EDMONTON — All season long, the Vancouver Canucks have preached resilience. Now comes the ultimate test. After an ugly 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Canucks need to once again showcase their ability to bounce back as the two teams prepare for a decisive Game 7 Monday in the second-round playoff series.
The two sides are now tied at 3-3 in the best-of-seven matchup. “Our job right now is we got to flush this game,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “Obviously some guys know that they need to play better.
And you’ve got 48 hours to get your energy back. That’s just the way it is. “It’s a Game 7.
People would kill to be in this situation right now. And we’ve got to act like we want to be in that situation.” Closing out a series against the Oilers was never going to be easy, said Canucks right-winger Brock Boeser.
It took Vancouver two chances to eliminate the Nashville Predators in round one, he noted. “I think we knew this (second round) was going to be a hard series from the start and it’s gone back and forth,” he said. “I think that’s the beauty of playoff hockey.
We’ve got to forget about this one, focus on playing better next game and bringing that effort.” Vancouver hasn’t lost back-to-back games since March 25 and 28, but the stakes haven’t been higher this season either. Monday’s winner will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final.
The loser will be eliminated from the playoffs. Vancouver needs to treat.
