"Good lesson for him" - Rick Tocchet brushes off Elias Pettersson's performance in last 2 games, hopeful of forward's return to form 

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Apr 24, 2024 12:00 GMT

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet isn't too concerned about Elias Pettersson's recent performances in the last two playoff games against the Nashville Predators. The coach is optimistic about the forward's potential to regain his top form.

Pettersson struggled in Tuesday night's matchup as the Canucks fell 4-1 at home to the Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. Pettersson made several noticeable mistakes, including a turnover that led the Preds to take a 3-0 lead late in the second period.

Tocchet sees this as a valuable learning experience for Elias Pettersson and reckons the forward will recover from his recent performances:

"Pete is a young kid. This is his first kind of taste of pressure play-off, and you know, this is good for him. He's got to learn that he's got to dust himself off and be ready for game three. He's got to be very decisive with the puck," Tocchet said.

"I want to see him shoot the puck like he's gonna take it, but I think he'll be fine. I mean, this is good for him good learning lesson."

Elias Pettersson had an opportunity to score in the final moments of the first period, but his shot veered to the right of the post instead of finding the back of the empty net in the powerplay.

“I knew I had an open net, I think the puck stood on edge but either way I’ve got to score,” Pettersson said (via Dailyhive.com) after the game.

Pettersson ended the contest by getting zero shots on goal. In Game 1, he had two shots on goal.

Elias Pettersson and Vancouver Canucks lose Game 2 to Nashville Predators

The Predators secured a commanding 4-1 win against the Canucks to tie the seven-game series, 1-1.

Anthony Beauvillier gave the Preds a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period. Coming into the second period, Filip Forsberg made it 2-0 for Nashville after beating Casey DeSmith from the edge of the crease.

Colton Sissons made it 3-0 for the Preds at 8:04 of the second period. Nikita Zadorov was the lone scorer for the Canucks in the matchup, scoring at 15:33. Kiefer Sherwood scored the winner for the Preds in an empty net at 18:07 of the third period.

Beauvillier and Forsberg racked up two points apiece, while Juuse Saros made 17 saves for the Preds on the night.

Game 3 takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Friday.