Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders VANCOUVER -- From the opening puck drop against the New York Islanders on Thursday night, the Vancouver Canucks seemed overmatched. Yes, they potted the first goal of the game on their first shot, but the Islanders were all over them, which showed in the final score, a 5-2 win for the visitors. After the game, Canucks head coach Rich Tocchet started off by saying the following: "Don't ask me about individual players today, okay? No offense. I apologize to the fans. We're not playing good enough at home. That's on me. Guys played light tonight. I thought we were ready to go. We weren't. It's on me. I got to get this team to play harder in the first period. Spurts here and there, but not enough from a lot of guys." Then, when asked about their struggles in the neutral zone, Tocchet ended his answer with this: "I give the Islanders credit. They played a great game. They were a well-coached team, and, well, Patrick outcoached me tonight." The Canucks are 8-4-3 on the season but are 2-3-3 on home ice, where they've been outscored 34-22. "We're going to have to change pregame skates. We got to do something different," Tocchet said. "We cannot play it light. We're too light of a team. You cannot guess where the puck goes." Here's his full interview: Credit to Tocchet for calling out his team, and credit to the Islanders, who frustrated a very talented hockey team on the other side. The Islanders haven't had the easiest start to the season, but after somehow earning a point against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday after getting dominated, they came out on fire in Vancouver and earned their strongest, most complete win of the season. Up next, the Seattle Kraken on Saturday with the Islanders looking to extend its point streak to six games.
