CANUCKS GAME PREVIEW | Canucks vs. Blues

On By CanucksBanterIn Canucks Game Preview

by Canucks Communication @Canucks / Vancouver Canucks

CANUCKS VS BLUES PREVIEW

TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: SN650

MATCH-UP INFO

  • Tonight marks the first of three meetings between the Canucks and Blues this season: Jan. 23 (home), Apr. 28 (away), Apr. 30 (home).
  • Vancouver is 4-3-3 in their last 10 games vs St. Louis (3-0-2 in their last 5).
  • The Canucks have a 77-95-18-5 all-time record in 195 games against the Blues. Vancouver holds a 45-42-9-3 record at home against St. Louis.

QUICK NUMBERS

  • Brock Boeser has nine points (6-3-9) in his last 12 games.
  • Bo Horvat has seven points (6-1-7) in his last nine games.
  • J.T. Miller has 11 points (5-8-11) in his last 10 games.
  • Quinn Hughes has 10 points (0-10-10) in his last 11 games.
  • Elias Pettersson has seven points (5-2-7) in his last 12 games.
  • Tanner Pearson has seven points (2-5-7) in his last 10 games.
  • Thatcher Demko has posted a .932 SV% and 2.06 GAA in his last 12 games (9-3-0).

LAST MEETING – JAN. 27/20: VAN 3 vs STL 1

J.T. Miller scored 2 goals including the GWG…Bo Horvat led the Canucks in shots (5) and scored a goal…Jake Virtanen and Chris Tanev both recorded 2 assists…Antoine Roussel played in his 500th career game…Tyler Motte recorded 6 hits…12 Canucks players recorded at least 1 blocked shot for a total of 23 blocked shots…Bo Horvat won 14 face-offs (70%)…Thatcher Demko made 36 saves.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

  • Sheldon Dries, Justin Bailey, and Michael DiPietro (emergency recall) recalled from Taxi Squad, Jan. 21
  • Guillaume Brisebois placed on LTIR, Jan. 21
  • J.T. Miller and Thatcher Demko placed into COVID-19 protocol, Jan. 20
  • Michael DiPietro and Justin Bailey recalled to Taxi Squad, Jan. 20
  • Sheldon Dries recalled to Taxi Squad, Jan. 19
  • Michael DiPietro and Sheldon Rempal assigned to Abbotsford, Jan. 19
  • Bo Horvat placed into COVID-19 protocol, Jan. 18
  • Justin Dowling removed from COVID non-roster status, Jan. 16
  • Conor Garland placed into COVID-19 protocol, Jan. 16
  • Michael DiPietro recalled to Taxi Squad, Jan. 16
  • Jaroslav Halak placed into COVID-19 protocol, Jan. 15

A GRAND OCCASSION

Tonight marks Bruce Boudreau’s 1,000th NHL game coached (577-305-116), having coached 999 career regular season games with Vancouver (15), Minnesota (303), Anaheim (352), and Washington (329). He is poised to become the 29th coach in NHL history and sixth active Head Coach (Trotz, Ruff, D. Sutter, Laviolette, Tippett) to reach the milestone.
On Jan. 1 at SEA, Boudreau (8-0-1) became the third coach in NHL history to begin his tenure with a new team on a nine-game point streak. In December, Boudreau also tied the NHL coaching record for most consecutive wins (7) to start a tenure with a new team.

GOOD COMPANY

Making 31 saves during a 4-2 win on Jan. 16 at WSH, Thatcher Demko (103 GP) required the fourth-fewest games to reach 50 career wins with the Canucks, behind only Roberto Luongo (81 GP), Corey Schneider (88 GP) and Dan Cloutier (102 GP).

DEMKO’S DECEMBER

Making 22 saves in the 2-1 OT win at ANA on Dec. 29, Demko extended his career-best winning streak to six games (later seven games). During the month of December, Demko posted a record of 7-1-0 to go along with a .946 SV% and 1.72 GAA, ranking first in the NHL in saves (243), shots faced (257), and t-1st in wins (7). On Dec. 13, he was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week and on Jan. 1, he was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Month.

HERO HUGHES

  • On Jan. 21 vs FLA, Quinn Hughes collected his 30th assist for the third consecutive season. This is the second fewest games required by a defenceman to reach 30 assists in a season in Canucks franchise history: 33- Paul Reinhart (1989-90) 39- Quinn Hughes (2021-22 via a 1st period helper tonight vs FLA) 40- Reinhart (’88-89) 43- Hughes (’20-21) 45- Doug Lidster (’86-87) 48- Dennis Kearns (1975-76)
  • On Jan. 16 at WSH, Quinn Hughes collected two assists to record his 30th point of the season (2-28-30 37GP). Only two defencemen in Canucks history required fewer games in a season then Quinn Hughes (37) to reach the 30-point mark: Paul Reinhart (28 GP in 1989-90 &30 in 1988-89) and Jeff Brown (31 GP in 1994-95).
  • Hughes also collected his 22nd multi-assist game on Jan. 16, which is the most among all Vancouver players since he entered the NHL in 2018-19.

MAGNIFICENT MILLER

Collecting an assist on Jan. 1 at SEA, J.T. Miller set a career-high nine-game point streak (3-10-13), besting his previous eight-game mark (twice). Miller also ranks t-3rd with Mike Walton for highest points-per-game (0.98) by a player with the Canucks franchise (min. 20 GP), trailing only Pavel Bure (1.12) and Alexander Mogilny (0.99).

RECENT CANUCKS MILESTONES

  • Conor Garland – 200 GP, Jan. 13 at TBL
  • Thatcher Demko – 100 GP, Jan. 11 at FLA
  • Elias Pettersson – 200 GP, Jan. 11 at FLA
  • Brad Hunt – 200 GP, Jan. 11 at FLA
  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson – 800 GP, Jan. 1 at SEA
  • Matthew Highmore – 100 GP, Dec. 30 at ANA

CURRENT INJURIES

  • Guillaume Brisebois – 9 games
  • Travis Hamonic – 13 games
  • Brady Keeper – 40 games
  • Brandon Sutter – 40 games

NHL COVID-19 PROTOCOL

  • J.T. Miller – 1 game
  • Thatcher Demko – 1 game
  • Bo Horvat – 2 games
  • Conor Garland – 3 games
  • Jaroslav Halak – 4 games
  • Ashton Sautner (taxi squad)

Total man games lost (due to injuries or illness): 194 games

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