The Canucks lacked energy and conviction in a lame 2-1 loss to the Caps on Saturday night. If you were watching paint dry instead of catching the game, here are your highlights:
For a team that’s on a home stand, the Canucks sure looked tired and worn out. They were held to the perimeter by the Caps, out-worked in a bad second period, and couldn’t muster much against a team that wanted it more/is playing “playoff hockey”. The Canucks fell to 1-1-1 on their home stand, losing the first game back with Myers’ return from injury. Overall, the team wasn’t good enough outside of DeSmith. Tocchet was not too happy about it.
“You should thrive in this environment,” Tocc said frustratingly, talking to this nine game break at home. “I don't know how you can be tired, like, in games. If you're going to lose a game, it shouldn't be because of fatigue. So I think it's a mindset. We're in — I hate to say it — uncharted waters for a lot of guys on this team. It's go time. There's 15 games left. Let's get out of third and fourth gear. We've got to get to fifth gear. It's not wait till until April (and the playoffs). It’s: ‘Let's go.’ That's the message.”
There are a lot of players on the Canucks who haven’t pushed or been pushed in the playoffs. Whether you consider the bubble games playoffs or not (fight!), the young core of this team is a little green behind the ears. It seems to be showing as the games ramp up and they don’t.
”It's my job… to help some of these guys,” Tocc continued. “They’ve got to understand that it's going to get harder and harder. It's that seal, right? They're used to this (not being in the playoffs). They've got to get past that seal. It's my job to get them to break that seal; there's more in the tank. There's always that more, and we've got to break through it. Find it.”
JTM spoke about righting the ship, but this sort of refrain has become a little too common the past couple of weeks.
“We just need to do a better job of being composed in moments like that because it's going to happen a lot down the stretch,” he said. “That's what we're trying to get better at; when it's not going good for us, how are we going to play? We've played with a lot of leads this year. We haven't trailed going into the third very often. That's just something we need to be better at. When we're getting pushed by the other team, how are we going to respond? You know, that takes a level of maturity and discipline. And it starts with us as leaders on the team to make sure that the team goes in the right direction.”
As for the actual game, it was sloppy and boring. The Canucks didn’t take enough shots, and missed a lot of the ones they did: 21 missed altogether and 27 blocked on top of that.
“We’re not attacking the interior and we missed so many shots … a lot of shots. We missed a lot of shots,” Tocc lamented. He showed reporters with his hands how high he wanted them shooting. “This high. Not over the net. It makes no sense.”
Last words from Tocc on it all?
“Execute. Go through. Hold the puck.
“Energy is ‘going through’.”
The Canucks can remedy their ills Tuesday night against the Sabers.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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