Canucks HC Rick Tocchet makes his thoughts extremely clear about Elias Pettersson's outing in shutout win over Leafs

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jan 12, 2025 13:38 GMT

Follow Us

Share

0 Discuss

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet praised Elias Pettersson after their 3-0 win against the Maple Leafs. Pettersson had an assist on Brock Boeser’s early goal and blocked five shots. Despite playing just 16:08, his defensive awareness and smart plays stood out. Tocchet called it “one of Petey’s best games of the year” and praised his high hockey IQ.

Pettersson, in his second game back from injury, showed his importance to the Canucks. He proved valuable as both a scorer and a defender. He now has 10 goals, 19 assists, and 44 blocked shots this season.

"It was one of Petey’s best games of the year. I thought he was terrific, blocked shots that won at the end there, [...] hit, they had a back door play that was a hot high hockey IQ. Petty, he didn't press forward. He went back. He saw that that was going to happen. Yeah, he was right. That line was really good. Every line was great, but yeah, Petey was excellent today," Tocchet said.

The Canucks were coming off a 2-0 loss to the Hurricanes on Friday and faced travel delays. They arrived in Toronto just hours before the game. Tocchet praised the team’s resilience, saying they didn’t let the challenges affect them.

“I think it becomes a problem when you talk about it and we didn’t talk about it as a group, which is good,” Tocchet said (via NHL.com). “You are going to have these challenges and you need 20 guys going and we all worked in the right direction. [We showed] a lot of heart. Last couple of years, this is a resilient group....”

The Canucks ended a four-game losing streak.

Quinn Hughes on Canucks' resilience

Quinn Hughes had a strong game, contributing a goal and an assist. After the win, Hughes said they focused on bouncing back from recent struggles and didn’t let travel issues affect their mindset. Hughes mentioned that challenges are a part of hockey:

"....We desperately needed a win and we got one. This was nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone played junior hockey and grew up with different things going on. The weather is nothing you can control. I’ve seen crazier in the NHL," Hughes said.

Goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 shots, earning his fourth shutout of the season. The Maple Leafs struggled offensively, managing just two shots on their power play.