HC Rick Tocchet gives his take on $92,800,000 Vancouver Canucks forward's fiery response to reduced playing time in previous game

Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet shared his thoughts on Elias Pettersson’s response to reduced ice time. Pettersson's ice time was reduced to 16:05 minutes against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. However, he saw a surge in his ice time by nearly one minute in Tuesday's game against the Canadiens.

Pettersson signed an eight-year, $92.8 million contract in March 2024 (per PuckPedia). Against the Canadiens, the 26-year-old center played with more energy and scored a fiery goal against the Montreal Canadiens.

"Yeah, it was a good shot—really good shot. Hopefully, he keeps that going. It was a really nice goal for him," Tocchet said talking about Pettersson's goal.

Despite Pettersson’s goal, Vancouver lost 4-2. He finished with a minus-two rating. Pettersson has struggled this season, with 37 points in 58 games. This is a big drop from his 102-point season in 2022-23.

Apart from Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks forwards Brock Boeser, and Jake DeBrusk also received less ice time against Dallas.

Upon being asked about the same, Tocchet stated that ice time should be earned.

"You got to earn your ice time. You got to earn your ice time around here. That's how you win. So you guys can stir it up all you want, You have to earn your ice time. I don't care how long you've been here, you got to earn your ice time. That's the way it works, that's how you win Stanley Cups." Tocchet said.

Vancouver, now 29-24-11, is struggling with consistency as the playoffs approach. They need two points to secure the second Wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Vancouver Canucks lost 4-2 to Montreal Canadiens despite a late comeback effort

The Vancouver Canucks lost 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Arena on Tuesday. Coach Rick Tocchet praised the Canadiens' top line saying,

"We didn't have an answer for their top line. It's a good line. They make plays."

Nick Suzuki scored first at 1:06 and Juraj Slafkovsky made it 2-0 at 8:34 with a wrist shot. Cole Caufield pushed the lead to 3-0in the second period finishing a backdoor pass from Suzuki.

Filip Hronek started Vancouver Canucks’s comeback at 4:05 of the third, scoring with a point shot. Elias Pettersson made it 3-2 with a power-play goal at 11:08. The Canucks pressured but couldn’t tie it. Mike Matheson scored an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left.

Vancouver Canuks are now 0-19-4 when trailing after two periods. They will play the Calgary Flames next on Wednesday.