Playoff diary: Canucks locker room 'cocoon' as they head into Game 6

The Vancouver Canucks return to enemy territory for a massive Game 6 Saturday night as the second-round series continues between the two remaining Canadian teams in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was a wild Game 5 at Rogers Arena Thursday night as JT Miller broke a tie with 32 seconds left. That gave the Canucks their third win of the series and a chance to advance to the Western Conference finals with a win over the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night in Edmonton.

The Canucks now have a chance to close the series, and the coach and players know it won’t be easy, as the Oilers are expected to give their best in Game 6.

From the coach

Rick Tocchet talked about what impressed him in terms of learning about his group throughout the playoffs.

“It’s a resilient group,” Tocchet said. “I’ve said it before, but they’re really good at blocking out noise. To be a successful team, you have to put all of that aside. You can’t let demons in. “What about this or that, or what happens if this happens?” “You can’t think that way and I give them a lot of credit. They were rock solid. It’s a cocoon in this locker room. I like to call it a safe environment. Men can be vulnerable and they don’t worry about it. (They) trust the room and that has really helped.

He spoke of the morale boost that Game 5 gave the group.

“After the game, when they gave the puck to CEO (Phil Di Giuseppe), he was quite emotional. This is what we talked about. Anyone can be a hero at any time, even a guy who doesn’t play and comes back into the lineup. That’s what playoff hockey is all about. So I hope that inspires the guys.

Tocchet brought up the penalty after a five-for-five performance in Game 5.

“First of all, it’s hard to do. I mean, that’s one of the best power plays I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching. So give our guys a lot of credit. I think there were some pressure points that we were a little more aggressive on. That said, they will probably adjust a few things. So we have to be ready to face them, so it’s going to be difficult to do. It’s hard to stop that power play, but it’s one of the reasons we won the game.

In the room

Quinn Hughes spoke about Artūrs Šilovs.

“Sometimes you don’t even realize what he’s doing,” Hughes said. “But it’s obviously incredibly impressive considering how young he is and some of the big saves he makes. He never looks nervous. It just feels like it’s another game and I think we can all learn a little from him to be honest.

He then talked about his team being comfortable in one-goal games.

“We saw a sample size of 82 games this year where we played a lot of one-goal games and some games we let slip and a lot of other games where we learned how to win a hockey game and that’s what that we’ve learned to do. And obviously there are games where good players are going to succeed, but for the most part we’re doing a good job.

In numbers

JT Miller, Elias Lindholm and Brock Boeser each have six points in five games in the series. The only Oiler with more points in the series is Leon Draisaitl – who has 11 points.
Miller is tied for fourth in assists in the playoffs. He had seven assists in 11 games.
Nikita Zadorov is tied with Evan Bouchard for third in goals by a defenseman. Zadorov and Bouchard have each made four saves so far in the playoffs.

In his NHL playoff debut, Vasily Podkolzin covered 2.23 kilometers with a top speed of 34.8 km/h in 7:46 of ice time. Podkolzin had one shot, one goal, four hits and one blocked shot while spending 48.6% of his time in the offensive zone, 20.1% in the neutral zone and 31.3% in the defensive zone.

The Canucks won 57.1% of faceoffs in Game 5. Notably, Miller has won 14 of 21 (67%) and Nils Åman has won four of five (80%).
Their offensive zone faceoff percentage of 59.6% is 6.5% better than the second-best team remaining in the playoffs (New York Rangers). Miller has won 65.7% of his offensive zone draws in the playoffs.
Game 5 was the first playoff game where the Oilers did not score a power play goal. The Canucks were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The 35 shots on goal in Game 5 is the Canucks’ record in the playoffs.

Saturday night’s Game 6 will take place at 5 p.m. PT and can be viewed on Sportsnet or listened to on Sportsnet 650 with Brendan Batchelor on the call. You can join other Canucks fans at viewing parties at Rogers Arena and the Abbotsford Center to spin your napkins and hear the cheers of the masses.

Rest up tonight, Canucks fans. Saturday’s match will be served very soon!