The Vancouver Canucks were on their game from puck drop against the Edmonton Oilers, taking a 3-2 win on Hockey Night in Canada.
Head Coach Rick Tocchet liked the energy his team had to start the game, and the grit to finish a tight game.
“I thought everyone contributed really early on. We got to our game early, which we talked about all day, is make sure we get to our game. I thought we managed the puck [well], obviously, the last couple games, we haven't managed the puck very well, but I thought we managed it really well and got the lead. I thought that really helped a lot of guys,” Tocchet said.
Canucks’ captain Quinn Hughes lit the lamp twice on the power play in the first period and the team never looked back.
“I think everyone in here is excited, and it's a big one we needed, and it shows a lot of character in our group,” Hughes said. “They're a really competitive team, and so are we, so that's what we showed.”
J.T. Miller had two assists in the outing and liked the way the team bought into the game plan and capitalized early on the man advantage. He talked about their game plan of getting a lot of shots on net and the group had 16 shots on net in the first period, finishing the game with 27.
“I like the commitment. We came up with some new looks on the power play and we stuck to it, and power play got us momentum – it's a big difference in a game like that. When we buy in, we normally have success,” Miller said.
Between the pipes, Thatcher Demko played his second game in a row, stopping 13 of 15 shots he faced.
Goals
In the first period, Hughes scored six seconds into the Canucks’ first power play of the night, getting the puck net front and it deflected off Mattias Ekholm’s skate and past Stuart Skinner.
