Canucks Game Preview – CanucksBanter

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

November 16th, 2024

The Vancouver Canucks look to reverse their fortunes from the pathetic effort against the New York Islanders on Thursday night when they welcome Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks to Rogers Arena tonight.

Vancouver

Record: 8-4-3, currently t-4th in the Pacific division.
Recent Trend: The Canucks are coming off a tough 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders, snapping a two-game winning streak.
Strengths: The team has shown offensive firepower, averaging 2.5 goals per game. Quinn Hughes (3-13=16) and J.T. Miller (5-9=14) are leading the offensive charge with Pius Suter with 5 goals; Pettersson and Conor Garland with 4 each; Kiefer Sherwood and Jake DeBrusk with 3 apiece.
Weaknesses: Consistency has been an issue. They’ve struggled at times defensively, giving up an average of 3.1 goals per game.
Player Updates
- Jonathan Lekkerimäki: Scored his first NHL goal in the loss to the Islanders. He’s a promising young player to watch.
- Quinn Hughes: The star defenseman has been on a point streak, with 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in his last six games.
- Tyler Myers: Scored his first goal of the season against the Islanders.
Injuries: Brock Boeser is out with an upper-body injury. Thatcher Demko remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Power Play: Operating at a 20.8% success rate.
Penalty Kill: Struggling somewhat at 79.2%.

Tonight’s Matchup

Chicago Blackhawks (6-10-1, t-7th Central Division)
Key Matchup: Elias Pettersson vs. Connor Bedard – a battle of two dynamic offensive players.
Canucks Focus: Need to tighten up defensively, stymie Blackhawks transition game and limit their odd man rushes and limit Bedard’s scoring and playmaking opportunities.
Besides Bedard, Blackhawks players to watch: Seth Jones, Taylor Hall, Ryan Donato

Team Stats

Goaltending

Kevin Lankinen: Expected to start in net with Demko still out. He has a 3-0-0 record against Chicago in his career.
Lankinen has played in 12 games, is 8-2-2 with a .907 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and 1 shutout.
Slight chance Arturs Silovs could start as the Canucks play Nashville tomorrow and Tocchet my want Lankinen to rest tonight to start that game.
For Chicago, Petr Mrazek is expected to start against Vancouver. Mrazek has been playing well for the Blackhawks this season. He has an 8-1-2 record with a 2.46 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
The Blackhawks have been alternating starts between Mrazek and Alex Stalock. Stalock started the last game, so it’s likely Mrazek’s turn in net.

Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet speaks:

Prediction

No disrespect to the Blackhawks, the Canucks should win this game on a full team effort.

If the team hasn’t been prepared for this game and the players fail to provide the necessary effort to win, I would expect lineup changes and some serious intervention by management with players and coaching staff prior to the Nashville game tomorrow night.

For now, though, let’s wait for tonight’s result before sounding the church bells and taking a stripe off the team coaching staff and players.

Source, nhl.com, statmuse.com

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

November 14, 2024

The Vancouver Canucks are hosting the New York Islanders tonight in game three of their six-game homestand.

Vancouver

The Canucks are currently t-3rd in the Pacific Division with an 8-3-3 record.
They’ve won four of their last five games and seem to be finding their rhythm under head coach Rick Tocchet.
There’s a sense of optimism surrounding the team as they’ve shown improvement in their system play and structure.
The Canucks at Rogers Arena have a 2-2-3 record.
Elias Pettersson is heating up with multi-point efforts in his last two games and five points in his last four (3 goals, 2 assists).
J.T. Miller is also contributing consistently and has 4 points in his last 5 games (1 goal and 3 assists).
Quinn Hughes continues to be a vital part of their defense, contributing offensively and defensively. He has 1 goal and 7 assists in his last 5-games.
Jake DeBrusk (3 goals, 2 assists), Conor Garland (1 goal, 3 assists), Filip Hronek (1 goal, 2 assists), Pius Suter (4 goals) are contributing to a balanced offense.
Goalie Kevin Lankinen is 8-1-2 this season, with a GAA of 2.46 and SV% of .911. At Rogers Arena, he is 2-1-2.
They’ll need to be disciplined against the Islanders and avoid giving their power play any opportunities.
The Canucks need to carry the momentum from their recent wins into this game.
They need to play a full 60-minute game and avoid any lapses in concentration.
Containing Mathew Barzal, the Islanders’ leading scorer, will be crucial.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are currently 5th in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-6-4 record.
They’re averaging 2.5 goals per game, which is middle-of-the-pack in the league.
Mathew Barzal is leading the team in scoring, but they need more consistent production throughout the lineup.
They’re giving up 3.1 goals per game, which is a bit high.
Their penalty kill has been struggling, operating at just 77.8%.
Goaltending:
Ilya Sorokin has been solid with a 4-4-3 record but not quite at his Vezina-caliber best from last season with a 2.66 GAA and .915 SV%.
They need more consistency from their backup goaltender.
They’re in a tough stretch where they play 9 of 11 games on the road.
They’ve struggled in overtime, with a 1-4 record.
The Islanders are 4-3-2 on the road this season.
Goaltending: Ilya Sorokin will likely need to steal a game for them to win in Vancouver.
The Islanders have historically struggled in Vancouver, having not won at Rogers Arena since 2017.

Team Stats

Prediction

Canucks are playing a desperate team in the Islanders that are in the midst of a long stretch of road games and need wins to stay competitive in their Division.

Vancouver is getting into season form and making some good things happen after a mixed start to their season.

Both teams will be looking to put in 60 minute games with their key players stepping up and the rest of the their lineups matching the intensity of the teams leaders in supporting roles.

The game isn’t over until that final buzzer sounds and the winner has been settled.

Go Canucks Go.