HC Rick Tocchet makes feelings known about Canucks confidence issues after loss to Sabres

After the Vancouver Canucks lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, coach Rick Tocchet spoke about the team’s struggles. The Canucks had a 2-1 lead but gave up two goals in the third period. Jiri Kulich scored one goal and assisted two others for Buffalo in their comeback win.

Tocchet highlighted the Canucks' confidence issues:

"I mean, there's pockets of it, there's pockets of some good stuff," Tocchet said. "And like I said, there's pockets where we're just, I don't want to say defeated but like we're up 2-1, you should feel confident. You should want that puck. You should know off the face-off, this is where I gotta go."

He added that some players hesitate in important moments:

"For whatever reason, I don't know, there's a few guys that I don't know whether a few could be four or five, six, some nights where they just kind of stand around." Tocchet said. "And it's almost like it's too big for them sometimes. I don't know why they just go play, you know, that's the frustrating part. So some guys got to unlock the whether it's a nervousness or where to go, I don't know."

Vancouver outshot the Blues 34-26 and gave equal efforts in the faceoffs. However, they lacked in accuracy and struggled to score against Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. On the other side, Thatcher Demko made 23 saves, and Tocchet praised his performance:

"I thought he made some good saves, I thought he's fine. He was fine,” Tocchet said. "[Regarding playing him more] yeah, I think for him, he's got to get in a rhythm. You got to give him some some reps, some pressure situations. I mean, he hasn't had it in a long time, so, you know, he was fine."

Vancouver will indeed need to improve their confidence levels if they are to move up in the standings.

Captain Quinn Hughes leads the Vancouver Canucks amid recent struggles

The Vancouver Canucks currently hold a 20-16-10 record, placing them fifth in the Pacific Division. They average 2.84 goals per game while allowing 3.16 goals. Their power play is operating at 21.9% while their penalty kill stands at 80.5%, slightly above the league average for both.

Captain Quinn Hughes leads the team with 51 points, including 39 assists. Despite his strong play, the team has struggled with consistency. Trade rumors and rift involving Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have become a distraction for the Canucks.