Cale Makar – CanucksBanter

Graphic featuring the logos of the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, with crossed hockey sticks and a puck on an ice rink.

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

November 09, 2025

The Colorado Avalanche are set to visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena tonight, Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 07:00 PM PST.

This is a matchup of two teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, which could impact the energy levels.

This contest pits an elite, high-momentum offensive engine against a structurally compromised defensive unit.

The Colorado Avalanche enter this contest holding decisive advantages in, roster depth, special teams execution, and the crucial goaltending matchup.

The Avalanche are expected to control the pace of the game, utilizing their depth and their power-play opportunities against the Canucks’ struggling penalty kill.

The Colorado Avalanche (9-1-5, 23 points) enters this matchup demonstrating systemic dominance, holding the league’s best record and the highest overall competitive ranking. Conversely, the Vancouver Canucks (8-8-0, 16 points) are grappling with pronounced defensive vulnerabilities and a critical goaltending crisis, compounded by the back-to-back (B2B) schedule for both clubs.

Team	Record	Recent (Last Game)	Key Players	Goaltending Situation
Colorado Avalanche	9-1-5 (23 Pts, NHL Best)	W 9-1 vs. Edmonton Oilers (on Saturday)	Nathan MacKinnon (League-leading points/goals), Cale Makar	Mackenzie Blackwood is the expected starter (second straight back-to-back start).
Vancouver Canucks	8-8-0 (16 Pts)	W 4-3 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (on Saturday)	Evander Kane, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes	Jiri Patera is the unconfirmed but likely starter as Thatcher Demko is getting maintenance rest.

Key Storylines

Avalanche Offensive Juggernaut: Colorado is coming off a massive 9-1 win and leads the league in points. The offense is firing on all cylinders, led by Nathan MacKinnon (on an 8-game point streak) and Cale Makar. They’re a high-scoring team (2nd in Goals For/Game) with top-tier defense (1st in Goals Against/Game) and penalty kill (4th).
Canucks’ Tough Task: Vancouver managed a much-needed win last night against Columbus but now faces arguably the toughest team in the league. They will need to bring their “A-game” to stop the Avalanche’s powerful offense, which is a major challenge, especially with a likely backup goalie starting.
Goaltending Edge: The Canucks are managing the workload of star goalie Thatcher Demko (who is not expected to play), likely giving the nod to either Kevin Lankinen or the recalled Jiri Patera. The Avalanche are also playing their backup, Mackenzie Blackwood, due to the back-to-back situation.
- Thatcher Demko, who previously engineered a 3-0 shutout against the Avalanche last season , will not be available.
- Demko is being held out of the lineup due to “preventative maintenance” or an undisclosed injury, having only participated in skating drills on Saturday morning but not dressing for the game.
- His absence entirely nullifies Vancouver’s single most important advantage—the capacity for a goaltender to single-handedly steal a game against superior competition.

Injury Notes

Avalanche: Key players out include Samuel Girard (upper body, day-to-day) and Joel Kiviranta (lower body, indefinitely). Logan O’Connor (hip) is nearing a return.
Canucks: Vancouver’s depth has been significantly compromised by multiple injuries affecting their middle-six forward core and defense.
- Key players currently out include Nils Höglander (Long-Term Injured Reserve due to an ankle injury sustained in the preseason), Filip Chytil (Injured Reserve due to concussion protocol), Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Injured Reserve, upper body), and Teddy Blueger (Injured Reserve, lower body).
- The absence of these players strains the team’s ability to maintain pace against high-tempo opponents and necessitates greater reliance on the top lines.

Avalanche Strengths and Key Players

The Avalanche have only one regulation loss this season and average nearly four goals per game (3.93). Cale Makar continues his hot streak with points in nine consecutive games, and Colorado’s depth has shown with multiple players contributing offensively in recent wins. Their defense is equally impressive, ranking at the top of the league, allowing just 2.40 goals per game, and holding the best penalty kill percentage at 90.5%.

Canucks Trends and Standouts

The Canucks, meanwhile, swept the season series against Colorado last year but have struggled recently, conceding four or more goals in three of their last four matches. Their penalty kill and defensive play have been among the weakest in the NHL—ranking 29th on the penalty kill and 25th in goals allowed per game. Conor Garland leads Vancouver in scoring this season with 12 points, followed by Elias Pettersson and Kiefer Sherwood.

Some Thoughts

The back-to-back games marginally relieve the certainty of a high-scoring game but does little to change Colorado’s fundamental competitive advantage.

The special teams matchup represents the most significant tactical vulnerability for the Vancouver Canucks in this contest. Vancouver’s Penalty Kill (PK%) is struggling severely, running at a highly concerning 69.81%. Vancouver’s Power Play (PP%) of 18.00% is statistically unacceptable for an NHL team hoping to make the 2026 NHL playoffs.

Team statistics comparison between the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks for the regular NHL season, showing key metrics such as power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, face-off percentage, goals for per game, and goals against per game.

Despite strong performances from the core forwards, the depth makes offensive production difficult. The projected lines for Vancouver feature notable movement, particularly in the top six, but the multiple injuries affecting their middle-six forward core have limited the Canucks ability to compete.

It is, what it is.

Vancouver played an outstanding game last night, considering the “cards they’ve been dealt”, and they hung on for an outstanding win to please the home crowd and the Canucks fan base.

With all the adversity the Canucks are facing on paper, let’s hope for a similar game against the Avalanche tonight and put our collective energies behind them to urge them on.

The game hasn’t been written yet, may the Canucks provide another glorious ending!

Until next time, hockey fans

Source: nhl.com

NEW YORK (May 1, 2024) – Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche are the three finalists for the 2023-24 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Norris Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Following are the finalists, in alphabetical order:

Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Hughes, in his first season as Vancouver’s captain, paced defensemen with 75 assists and 92 points (17-75—92 in 82 GP) – both figures franchise records for a blueliner, ahead of the marks he established in 2022‑23 (7-69—76 in 78 GP) – to guide the Canucks to their first playoff berth since 2019‑20 and first division title since 2012-13. Hughes also ranked among the leading defensemen in power-play assists (1st; 33), power-play points (2nd; 38), plus/minus (4th; +38), goals (t-6th; 17), total time on ice (7th; 2,024:10), shots on goal (9th; 199) and power-play goals (t-9th; 5). He became the eighth-fastest blueliner in NHL history to accumulate 300 career points, doing so in his 331st contest (Jan. 24 vs. STL). Hughes also became the third defenseman in League history – after Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr – to register at least 200 assists over a three-season span, reaching the total April 8 vs. VGK. The 24-year-old Orlando, Fla., native is the first player in Vancouver’s 53-year history who has been voted as a finalist for the Norris Trophy and is seeking to become the fourth U.S.-born player to win the award, following Chris Chelios (3x, last 1995-96), Brian Leetch (2x, last 1996-97) and Adam Fox (2020-21).

Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Josi led defensemen in goals (23), power-play goals (9) and shots on goal (268) across 82 games (23-62—85) to propel the Predators to their 10th playoff berth in his 13 seasons with the team. His 23 goals equaled a career high, set in 2021-22 (23-73—96 in 80 GP), and marked the most by a blueliner at age 33 or older in NHL history. Josi also finished among the top 2023-24 defensemen in game-winning goals (t-2nd; 5), points (3rd; 85), power-play points (t-4th; 33), assists (5th; 62), power-play assists (7th; 24) and total time on ice (8th; 2,019:45). After a 9-10-0 start to the season, he led all blueliners in goals (20), assists (53) and points (73) as Nashville went 38-20-5 in its final 63 contests (Nov. 26 – April 15), highlighted by a franchise-record 18-game point streak (Feb. 17 – March 26) during which Josi accumulated 8-16—24 and a +22 rating – both tops among defensemen in that span. Josi is a Norris Trophy finalist for the third time, after winning the award in 2019-20 and placing second in voting in 2021‑22. At age 33, he is the oldest finalist for the trophy since Mark Giordano (age 35 w/ CGY) and Brent Burns (age 34 w/ SJS) in 2018-19, with Giordano taking home the award that season and Burns finishing second.

Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche

Makar topped defensemen with 1.17 points per game (21-69—90 in 77 GP) – the third-highest average by a blueliner over the past 30 seasons (minimum: 50 GP) – to power the Avalanche to their seventh consecutive playoff berth. Makar, who set single-season franchise records for assists and points by a defenseman, ranked second among 2023-24 blueliners in goals (21), assists (69) and points (90). He also finished among the leading defensemen in power-play points (1st; 39), shorthanded points (t-1st; 4), power-play assists (2nd; 32), shots on goal (3rd; 231), takeaways (3rd; 70), power-play goals (t-3rd; 7) and average time on ice (9th; 24:46). The 25-year-old Makar registered his 300th point in his 280th contest (Jan. 20 at PHI) to become the second-fastest blueliner in League history to reach the milestone, one game shy of Bobby Orr (279 GP). Makar is a Norris Trophy finalist for the fourth time in his first five NHL seasons, after winning the award in 2021-22, finishing second in 2020-21 and placing third in 2022‑23. Only three other players have been voted as a Norris Trophy finalist at least four times within their first five seasons – Orr(5x), Brad Park (4x) and Denis Potvin (4x) – and just two of them have multiple wins within that span – Orr (4x) and Potvin (2x).

History

The James Norris Memorial Trophy was presented in 1953 by the four children of the late James Norris in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings.

Announcement Schedule

The series of NHL Trophy finalist announcements continues Thursday, May 2, when the three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy will be unveiled.

Source: nhl.com