HC Rick Tocchet sends a message to Vancouver Canucks players to emulate D-man Quinn Hughes' offensive prowess

The Vancouver Canucks got a much-needed 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday, led by an impressive offensive performance from defenseman Quinn Hughes. He scored both of the Canucks' goals, extending his point streak to five games with five goals and two assists over that span.

Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet had high praise for Hughes after the game, saying the rest of the team can learn from his willingness to attack the interior of the offensive zone.

"We can learn from (him) - when he attacks the inside, call him small or whatever, but he's not scared to go the interior. That's how you score goals," Tocchet said [2:18].

"He gets it, and he goes right. That's how he scored those two goals, right to the interior. He doesn't go outside."

Tocchet wants to see more of that aggressiveness driving to the net from the rest of the Canucks players.

"We're trying to dive into that. I don't know if that's a confidence thing. I don't know what it is. As coaches, we gotta keep preaching it, keep practicing, problem is we don't have a lot of practices.” [2:58]

“Hughes' goal is something that we can build off,' Hey, look at him, he's taking it to the interior and making a play'. I don't know if there's a lot of guys that can make that backhand play though," Tocchet added.

The win keeps the Vancouver Canucks playoff hopes alive, pulling them within three points of the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen was stellar in net, making 31 in the win.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the lone goal for the Capitals. Charlie Lindgren stopped 22 shots in the loss.

---

Rick Tocchet's take on the Vancouver Canucks' 2-1 win against the Capitals

Rick Tocchet credited the intensity from everyone to grind out the much-needed victory, which he hopes gives the team some confidence. He said it's on both the coaches and players to continually preach doing the right things and not letting up.

"For most part we started on time, you know, I thought played a little faster, I thought our breakouts were better, that was something we worked on yesterday," Tocchet said. [0:07]

Tocchet noted that maintaining intensity is something they've struggled with all season, calling it a confidence issue. He stressed that it's the responsibility of everyone to be ready for each game.

Next, the Vancouver Canucks will face against the St. Louis Blues on Monday at Enterprise Center.