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Rick Tocchet urges team to focus on their "toughest" battle to come in Game 6 against Oilers
While the Vancouver Canucks hold a 3-2 series lead and have the chance to eliminate the Oilers in Game 6, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet thinks it will be their toughest battle yet.
The Canucks will host the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena on Saturday for Game 6 of their second-round playoff series. Connor McDavid’s team failed to seize control of the series in the last game as they fell 3-2 to the Vancouver team on Thursday.
Speaking to the press on Friday, Rick Tocchet mentioned that the upcoming game would be very difficult.
“The message is it's going to be really hard. And that's all you should be thinking about and whatever it takes to get it done, you do,” Tocchet said. [H/T NHL.com]
The coach said that he wanted his team to understand and accept that winning would require significant effort from their side. He stressed that the team should concentrate solely on the game and be prepared to do whatever it takes to win.
“I've said it a bunch of times, you got to get back to Earth. We really got to get back to Earth. It's going to be our toughest game. That's the way you've got to approach it.”
Tocchet noted that it would be their toughest game yet and they need to have a similar mindset ahead of the fixture. He urged the players to mentally prepare for a hard-fought battle.
“You can't trick your brain to let your foot off the gas or we got two chances to get this done. You can't think that way. You have to be mentally like a rock.”
Rick Tocchet opens up on the challenge of holding Connor McDavid scoreless
In the same interview, Rick Tocchet acknowledged the challenge of keeping Connor McDavid scoreless again, like they did in the last game. He noted that McDavid is always a threat in every game due to his exceptional talent.
“Every game he's dangerous. He's just an unreal player and when you play unreal players, you got to make sure you're ready,” Tocchet said.
Rick Tocchet mentioned the need to avoid penalties while still playing aggressively against McDavid. Tocchet also anticipates that the Oilers will bring their best performance in the next game and he expects his team to be ready for that level of competition.
“We don't want to take penalties against him, but you want to play aggressive. That's a hard thing to do. You expect that Edmonton is going to play their best, and their individuals are going to play their best. That's the way I expect it.”
Rick Tocchet also acknowledged the difficulty of stopping Edmonton's power play, describing it as one of the best he has seen during his coaching career due to their variety of strategies.
He praised his players for their successful efforts, noting that they were more aggressive at specific moments. However, Tocchet warned that Edmonton would likely make adjustments in response, meaning his team must remain prepared for further challenges.
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