Vancouver Canucks fans will be celebrating and remembering the Game 1 come-from-behind victory over the Edmonton Oilers for years to come. The team was down 4-1 but lived up to one of the nicknames that described it all year, "resilient" during the comeback.
The Canucks have shown their collective character over and over again this year. They never get too high or too low regardless of the score. They quickly erase the good and bad moments from their collective memories and keep plugging away. That has fueled them all year long.
While the rest of us are still elated about Game 1, it is safe to say the Canucks have moved on to preparing for Game 2 on Friday night.
Coach Rick Tocchet's post game words personified this team's personality
Tocchet told his team to stick with it when they were down 4-1 because he felt they were playing well, and he knows anything can happen in games like this.
He also credits Nikita Zadorov for his presence on and off the ice. Zadorov has a way of lifting the mood on the bench and in the locker room keeping the team loose.
Tocchet applauded the total team effort in Game 1. As he phrased it, there were no "passengers" on Thursday night. Everybody played a role in the win, in one way or another.
But what's done is done, and Tocchet is the first to admit that every game has a different "personality" so the team should not be hung up on their Game 1 accomplishment for too long. For sure, it serves as a confidence-builder. However, in a best-of-seven-game series, there is a lot of hockey yet to be played, and the Edmonton Oilers will come back in Game 2 even tougher and more determined so the Canucks need to be prepared.