does not want a lot of wandering minds around the locker room. He would rather his players focus simply on the next game.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 think of the big picture,鈥� Tocchet said. 鈥淭he only thing you can tell your players is short-term goals. You can鈥檛 think long term.鈥�
The Canucks are so in sync with their coach that after Sunday, Conor Garland noted it was still a good effort he and his teammates would have been proud of even had they lost.
There hasn鈥檛 been a lot of losing at all for Vancouver since the puck dropped in October. The Canucks are atop the NHL standings this late in a season for the first time since 2012 鈥� five coaches and countless players removed from the franchise鈥檚 last era of winning.
鈥淲e鈥檝e obviously had a lot more success this year than we have in the past,鈥� said Thatcher Demko, whose play in net is one of the big reasons for that. 鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously something that we鈥檝e wanted to do, and we just haven鈥檛 been able to up to this point. And we know there鈥檚 a lot of hockey left, so we鈥檙e staying focused on the task at hand. Obviously, we鈥檝e got to make sure that we鈥檙e winning when it counts.鈥�
Demko and the Canucks know they haven鈥檛 accomplished anything yet, with the playoffs still two months away. Still, with leading the way and Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller producing at career-year levels, they鈥檝e positioned themselves as one of the leading contenders for the Stanley Cup.
They also just added the best center available in the trade market, from Calgary .
鈥淲ith that trade, they鈥檙e telling us and everyone that we may have a chance,鈥� said Hughes, whose 65 points through 53 games are the most by a defenseman this season. 鈥淚 think that we have a really good team. It鈥檚 been a great 50 games or whatever that we鈥檝e played. Now we just need to put our foot on the gas and try to dial in our game.鈥�
The Canucks鈥� game is a little bit of everything, starting with controlling the puck. They lead the league with 3.68 goals per game and are tied for third in goals allowed at 2.58. Vancouver has not lost more than two games in a row all season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty aware of when we play well and when we don鈥檛,鈥� Garland said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best thing about us: When we have a bad effort, we鈥檒l follow it up with a good one.鈥�
Beating the Capitals on Sunday on Miller鈥檚 goal with 4.8 seconds left in 3-on-3 OT was the perfect example of that. Playing on back-to-back afternoons, Tocchet noticed some fatigue in a 鈥渕ucky鈥� game and was glad to see his team adjust to that and limit mistakes when it mattered.
鈥淭hat means you have to play smart,鈥� Tocchet said. 鈥淪ome games you鈥檝e got to play when you don鈥檛 have your legs, and you鈥檝e got to play smart.鈥�
Midway through his first full season coaching the Canucks after in January 2023, Tocchet consistently talks about being process-oriented more than worrying about the results. The message has certainly resonated with players.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to make sure that we鈥檙e focused and ready to go,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to continue to kind of play to our standard that we鈥檙e trying to create and maintain that standard.鈥�
In all, 31 of their league-best 35 wins have come in regulation against just 12 regulation losses. Even some sloppy play coming out of the All-Star break hasn鈥檛 scuttled the Canucks, who look to have the depth for a long postseason run.
鈥淲e just have to keep pushing forward,鈥� veteran defenseman Tyler Myers said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not looking too far ahead or what happened the game before, win or lose. We just got to keep pushing and keep working on things to get better each and every day.鈥�
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