Canucks Roadie
Whether it’s from head coach Rick Tocchet or veteran forward J.T. Miller, we keep hearing similar themes to the corrections the Canucks need to make during their first road trip of the season.
“Good structure, good compete,” moving forward, was Miller’s summation after practice in Florida on Wednesday. He also once again referenced “summer hockey”, and the team’s need to stay away from it. The club has played loose and their timing is off, particularly evident in the first period of Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tocchet would like to see improvement across the board, indicating a number of players need to pick up their games. He wasn’t overly enthusiastic about Arturs Silovs’s goaltending either, referring to it as “fine”.
Vancouver is 0-1-and-2 on the young season with a date against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday night. The Canucks will try to take advantage of the fact that the Cats are without captain Aleksander Barkov due to a right leg injury, and Matt Tkachuk out due to illness.
Conor Garland was clearly the best forward on the ice Tuesday night, drawing penalties and creating chances. The rest of the club needs to exhibit his desire and focus. Along with Miller, he led the team in shots on goal with four and also hit the post. Quinn Hughes did what he could from the back-end.
Puck drop is a little after 4 pm Pacific. The game can be seen on Sportsnet and heard on AM-650.
