Rick Tocchet knows that an 8-1 victory in the season opener doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
The Vancouver Canucks head coach tried to keep his players grounded after they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in decisive fashion Wednesday night.
"Listen, it's one game," Tocchet told reporters postgame, according to Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "Obviously, everything went in our favor, and I'm proud of the guys. But this is a long haul. I said, 'We're not ordering rings around here.' It's one game. We can feel good about it, but we've got to come back to Earth tomorrow.”
Brock Boeser scored four goals in the rout, which ran in stark contrast to Vancouver's home opener a year ago when the club was booed off the ice after a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
"We've come a long way (from last year)," Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said. "Saying that, we know there's a lot more to go. But we're in a good place. Just given what's gone on since the start of September, coming into camp and the way guys were preparing, it was nice to have (the) game go the way it did. We need to make sure we keep striving for a higher level."
J.T. Miller also harkened back to the previous home opener, during which Canucks fans littered the ice with jerseys and after which Miller himself said, "If they want to throw their shit on the ice, that's up to them."
"I think we know we need to enjoy (the game) and then move on," he said after Vancouver's blowout win. "It's nice to get off on the right foot after what happened last year, especially."
Canucks forward Conor Garland - who opened the scoring just over eight minutes into Wednesday's victory - acknowledged he had a little extra motivation after the team reportedly gave him permission to seek a trade Tuesday.
"There were some unfortunate distractions," he said. "But I definitely knew I had to have a good game with it all going on, so I was happy."
The Oilers won't have to wait long to try to get revenge, as the Pacific Division rivals will meet again in Edmonton on Saturday.
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