Rick Tocchet gives his opinion on Canucks' depth scoring springing into action in win over Isles 

The Vancouver Canucks won 5-2 against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

Kiefer Sherwood scored two goals and had an assist, while Drew O’Connor and Pius Suter each scored two assists. Thatcher Demko made 26 saves on the night in his second game after recovering from a lower-body injury.

The Canucks have now won two games in a row. They are three points behind the St. Louis Blues for the last Western Conference Wild Card spot, and Vancouver has one game in hand.

The game was close early, with both teams trading goals. Sherwood scored first in the second period, deflecting a Quinn Hughes point shot past Ilya Sorokin. The Islanders answered with a shorthanded goal from Casey Cizikas and a rebound goal from Tony DeAngelo. This gave them a 2-1 lead. Aatu Raty tied it with a redirection against his former team. Derek Forbort then put Vancouver ahead 3-2 just before the second intermission.

The Canucks took control in the third period. Teddy Blueger scored early, forcing the Islanders to change goalies. Marcus Hogberg replaced Sorokin, but Vancouver kept pushing. Sherwood sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

After the game, head coach Rick Tocchet stressed the importance of depth scoring. He said it is crucial for the team at this time of year. He pointed out that goals from players like Raty show the team’s ability to score in different ways.

"Yeah, a couple of nice shot-pass goals, which is nice to see — a different way of scoring. Depth scoring helps, right? Sure, as you're getting a couple, like I said, Fauci. So yeah, at this time of year, especially with our team right now, we need depth scoring, and we need everybody to contribute," Tocchet said.

Rick Tocchet credited goalie coach for Jonathan Lekkerimaki's shootout winner in Canucks' win over Devils

The Vancouver Canucks won 4-3 in a shootout against the New Jersey Devils on Monday at Prudential Center.

Conor Garland tied the game with 36 seconds left in the third period after a scramble near the net. Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout. Thatcher Demko, playing for the first time since Feb. 8, made 22 saves after missing 15 games.

Coach Rick Tocchet said the decision to use Lekkerimaki in the shootout came from goalie coach Marko Torenius.

"It was a gut feeling [by goalie coach Marko Torenius] to have Lekkerimaki go in the shootout. That wasn't me," Tocchet said via NHL.com. "Marko radioed [assistant coach Yogi Svejkovski], ‘Let's go with Lekkerimaki,’ so, obviously, a great choice."

The Vancouver Canucks will be in action when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets next at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday.