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Rick Tocchet calls out "5 or 6" Vancouver Canucks players, reviews Elias Pettersson's performance after Game 4 loss
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet expressed his thoughts after his team's Game 4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
He called out "five or six" Canucks players that he felt needed to step up their performance. Tocchet emphasized the importance of having a strong presence on the ice and playing with intensity, especially during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tocchet pointed out a couple of critical moments in the game where the Canucks lost their focus. One of them was the second goal scored by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with less than a minute left in the second period.
That goal gave the Edmonton Oilers a 2-0 lead and shifted momentum in their favor heading into the final period.
He also mentioned some costly moments, including the third goal that the Vancouver Canucks let in shortly after Dakota Joshua tied the game 2-2.
Tocchet said (via Sportsnet on X):
"Yeah, we've had a resilient group all year, but we need five or six guys to get going here. I mean it's the Stanley Cup playoffs. But some guys, I don't know if they thought it was the playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys," Tocchet said after the game.
Tocchet acknowledged that relying on certain players is not sustainable and that the entire group needs to contribute. He further emphasized the need to quickly regroup, as the series is now tied at 2-2:
"We've got to figure it out quick, it's 2-2. ...The second goal at the end of the period was a killer. Another couple of given mistakes, and then the last goal. I mean, just can't do that."
Tocchet also said that Elias Pettersson needs to step up now and start making a bigger impact.
"He needs to get going, I don’t know what else to say."
Pettersson hasn’t found his regular-season form in the playoffs yet. He has only been able to collect four points so far with one of those coming against the Oilers.
Quinn Hughes on Vancouver Canucks' Game 4 loss
The Canucks struggled to generate shots on goal throughout the game, failing to reach double digits in attempts. They had a slow start and found themselves trailing 2-0 going into the third period.
However, the Canucks showed great resilience in the final period and managed to score twice, tying the game 2-2 with just over a minute remaining.
Evan Bouchard's exceptional finish from traffic with only 39 seconds left in the third period spoiled the night for the visitors at Rogers Place.
Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes, after the Game 4 loss, acknowledged that it was disappointing to have the game slip away after they had made a great push in the third period:
"Yeah obviously very frustrating, and just happened so taking it in, but to tie it up like we had a great push the entire third and then what happened is obviously disappointing but these things happen and just gonna move on," Hughes said.
Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
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