-
Follow Us
On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
The Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers are all tied up in their series after the Oilers won game four on Tuesday night. The Canucks came into the game with a chance to take a 3-1 series lead and be in complete control, but the Oilers had other plans. Both teams are going back and forth as neither has won two in a row in the series, and now that it’s tied up after four, it now comes down to a best of three. This series is going to have an exciting finish.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet wasn’t too happy with his team’s performance in game four. They are still in fine shape as they have home home-ice advantage for the rest of the series and it’s not like they’re down. Still, it sounds like he wants more of a sense of urgency out of his group.
“I’m not sure if they know it is the playoffs,” Rick Tocchet said after the game, according to a tweet from Thomas Drance.
Tocchet has confidence in his group, but he knows that some guys are going to need to step up if they are going to get out of this series. It’s do or die time.
“We’ve been a resilient group all year,” Tocchet said, according to an article from ESPN. “But we need five or six guys to get going here. I mean, it’s the Stanley Cup playoffs. Some guys, I don’t know if they thought it was the playoffs. We can’t play with 12 guys. We’ve got to figure it out quick.”
Calvin Pickard stepped up for the Oilers
Calvin Pickard made his first start in the playoffs in goal for the Oilers on Tuesday night against the Canucks, and he played a great game. He made 19 saves and he let just two goals in. The Oilers ended up winning the game 3-2, and Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch was very pleased with how Pickard played.
“(Pickard) looked like a guy who had played 100 playoff games,” Kris Knoblauch said. “Composed, really solid, seeing the puck really well.”
Calvin Pickard obviously doesn’t play all the time as this was his first start in the playoffs, but that didn’t matter. Knoblauch has been impressed with how he can come in and play well despite not playing for awhile.
“Continually, his starts have been solid, no matter how long he sat, a week, two weeks,” Knoblauch added. “We have a lot of confidence in him and he came up big tonight.”
Any game in the playoffs is a big one, but there was certainly some pressure on Pickard and the Oilers on Tuesday night. They couldn’t let the Canucks take a 3-1 series lead, and Pickard knew that he had to have his A-game. He felt good from the beginning of the contest.
“I was trying to channel my emotions as much as I could,” Pickard said. “Obviously it’s tough, it’s a high-stakes game. Obviously it’s a huge game for us. But I felt comfortable right from the get go.”
Now, the series is shifting back to Vancouver as the Canucks will be at home for game five. With the series tied at two, game five is a huge one as both teams want that third win to put their opponent in an elimination situation.
Game five will get going at 10:00 ET from Vancouver on Thursday night, and the game will be airing on TNT.
More must-reads:
- Golden Knights, key winger have mutual interest but face financial crunch
- Oilers beat Stars to take 3-2 lead in WCF
- The 'MLB stolen base leaders' quiz
Breaking News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
