The Vancouver Canucks take on the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center tonight in the last game of a 4-game road trip.
Last Games
The Canucks are coming off a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on October 19th, while the Blackhawks lost 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabres the same night.
Current Records
Vancouver is currently in 5th place in the Pacific Division with a 2-1-2 record, while Chicago is in 6th place in the Central Division with a 2-3-1 record.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Canucks have won four of their last five games against the Blackhawks, dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Source: nhl.com
Canucks Notes
Vancouver is looking for their third straight win to finish off their Eastern road swing.
The Canucks are led by Brock Boeser, who has 3 goals and 2 assists in 5-games games this season.
Vancouver also has a strong goaltending tandem in Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs, with goalie Thatcher Demko still out indefinitely on LTIR.
Lankinen is 2-0-1 with a shutout; he has stopped 81 of 85 shots, allowed 2 even strength goals, and 2 power play goals. Has a 1.28 GAA and .953 save percentage.
Blackhawks Notes
The Blackhawks will be looking to bounce back from their loss to the Sabres.
They are led by Connor Bedard, who has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 5-games this season. Chicago also has a solid goaltender in Petr Mrazek.
Source: nhl.com
Final Thoughts
This game should be a close one, with one team looking to extend a winning streak and the other trying to start one.
The Canucks have the edge in talent, but the Blackhawks are playing at home.
The Chicago Blackhawks (25-46-6), 8th in the Central Division) take on the Vancouver Canucks (34-36-7), 6th in the Pacific Division) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia at 7 pm PDT tonight.
Home Not So Sweet Home
Vancouver continues their final home games of the season today with a visit from the Blackhawks.
The Canucks have lost the first three of 5-games (0-2-1) of their final homestand of the season: Calgary 5-4 OT, LA 4-1, Seattle 5-2.
Vancouver completes its home schedule for the season against Calgary, April 8.
Upcoming
The last road trip of the season begins April 10 against the Kings, continuing April 11 in Anaheim, and finally, April 13 in Arizona.
Last Game
Chicago visits the Canucks after Andreas Athanasiou’s two goals against the Calgary Flames in the Blackhawks’ 4-3 win on Tuesday in Alberta.
Recap: Chicago swept the season series against Calgary with a 4-3 win over the Flames on Tuesday night … Andreas Athanasiou recorded his second multi-goal effort of the season and has goals in three straight (4G, 1A) … Lukas Reichel notched two assists, giving him points in three straight (1G, 3A) … Jonathan Toews has assists (2A) in consecutive games since returning from injury … Jujhar Khaira scored his fifth goal of the season … Austin Wagner scored the game winner and his first goal of the season and first point as a Blackhawk … Petr Mrazek made 33 saves on 36 shots.
The same night, Vancouver lost its 4th consecutive game (0-2-2) against the Seattle Kraken 5-2.
Recap: Elias Pettersson opened the scoring 4:31 into the game with his 37th of the season…Andrei Kuzmenko and Dakota Joshua picked up the assists…Anthony Beauvillier scored just past the 13 minute mark of the period to extend the lead to 2-0…Conor Garland and Nils Åman recorded the assists…Brock Boeser led the team with five shots on goal…Jack Studnicka and Philip Di Giuseppe each had six hits…Kyle Burroughs had four blocked shots…Collin Delia made 23 saves.
On Record
Vancouver is 34-36-7 overall with a 14-8-1 record against the Pacific Division. The Canucks have a 27-6-4 record when scoring 4+ goals; 7-30-3 record when scoring 3 goals or less. Vancouver has a -28 scoring differential, with 257 total goals scored and 285 given up.
Chicago is 25-46-8 overall with a 9-11-2 record against the Pacific Division. The Blackhawks have a -90 scoring differential, with 188 total goals scored and 278 given up. They have an 8-37-2 record when opponents scores first.
LAST 5 vs CHICAGO
Mar. 26/23: VAN 4 @ CHI 2
Jan. 24/23: VAN 5 vs CHI 2
Jan. 31/22: VAN 3 at CHI 1
Nov. 21/21: VAN 0 vs CHI 1
Oct. 21/21: VAN 4 at CHI 1
LAST 10 GAMES
Canucks: 5-3-2, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
Blackhawks: 2-8-0, averaging 1.9 goals, 2.8 assists, 2.5 penalties and 6.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
Blackhawks – Canucks NHL Stats Comparison
Source: nhl.com
Notable Individual Canuck Stats
Elias Pettersson has 21 points (9-12-21) in his last 16 games and is three points away from breaking 100 this season.
J.T. Miller has 20 points (8-12-20) in his last 14 games.
Andrei Kuzmenko has 16 points (9-7-16) in his last 15 games.
Quinn Hughes has 12 points (2-10-12) in his last 10 games.
Brock Boeser has seven points (4-3-7) in his last six games.
The Canucks are 16-11-4 since Rick Tocchet took over as Head Coach on January 22.
Quinn Hughes has the best +/- ratio on the defense with +14 including 31 assists on the power play. He leads Vancouver in ice time with an average of 25:38 minutes per game.
Goalie Thatcher Demko is 2-1-2 in his last 5 games, sporting an .879 SV% (save percentage) and 3.41 GAA (goals against average).
Who Wins?
Vancouver has a better record on the road as opposed to at home, and Chicago will be looking to keep their momentum going after their victory against Calgary.
The Blackhawks are letting their younger players earn more reps, and they will want to prove themselves by playing as hard as they can.
Meanwhile, Vancouver has lost their last four games in a row and have no reason to play as hard as Chicago now that their playoff chances are squashed.
Vancouver is dealing with more injuries, and their goaltending situation is a mess. The Canucks are 1-4 in their last five home games and 1-6 in their last seven following a loss of 3 or more goals.
