Canucks prepare for potential series-clinching Game 6 in Edmonton
The Vancouver Canucks are getting ready for Saturday's potential series clinching Game 6 in Edmonton, following Thursday's blood-pumping late 3-2 win over the Oilers.
But the team’s head coach Rick Tocchet is warning his players this will be their toughest challenge yet.
“I think the message is, it’s going to be really hard,” Tocchet told reporters on Friday.
“And, that’s all you should be thinking about – and whatever it takes to be done you do. I’ve said it a bunch of times, you've got to get back to earth. We really have to get back to earth. It’s going to be our toughest game, that’s the way you've got to approach it.”
The Canucks are becoming used to tight games. The team has now been involved in nine straight one-goal contests.
“I think the whole team, the mindset is, we’ve been so focused,” said captain Quinn Hughes on Friday.
“It’s not just the leadership group. It’s every guy in here. You see guys scoring, (Carson Soucy) last night, and (Phillip Di Giuseppe) and different guys stepping up. We’re a real team.”
Tocchet feels his team’s buy-in to a disciplined approach has helped in these tight games.
“You can’t just always go for it,” Tocchet said of the close games.
“You know, you’re up 2-0, you've got to manage the puck. If you’re down 2-0 with 30 minutes, you've still got to be comfortable. And I think that’s helped us.”
Di Giuseppe’s goal, in particular, added an extra bit of magic to an already special night. The forward had missed games due to the birth of his second child – in what he described as a difficult pregnancy – and scored a crucial goal to bring Thursday’s game to 2-2 before J.T. Miller’s eventual winner.
“It’s been a battle of nine months for her, and obviously with my job I’ve been away a lot, and she’s been in the hospital a lot, so we’ve had a lot of family coming in and out and supporting out,” an emotional Di Giuseppe told reporters after Thursday’s game.
“As I’ve said before, it takes a village – and it’s a blessing to have one.”
The Canucks aren’t waiting around to see whether the team advances. On Friday, the organization posted presale tickets for the Western Conference finals, with upper-level seats going for $445.
Puck drop for Game 6 is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6972157.1721587842!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING NEWS Joe Biden drops out of 2024 race, endorses Kamala Harris to be Democratic nominee
U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for re-election after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent's fitness for office with the election just four months away. It was a late-season campaign thunderstrike unlike any in American history.
Justin Trudeau reacts to Joe Biden announcing he won't run for re-election
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the news that U.S. President Joe Biden won’t run for re-election Sunday, calling Biden a 'true friend.'
What happens next: Joe Biden wants to pass the baton to Kamala Harris. Here's how that might work
With U.S. President Joe Biden ending his re-election bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.
Read Biden's full text announcing the end to his re-election campaign
U.S. President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump. He announced his decision in a letter posted on social media. Read the full text.
Harris, endorsed by Biden, could become first woman, second Black person to be U.S. president
Kamala Harris could become the first Black woman to head a major U.S. party presidential ticket after U.S. President Joe Biden abruptly ended his re-election bid and endorsed her.
The pilot who died in crash after releasing skydivers near Niagara Falls has been identified
NEW YORK (AP) — Officials on Sunday released the name of a pilot who died in a skydiving flight after her passengers jumped from the aircraft near the Niagara Falls.
LCBO workers ratify tentative agreement, strike ends Monday
The union representing 10,000 workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has ratified a tentative agreement, which will officially end its two-week strike at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Joy in Newfoundland after 'Lucky 7' fishers survive harrowing days lost at sea
There was a powerful word being repeated in the joyful Newfoundland community of New-Wes-Valley on Sunday: 'Miracle.'
A Florida woman was killed 24 years ago. DNA evidence just helped police make an arrest in the cold case
A Florida woman’s brutal killing nearly 25 years ago may finally be solved after authorities arrested the suspect this week, according to the Sanford Police Department.