Tocchet talks lineup changes, hints at Hoglander being scratched

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Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet admits he’s contemplating line changes for Sunday’s Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers — and winger Nils Hoglander is a candidate to move to the press box.

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Hoglander, 23, was one among the plethora of feel-good stories with the Canucks during the regular season, a 24-goal scorer after going to the AHL last year to remake his game. He got into 80 regular season games with Vancouver this time around.

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Hoglander has one assist and just four shots through eight playoffs games. He’s usually playing on a line with Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev.

Hoglander saw 10 minutes, 20 seconds of ice time in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers at Rogers Arena that evened the best-of-seven second round set at 1-1.

“I think, for me, we need more from Hogie. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with him right now, if we’re going to make some lineup changes,” Tocchet said Saturday. “I didn’t like his game yesterday. We have to figure out a few things here.”

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Tocchet also said of the Oilers: “We respect this team. They’re great players. I think we respect them too much. We’re coming off our checks. We were stick checking too much last night. That was the disappointing thing for me. We lose in overtime. It’s 1-1 in the series. We’re second round. How many playoff games have we played — eight? You have to make sure it’s sustainable. We need some players to dig for us. You have to dig in if you want to win.”

Tocchet said there are a “bunch of guys,” who could go into the lineup. He mentioned Nils Aman, 24, and Linus Karlsson, 24, specifically. 

Karlsson was a part of the 13-player contingent called up by Vancouver from the AHL Abbotsford Canucks on Friday after they were ousted from their playoffs last week.  Karlsson played four games with Vancouver this season and 60 with Abbotsford, where he put up 23 goals and 60 points. 

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Aman played 43 games with Vancouver, producing three goals and seven points. He hasn’t played a game since the regular season final in Winnipeg on April 18.

“We’ll talk to the coaches tonight,” Tocchet reiterated.

Tocchet said that defenceman Noah Juulsen, 27, was also a candidate to come into the lineup. Asked if it would be to replace Ian Cole, who’s struggled in this series, and Tocchet balked. 

“Cole has had a couple of tough games in a sense, but he’s such a big part. He’s played a lot of playoff games,” said Tocchet. “When you’ve played a lot of playoff games, there are going to be some times it doesn’t go your way. He’s a warrior. He always bounces back.”

Rearguard Tyler Myers, 34, left Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury, although he wound up playing 19 minutes, 58 seconds. He could be a candidate to sit out if he’s not healthy.

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Juulsen suited up for 54 games with the Canucks, and notched one goal and seven points.

Tocchet also said that he thought goaltender Arturs Silovs “played really well,” so he may get the call again Sunday.

SEwen@postmedia.com

Read more of our Canucks vs Oilers Round 2 playoff coverage:

• Canucks vs. Oilers: Rick Tocchet says he saw spots to attack in Edmonton penalty kill in Game 1

• Revisiting the Canuckmobile — a Neverland moment, a fantasy lived

• Vancouver vs. Edmonton: Here are 8 things each city is ‘winning’

• Canucks vs. Oilers: Arturs Silovs or Casey DeSmith, who’s your goalie for Game 2?

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• Canucks vs. Oilers: Kindergarten class in Carson Soucy’s Alberta hometown is divided on series

• Canucks viewing parties: Here’s where to watch the Canucks vs. Oilers Round 2 playoffs

• 5 crucial questions facing the Canucks in Round 2

• Could Thatcher Demko really play vs. the Oilers?

• Canucks vs. Oilers: All a bloodless rivalry needs is a playoff series

• ESPN seems to hate Vancouver

• Canucks this week, playoff edition: Underdogs against the Oilers — just the way we like it

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