“Not afraid to play”: Canucks HC Rick Tocchet analyzes team’s defensive end, praises $4,000,000 D-man

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet believes his team will face a tough challenge as they take on the New York Islanders on Wednesday night at UBS Arena.

Tocchet addressed the media following Wednesday’s skate, discussing some hurdles his team could face against the Islanders. In particular, Tocchet analyzed the Canucks defense, saying:

“Well, they're (Islanders) patient team. They really have excellent goaltending, good defensive structure against guys as the score so, you know, they're not afraid to play a 1-1 hockey game.”

While the Islanders have lost their last two games, the club is still in the thick of the playoff race. As such, Tocchet outlined his strategy for Wednesday night’s tilt, saying:

“We don't want to sit back, we want to be aggressive. I think last couple of days we've been a little more aggressive with our ozone play. Get the puck. Wins here. Lekkerimaki goal for instance.”

While Tocchet expects his team to be aggressive and push the Islanders from the opening whistle, he also expects his team to play solid defense. In particular, Tocchet praised Marcus Pettersson for his work.

Tocchet said:

“Marcus making good plays down low for defenseman, so saying that we're going to make sure we defend off the rush, and really smarter defensive end, how we play.”

Pettersson came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins in late January. Since then, Pettersson has been a key member of Vancouver. The team signed him to a six-year $33 million extension as he's currently in the final season of a five-year deal that carried an AAV of $4 million per season.

Pius Suter to center Canucks' top line with Elias Pettersson out

The Vancouver Canucks will play without top-line center Elias Pettersson for the second straight game on Wednesday night. Pettersson left Saturday night's tilt against the New York Rangers with an undisclosed injury.

According to Daily Faceoff, Pettersson did not practice on Sunday and flew back to Vancouver on Monday for further evaluation of his injury. As such, Pettersson missed Monday night’s clash with the New Jersey Devils and will be out for Wednesday’s matchup against the New York Islanders.

In his place, Pius Suter will step into the top line alongside Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. Suter skated on the top line against the Devils, notching two points.

As such, the Canucks hope that Suter can have another big game on Wednesday night at the club is chasing the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver is five points behind the St. Louis Blues for the last postseason spot in the West.

So, Wednesday night’s game against the Isles is a must-win if Vancouver is to remain alive in the Western Conference playoff race.