The Vancouver Canucks are just one win away from the Western Conference Final after taking Game 5 in a nailbiter at Rogers Arena on Thursday night.
Defenceman Carson Soucy and forwards Phillip Di Giuseppe and J.T. Miller got on the scoresheet for the Canucks. Miller scoring with just over 30 seconds to go in the third period, but he wasn’t the focus. Overall, the team played well, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Head Coach Rick Tocchet.
“A lot of effort from a lot of different guys. Almost every single guy gave us everything they had. Resilient — I thought the guys were terrific. They really came to play. It was obviously one of our best games of the playoffs,” Tocchet said.
Miller explained his game-winning-goal was the result of a nice bounce, which came off the skate of Elias Pettersson.
“Petey went to the net, hit in the foot, off the post and I think I got a little lucky there — the puck was kind of all over the place. It’s just nice to get rewarded at the end of the game,” said Miller who bounced back after a weaker performance in Game 4.
“It just worked out. But because [Elias Lindholm] doesn’t force that puck, I think that’s the play. That’s the one that creates the goal. He could have easily thrown that to me and hoped it worked out, and I think the puck was rolling even when he had it.”
Miller admitted he and his linemates may have been going a little too easy on superstar Connor McDavid.
“Last couple of games, me, Brock [Boeser] and [Pius Suter] have kind of giving Connor a little too much respect, playing not to get scored on a little bit and when you do that, he just gets more time with the puck. I thought we went back to playing our game and being more aggressive.”
He added they’re not getting too high or too low right now.
“It’s impossible to be even-keeled all the time, but this is why I would tell a younger version of myself, ‘It’s not the end of the world the other night.’ And certainly now, I’m not on top of the world either. We got a game to play still,” he said.
“I think our team has done a good job of earning the day, we’ve been saying that nauseum this year, but I think it’s been a great representation of the way our team plays. It’s a good example, it went south the other night, it went well tonight, you got to move on no matter what.”
Pettersson’s play has been under scrutiny for months and after being called out by Tocchet earlier this week, he looked to have turned his game around in Game 5. It also helped having fans chant, “Let’s Go Petey,” before and during the game.
“It means a lot. It’s always encouraging to have the fans behind you — I always have that here — but just hearing them chant my name and it makes me want to work even harder for them,” he said after the game.
Di Giuseppe recently returned to the line-up following the birth of his son on Sunday. His wife endured a high-risk pregnancy, and he was overcome with emotion when asked about winning following a whirlwind week.
“It’s been a battle of nine months for her. Obviously, with my job I’ve been away a lot and she’s been in the hospital a lot. We’ve had a lot of family come in and out and support us. Like I’ve said before, it takes a village and it’s a blessing we got one.”
Looking ahead to Game 6, the Canucks have to roll out a repeat performance to close out Edmonton.
What helped Vancouver in Game 5, was the Oilers powerplay, which has been unreal, going 0-5 on Thursday night.
“I thought there was a ton of energy. I thought the powerplay was great. I know we didn’t score, but that’s the powerplay I love. Where our mindset is attack, good shots and I think that gives a team momentum. That helped our 5-on-5 play,” explained Tocchet.
The other thing that also helped the Canucks was getting the most shots they’ve had on net throughout these playoffs, with 35, compared to Edmonton’s 23.
Game 6 goes Saturday at 5 p.m. PST in Edmonton.