Hours after sharing assistant-coaching duties for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Boston, Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet and Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy will find themselves behind opposite benches again when their teams meet on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Tocchet and Cassidy, members of Jon Cooper’s staff, celebrated into the wee hours of Friday morning in the locker room at TD Garden after Canada’s dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the United States in the final. Both then had to make the long cross-country flight to Las Vegas on Friday to rejoin their teams for the start of post-midseason-break action.
“Reality kicks in in six hours,” Cassidy said with a smile. “We’ll start preparing for the Canucks.”
Both teams entered the break on hot streaks. Vegas, tied with the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division with 72 points, had won back-to-back games at New Jersey (3-1) and at Boston (4-3). Vancouver, fourth in the Pacific with 63 points, had won three straight and was in the midst of a 6-1-1 run over its past eight games.
“We ended off on a positive note,” Canucks center Teddy Blueger said. “That last week we played some good hockey and got some results finally. A little bit of positive momentum. Hopefully we can take that into this weekend.”
Saturday is the start of a five-game road trip for Vancouver, a trek that begins with a back-to-back against the Golden Knights and Utah and also includes another back-to-back at Los Angeles and Anaheim. The Canucks trail the third-place Kings by two points in the Pacific standings.
“I think we’re right there in the fight, giving ourselves a good chance to compete going down the stretch,” Blueger said. “We’ve shown the last week or two that we can play really good hockey and can kind of compete with anyone and beat anyone.”
Vancouver is hoping to get reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes back on Saturday. Hughes returned to practice earlier in the week after being sidelined for four games with an oblique injury but wasn’t cleared to join Team USA for possible game action.
“We need a healthy Hughes if we’re going to go anywhere,” Tocchet said.
Vegas had five players in Boston on Thursday for 4-Nations finale. Forward Mark Stone, goalie Adin Hill and defenseman Shea Theodore were part of Team, while center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin played for the United States.
Theodore missed the final three games of the tournament with what was reported by ESPN to be a broken right wrist sustained on a check into the boards by Sweden’s Adrian Kempe in Canada’s opening 4-3 overtime victory. There is a possibility that Theodore, fourth among NHL defensemen with 48 points (seven goals, 41 assists), could miss the remainder of the regular season.
Cassidy’s biggest challenge could be getting Eichel and Hanifin to bounce back mentally from the heartbreaking loss on Thursday.
“Listen, they’re disappointed over there,” Cassidy said. “I get it, but (Eichel) should have a lot of positives from this tournament. Hanifin, too, played very well against us. Hopefully they take that and apply it as we move forward here.
“I feel good about our team, and hopefully they feel good about themselves, and hopefully we pick up where we left off.”
Vegas, which is a sparkling 19-6-3 at T-Mobile Arena this season, plays six of its next seven games at home with the lone road contest at Los Angeles on Monday.
–Field Level Media
