The stingy Stars set the tone against the Canucks with very little vulcanized rubber flying at either goalie, and the visitors finished off a tight checking effort with a 4-1 win in Vancouver on Sunday.
“I thought we played a good hockey game,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said postgame, before reiterating that statement.
He then pointed out that the effort wasn’t necessarily there from everyone. Top center Elias Pettersson finished a minus-3 and played just a little more than 16-minutes. Winger Jake DeBrusk played less than thirteen.
“You’ve gotta earn your ice time around here, that’s how you win,” Tocchet stated. “You guys (some media) can stir it up all you want, you’ve gotta earn your ice time. I don’t care how long you’ve been here, you’ve gotta earn your ice time. That’s the way it works, that’s how you win Stanley Cups.”
Ultimately Dallas pulled away with three unanswered goals. Mikael Granlund scored his first with the Stars since coming over in a trade with the San Jose Sharks at the beginning of February. The tally gave his club a 2-1 lead with 26-seconds remaining in the 2nd period. Red hot Jason Robertson deflected home some insurance midway through the 3rd period before Mikko Rantanen sealed things up with an empty-netter.
The Canucks remain a point back of the Calgary Flames for the 2nd and final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Both teams have 19 games remaining.
