Canucks vs. Capitals Game Day: The prayer to ‘make a play’ must own the day

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Vancouver Canucks vs. Washington Capitals

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When/where: Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., Capital One Arena

TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650

The buzz: Choose for yourself if you want to be picky. And so did Rick Tocchet on Tuesday.

Whether it was giving up the first goal again Monday in an upset 5-4 overtime loss at Montreal, blowing another lead in the process and falling to just 4-9 in the extra session, the school was back in session at practice.

Drilling down on everything that has ailed the Canucks — especially not playing at the right time to beat the pressure with the pressure — has tested Tocchet’s patience as his injury-plagued club clings to the second wild-card playoff position.

Expectations may be clouded by emotion, but the bench manager doesn’t really buy it. Rebounding from 3-3-4 slides should be the focus, not emotion.

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“You don’t want people to be down, but you also have to have your chest up and your chin up and face the music,” Tocchet emphasized. “There is pressure everywhere, and you cannot hide from it.

“There are things that are just not good enough, and you have to face it and deal with it as a coach. You present the facts and hold people accountable.”

It could get to another level tonight if center Elias Pettersson, who participated in an optional game-day skate Wednesday morning, returns to the lineup tonight after missing five games with an upper-body injury.

“I want to talk to him and at this point that’s how he feels,” Tocchet said. “You get the doctors’ (input), but it’s up to the player. That’s where we are.”

And aside from all the things troubling the Canucks right now, it wasn’t all bad on Monday.

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JT Miller had four points (2-2), six hits and two blocked shots. Quinn Hughes returned after missing four games with a broken left hand to control the game, collect two assists and log 26:15. And the explosive Kiefer Sherwood added 10 hits to push his league-leading total to an eye-popping 230.

“Huggy gave us everything he’s got and he’s making a difference, even though he’s a little overdue right now,” Tocchet said. “(Tyler) Myers gave us a good game and JT had a really good game. There are positive things in that way. But as a team we have to get better.”

It doesn’t get any easier on this defining five-game road trip.

The Capitals lead the Metropolitan Division with the top-ranked offense, seven players in double figures and Alex Ovechkin in pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing record of 894 career goals.

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Ovechkin, 23 goals shy of eclipsing that mark, has four goals in six games since returning from a fractured left fibula and has 19 goals in 23 games this season.

“You might be able to shut him down for a while, but then he drives your defense or beats somebody and does something other than score,” Tocchet warned.

After Wednesday, the Canucks face Carolina on Friday, Toronto on Saturday and Winnipeg on Tuesday. That’s a dime to run, even with an 11-4-3 record.

“There is a lot of urgency, but you have to play the game calmly in your head,” added Tocchet. “You don’t want people to be nervous out there and pinching the stick. But there are things you have to attend to. We didn’t go through a lot of people last night (Monday).

“I’m not going to highlight, but there’s a group of guys that need to play better in that area. We give up too much time and space.”

The latest: Filip Hronek could soon return from a shoulder ailment and an undisclosed lower-body injury requiring minor surgery that has sidelined the No. 1 defenseman for 19 games. He has been assigned to the AHL affiliate in Abbotsford for conditioning, an encouraging sign that he is on track to reunite with Quinn Hughes to form a formidable force.

Hronek hurt his shoulder in an awkward fall into the boards on Nov. 27 in Pittsburgh.

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The story: First meeting of the season. In 2023-24, the Canucks went 1-1-0. On February 11 in Washington, Miller got the overtime winner in a 3-2 decision, with Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander also scoring. On 16 March at at home, they fell 2–1 when Ovechkin got the second-period winner.

The hope: Jake DeBrusk continues his mojo on the road. The lefty leads the Canucks with 17 goals, a dozen of which have come away from Rogers Arena, including the equalizer to force overtime Monday.

The fear: Killing momentum. Nils Hoglander took an unnecessary interference minor with 35.7 seconds left in regulation against the Canadiens, and they struck 48 seconds into overtime. Hoglander has taken a team-high 12 minor penalties this season.

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The top weapons: Hughes has 20 points (2-18) in his last 13 games and is tied for third in the league in scoring defense with 44 points (8-36).

The injured: Canucks: Dakota Joshua (leg, week-to-week, IR), Filip Hronek (lower body, week-to-week, IR), Thatcher Demko (back spasms, day-to-day), Elias Pettersson (upper body, day-to-day). Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom (hip, IR), TJ Oshie (back, IR), Sonny Milano (upper body, IR).

The quote: “Offensively, in a 1-on-1 situation with a guy on your back, you have to hold the puck and make a play. You can’t just throw pucks away. It’s not the fault. It’s making one, and then there’s another mistake.” —Rick Tocchet

The expected lineup:

Lekkerimaki-Miller-Boeser

DeBrusk-Suter-Garland

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Di Gisuseppe-Blueger-Sherwood

Hoglander-Sasson-Heinen

Hughes-Myers

Soucy-Juulsen

*Forbort-Desharnais

The Lankin

(*Decision on playing time after taking a blow to the leg on Monday. Guillaume Brisebois, Erik Brannstrom are possibilities.)

The prediction: The Canucks go back to last February in Washington and find another way to pull off a close win. They win 3-2 and strike on the power play.

(FAN FORUM: Have a specific question for a player? Pass it on to @provinssport and we’ll get it in a future edition.)

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