Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was not happy with the effort his team gave against the Seattle Kraken last night.
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was not happy with the effort his team gave against the Seattle Kraken last night.
The Canucks lost 5-2, which is also their fourth straight loss in regulation. These losses are the longest losing streak of the season for Vancouver.
Tocchet was upfront and said he didn't have much to say but still proceeded to tell a lot.
"Not much compete from the guys," Tocchet told the media postgame. "That's on me. I gotta take the blame for that. A lot of no-shows tonight."
Tocchet said the team can't give into the argument that they are tired. He explains that a team has to play smarter if a team is tired.
He applauded the Kraken's desperation-type play. The Kraken are amid a heated battle for the wild card as they sit three points behind the St. Louis Blues.
"This is not even close to playoff hockey," Tocchet said. "[Seattle] was desperate. If these guys think this is playoff hockey, then we are in trouble."
While he doesn't call any player out by name, he told the media that a few players "need to get going."
"It has been a little bit disturbing, some of the efforts from some of the guys," Tocchet continued.
His frustrations with the powerplay were apparent as well.
"PKs now are aggressive," Tocchet explained. "When you beat an aggressive PK, you got to have a whatever the word is, take the shot. Talent doesn't do anything if you don't work hard. The best powerplays work hard, and we aren't working hard right now."
Then came the quote of the night.
"Our clears were awful tonight. We had three chances to get the puck out, and we didn't get it done," Tocchet said. "We gotta start to pick it up here. When the puck comes on a rim, we have a technique to do it, and you gotta have the B-A-L-L-S to get the puck out. You can't go in soft, and you can't ice pucks on a rim."
Lastly, he talks about how it hasn't been all bad during this losing streak, but he kept it real when he said, "We had four or five games who have had no shows. They got to pick it up."
The Canucks take on the Boston Bruins in a battle for first in the NHL on Saturday.
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