EDMONTON, Alberta — 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 Game 7 on Monday night in the second-round playoff series.
''Our job right now is we got to flush this game,'' said 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. The winner on Monday will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final. Vancouver needs to treat Game 7 like any other game and as a great opportunity, said Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.
''If you told us we'd have this opportunity in Sep.