Getty J.T. Miller played a prank on his teammates at practice.
Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller played a prank on his team during practice ahead of the team’s Game 6 against the Nashville Predators on May 3.
Vancouver had a chance to close out the series against the Predators on April 30, but Nashville edged out a 3-2 win at home. With the Canucks now having to go back on the road, Miller, who has been in the NHL since the 2012-13 NHL season, decided to play a prank on his teammates.
Instead of wearing his usual practice jersey, Miller wore Arturs Silovs’ dress shirt. It was a pink dress shirt, and it helped loosen the team up, head coach Rick Tocchet said.
So JT Miller took to the ice wearing Artur Silov’s dress shirt. It’s a peach/salmon paisley type of thing. Silovs was a little surprised to see it being used as a practice jersey. #canucks
“Loosened the guys up,” Tocchet said, via NHL.com. “I think that’s a big thing, because it’s high pressure. This high pressure and you have to stay loose. Even on the bench, you got to make sure that you stay loose because last thing you need is a tight bench.”
Miller said the shirt was terrible and he hopes by wearing it over his shoulder pads, Silovs won’t be able to wear it again.
“It’s a terrible shirt and it fit perfectly over my shoulder pads. And you just hope he never wears it again. Obviously, if I’ve got a chance to crack at a young guy, that was a good opportunity. But it gave the guys a laugh,” Miller said to the media, via Sportsnet.
Game 6 is set for 7 p.m. Eastern time on May 3 as the Canucks are in Nashville to play the Predators.
Canucks Quiet on Starting Goalie for Game 6
Vancouver has played three goalies in their first-round series against Nashville as Thatcher Demko is out for the series. Backup goalie Casey DeSmith then got hurt leaving Silovs to come in and start Games 4 and 5.
Ahead of Game 6, DeSmith has been practicing and could be ready to return to the crease, but Tocchet says he won’t reveal his team’s starting goalie.
“Health-wise, what’s the percentage? Practice, how many times he has practiced is a big thing? Are you tentative or not on a post-to-post save? Things like that come into play. Casey is one of the best guys you’ll ever coach, unreal guy in the room. But, you know, I make my decision on the crest. It’s a team thing,” Tocchett said to the media on May 2.
Before getting hurt, DeSmith had a 2.02 goals against average and a .911 save percentage in the first round of the playoffs before getting hurt.
Canucks ‘Comfortable’ on the Road
Vancouver will look to close out their first-round series on May 3 on the road in Nashville.
The Canucks had a chance to close out the series at home in Game 5 on April 30 but lost 2-1. Although Vancouver is going back on the road, Tocchet feels his team plays well away from home.
“We’ve been a pretty good road team all year, so I think we’re comfortable playing outside of our building. Sometimes we play actually better on the road. This is a tough building. We know there was a couple of games there maybe we didn’t deserve, just like we thought Game 5 we deserved. It’s one of those series that it doesn’t really matter. It’s who wins the game,” Tocchet said.
If Vancouver can’t close out the series on May 3, Game 7 will take place on May 5.