On the day that news broke the Canucks would be without their emotional engine JT Miller for the foreseeable future, the team was staring down an Eastern Conference foe without some marquee players. To their credit, the Canucks put together one of their better efforts of the year, though they still fell 4-3 to the Rangers. If you want to watch the highlights, they are here:
Moral victory? I think it would be good to take that one here. The Canucks were short handed and dealt a blow earlier in the day with Miller, but they played a better and more complete game than they had played in the last couple weeks. Not the ideal outcome, but dealing with the adversity and rallying around it might be something that serves to break them out of their lethargy.
“I thought we played really hard and I’m proud of the guys,” said Hughes, who stepped up his game and potted the first goal. “It would have been nice to pull that one out. We competed and battled. There has been a lot and guys are going through a lot, but I liked the way we responded.
“We’ve got a really tight group and that’s going to make us stronger throughout the season. We have a lot of fight, character and will.”
Understanding the context of the team, Tocc was pleased with how they responded. He had some big line shuffling to do, and while the overall defense is still a work in progress, he was happy with the compete.
“We played really hard right until the end,” said Tocchet. “It came down to a couple of plays. We’re going to be getting some bodies back and you use this (adversity) as fuel. People that doubt you, or the noise, to me this is the stuff that I love.
“That’s what galvanizes the group and take that energy. Some guys are getting a chance to play and getting use to playing in pressure games. That’s valuable stuff.”
Growing Canucks fan-favourite Sherwood felt the same. He’s been a huge addition to the team, not only leading the NHL in hits but also providing some decent scoring. He potted a nice pass from Petey to tie it up in the second, and continues to be a little pest on on the ice.
“I thought we deserved that (game),” Sherwood said. “I think it was probably our best game, our best effort, in a while. It's hard to take away stuff when we lose but I think there's a lot of good that we can continue to build on and take on the road trip. If we stick with that effort and predictability and just connection all over the ice, I think we're going to end up winning a lot more games.”
In Miller’s absence, people needed to step up. Tocchet noted that – and that those people did. One of the guys who had to more than others was Pettersson. He’s been heating up as the season has worn on, and he was great last night. He impacted the game in the offensive zone the way the team needed him to, however he was caught on the game winning goal flat footed and slow to react. One mistake on an otherwise solid night, but still…
“It’s frustrating and it stings now,” said Pettersson. “The fourth goal, I tried to make a play and Zibanejad lifts my stick. I was trying to get it (puck) over the blueline and was flat-footed. Two good passes and they score. I have to make a better play there.”
He knows, but he also sees the effort and connection.
“It speaks for itself that we’re going to go down swinging and work hard,” he added. “It brings us closer together with what everybody is going through. We’re always going to have each others’ backs and be there for each other.”
The Canucks embark on a 6 game road trip, all without Miller. Boeser has been skating, and Demko practicing, but their return at the moment is a bit unknown. Hopefully one or both can pop up during the roadie.
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