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| Vancouver Canuck Elias Pettersson with coach Rick Tocchet. Pettersson is struggling in the second playoff round against the Oilers. PHOTO BY JASON PAYNE /PNG |
When asked about his team's comeback to tie the game, Tocchet redirected the focus. "Yeah, we've shown resilience all year, but we need five or six guys to step up now," he stated. "It's the Stanley Cup playoffs. Some players may not have fully embraced that. We can't rely on just 12 guys. We need to address this quickly."
He reiterated this point moments later, emphasizing the need for consistent effort from more players.
Tocchet didn't mince words about the team's four-minute power play in the first period. "It simply wasn't up to par. They know it," he criticized. "There was a lack of effort and puck management. You need determination and puck possession, which we lacked."
When questioned about star forward Elias Pettersson's performance, Tocchet emphasized the need for improvement across the board. "As I mentioned, it's not just one player. He needs to step up, along with others," he commented. "I don't know what else to say."
He later addressed Edmonton's winning goal and his team's failure to contest the puck effectively. "You anticipate where the puck is going, but we're hesitating. Some players are playing passive hockey," Tocchet observed. "You can't win with several passengers, maybe half a dozen or more. That's the reality. However, in playoff hockey, the next game presents an opportunity for redemption. Some of those players can be heroes for us. We need to elevate our game."
Tocchet also pledged adjustments to the lineup.
While Vancouver fans and analysts can speculate on the specific players Tocchet referenced, it was Filip Hronek who was beaten on the forecheck by Evander Kane, igniting the sequence leading to Evan Bouchard's decisive goal. Tocchet explicitly mentioned Pettersson.
Pettersson recently signed an eight-year contract worth $11.6 million per season. Despite tallying 89 points in 82 regular-season games, he has only managed one goal and three assists in 10 playoff appearances. The focus in Vancouver revolves around how to ignite Pettersson's performance in the postseason. It appears that Pettersson's stature, being a smaller player, could be a hindrance in the physicality of NHL playoff hockey, where smaller players often struggle to maintain a presence amidst the rough and tumble play. Similar challenges have been observed with players like Mitch Marner in Toronto and, to a lesser extent, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton.
Tocchet's approach with Pettersson seems to be direct, forceful, and critical—a strategy uncommon among NHL coaches today. Publicly critiquing players, particularly a star player, and lumping them in with "passengers" after a significant loss is unusual.
Will it work? Who can say? But such a harsh public-scolding comes across as a risky move. If Pettersson and his fellow passengers respond well — as some players will do — perhaps it’s just the jolt they needed to wake them up. But there’s also room for dissension here, hard feelings and discord. You can see how being so public in criticizing players might be resented.
Of course, I’m just speculating here. Tocchet knows his players better than any of us do. He’s come across well, as a strong communicator and leader in the series, so perhaps he’s pushed just the right button.
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It could also be that Tocchet’s comment came across as jarring because I’ve been so used to listening to Jay Woodcroft and Kris Knoblauch in Edmonton these past few years. Woodcroft and especially Knoblauch are perpetually supportive, calm and positive in their public statements about individual players.
For example, after three straight poor games from Stuart Skinner, the most negative thing that Knoblauch would allow about the goalie was the most banal of statements, followed by positive reinforcement
I think tonight is one he’d like to have back,” the coach said after Game Three. “We’ll see what he’s got in the future. Whether that is Game Four or Game Five or whatever it is. But we’ll be seeing Stu again. And I have no doubt that he’ll respond and play well.”
Of course, Knoblauch has also taken risks in this series, namely replacing Skinner with Calvin Pickard for Game Four. 444444444444
I’ll suggest, though, that the Pickard-over-Skinner decision wasn’t difficult, that it was made months ago when Pickard came up and played so well in relief of Skinner during the regular season. The Oilers managers and coaches made a clear decision at that time to not pursue any other goalie in a trade, but to go with Skinner and Pickard in the playoffs.
They had to know at that time that even if Edmonton was going to win the Stanley Cup, it was highly unlikely that Skinner would play every game. Surely he would have a rough patch and another goalie would be needed to step in. With Pickard playing so well, that goalie would be him.
And that’s exactly what happened. Knoblauch was simply following through on a plan made months ago
For one game, this plan has worked, with Pickard playing well in Edmonton’s 3-2 in.
Knoblauch made one other big move heading into Game Four, splitting up the Darnell Nurse/Cody Ceci pairing, which has struggled for almost the entire 2024 calendar year, leaking far too many Grade A shots and goals against.
Edmonton tried to fix this situation at the trade deadline by moving on Chris Tanev, but Calgary chose to send Tanev to Dallas. The Oilers were left hoping Nurse and Ceci would get it together, but they have struggled to do so.
At last, Knoblauch split up the long-time partnership, putting Nurse with Vincent Desharnais (a move that had been tried for a few games in February) and Ceci with Brett Kulak.
Things worked out better for all players in Game Four, but I’ll suggest to win the Cup more change will be needed on the blueline, that Edmonton is going to need more speed and puck moving, and that big, fast Philip Broberg might well go in for Ceci at some point.
A few forwards are also struggling, namely Corey Perry and Warren Foegele, so again I can see Knoblauch going with Sam Gagner, Adam Erne or Sam Carrick instead for a game or two.
Shuffling the forwards is a small bet. Going with Broberg over Ceci would be a huge bet, but fortune favors the bold.
Perhaps Tocchet’s boldness will be rewarded with huge games from his passengers players in Game Five. But Knoblauch still has moves he can make as well. And just now I’m liking his calm and calculated approach, one that has earned Knoblauch the nickname of Coach Comatose from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Player hockey is a cauldron of fear and glory. A cool head and steady hand on the stir stick strikes me as just the ticket.
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