovs again.

Puck drop for Game 7 between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena is set for 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET and can be viewed on Sportsnet and CBC across Canada.