The Nashville Predators had a pretty simple strategy in their 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks in game two of their first-round playoff series Tuesday night at Rogers Arena含羞草研究社� take away all shooting lanes.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has come up with a pretty simple solution to that problem.
含羞草研究社淭ee it up. If guys want to block it, it含羞草研究社檚 going to hurt. I wouldn含羞草研究社檛 turn down a shot if a guy is going to be right in front of me, so yeah, we are going to tee it up tomorrow,含羞草研究社� he told the media in Nashville prior to game three of the series on Friday night.
While Canuck Nation wrestles with complex solutions on how the team can get more shots through the Predators defenders, Tocchet says it含羞草研究社檚 all about resolve.
含羞草研究社淚 just felt Nashville含羞草研究社檚 will to defend was better than our will to score. There are positions and plays there. It含羞草研究社檚 really a will. There are areas to go with the heavy stuff. There are plays there - just find them. That含羞草研究社檚 getting through people and fighting through. It含羞草研究社檚 not standing still,含羞草研究社� he explained.
It含羞草研究社檚 strange how a couple of bounces here and there can change your entire perception of a body of work.
If Nashville含羞草研究社檚 Anthony Beauvillier doesn含羞草研究社檛 get a crazy bounce on the first goal. If Elias Pettersson doesn含羞草研究社檛 miss that wide open net on the power play at the end of the first period. If Dakota Joshua can manage to capitalize on a goal mouth scramble later in the game.
If just those three plays go the Canucks way, people would be talking about how they battled and found a way to win the game.
They didn含羞草研究社檛 though, which means a lot of hand-wringing for Canucks fans.
As a coach, you have to look at the big picture.
Tocchet knows his team played well enough to win in game two as evidenced by the fact that they had more than twice as many scoring chances than Nashville 含羞草研究社� 29-14- according to the analytics website Natural Stat Trick.
Even the power play, which failed to score in six opportunities in the first two games and is under criticism, isn含羞草研究社檛 all doom-and-gloom according to Tocchet.
含羞草研究社淲e had two basically empty net goals (in game two). If we get one of those goals to go, it doesn含羞草研究社檛 look as bad. I think we have to be a little bit more decisive if the shot is there含羞草研究社 little but more to the net and a little quicker pace with our power play,含羞草研究社� said Tocchet.
There has also been some discussion among fans regarding the goaltending situation and whether or not Casey DeSmith might be replaced by Arturs Silovs.
DeSmith cannot be blamed for the loss to the Preds in game two. Barring some sort of catastrophic collapse by DeSmith, he will be the man moving forward for the Canucks for the foreseeable future given Thatcher Demko含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社榳eek-to-week含羞草研究社� status.
Tocchet does like Silovs and his game and has mentioned on more than one occasion Silovs having performed in high-pressure games for Latvia in the 2023 World Hockey Championships. The 23-year-old did play in 10 games for Latvia in the tournament and had a 2.20 GAA with a .921 save percentage but the only scenario in which he replaces DeSmith is if Vancouver is swept in Nashville with DeSmith playing poorly.
In that case, it would be 含羞草研究社榖reak glass in case of emergency含羞草研究社� with Silovs riding out the series.
Hopefully for Tocchet and the Canucks, that situation doesn含羞草研究社檛 present itself.
Despite pointing out some of the positives, Tocchet also knows his team can play better than they did on Tuesday night in Vancouver.
The Canucks are going to have to if they want to come back to Vancouver in good shape.
OVERTIME
* Bob Cole, the legendary play-by-play voice of Hockey Night in Canada for five decades, passed away at the age of 90 on Wednesday. For Tocchet, Cole含羞草研究社檚 death hit close to home as he had attended Cole含羞草研究社檚 golf tournament in St. John含羞草研究社檚, Newfoundland on a couple of occasions. 含羞草研究社淛ust hanging out with him in those golf tournaments was a lot of fun,含羞草研究社� said Tocchet.
* Tyler Myers will return to the lineup after a one-game absence due to the 含羞草研究社榝lu含羞草研究社� with Noah Juulsen coming out based on the pairings at practice. Elias Lindholm practiced with the first unit power play in place of Conor Garland. Demko made the trip to Nashville in a support role for his teammates.
* DeSmith has some good memories of Bridgestone Arena. As a member of the Penguins organization, he was in the building when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2017.
* The Canucks announced that they will have a viewing party at Rogers Arena for game three. 含羞草研究社淔or fans that haven含羞草研究社檛 been able to attend a home playoff game this season, we are replicating the experience for Friday含羞草研究社檚 Rogers Away Game Viewing Party so more fans and families can join us on our playoff journey,含羞草研究社� said Michael Doyle, President, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, Business Operations in a released statement.
* Game four Sunday in Nashville starts at 2pm Pacific time.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 含羞草研究社渢he Moj含羞草研究社� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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