Vancouver Canucks (29-33-5), 6th in the Pacific Division) vs Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9), 2nd in the Pacific Division).
Los Angeles, California; Saturday, 7 p.m. PDT
Vancouver continues a three game road trip in Los Angeles tonight, concluding tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks.
Canucks Last Game
Canucks had their five-game winning streak snapped against the Arizona Coyotes in the first game of the road trip on Thursday night, 3-2.
Elias Pettersson had a goal and had an assist. Anthony Beauvillier had two assists. Andrei Kuzmenko continued his fine play with a goal. Thatcher Demko stopped 24 out of 27 shots faced.
At-A-Glance
Kings
Kings are 4-0-1 in their last 5-games; 8-1-1 in the last 10-games.
Los Angeles is 22-9-3 at home, with a 2-game win streak.
The Kings have given up 222 goals while scoring 231 for a +9 scoring differential.
LA is 27-6-3 when they score first.
Canucks
Canucks are 4-1-0 in their last 5-games; 7-3-0 in last 10-games.
They are 4-8-2 in their last 14-road games in 2023.
Vancouver has a 13-16-4 record in road games, with a 1-game losing streak.
The Canucks sport a 25-6-2 record in games they score 4+ goals.
Vancouver is 4-27-3 when they score 3-goals or less.
They are 16-11-3 when they score first.
The Canucks have given up 253 goals while scoring 231 for a -22 scoring differential.
Canucks Vs KingsComparisons
Source: nhl.com
Streaking Canucks
Elias Pettersson has 19 points (6-15-21) in his last 13 games.
Quinn Hughes has 16 points (0-16-16) in his last 17 games.
Andrei Kuzmenko has 17 points (12-5-17) in his last 14 games.
J.T. Miller has 14 points (7-7-14) in his last 12 games.
Anthony Beauvillier has 16 points (7-9-16) in his last 16 games.
Brock Boeser has seven points (1-6-7) in his last seven games.
Thatcher Demko Playing Like An All-Star
Since his return from injury, Demko has 5 wins in 7 games, a .923 SV% (save percentage), and a GAA (goals against average) of 2.30.
Who Wins?
Both teams have been hot recently. The Los Angeles Kings have won seven of their last eight games. Vancouver has won five of their last six games. Both teams have been good on offense this season. Vancouver ranks 11th and LA ranks 10th in goals per game. Defense and goaltending are two advantages for the Kings. LA ranks 17th in goals against per game and fifth in shots against per game. The Canucks rank 31st in goals against per game and 14th in shots against per game. Los Angeles has been good playing at home. They have a 22-9-3 home record on the year. Playing at home, Los Angeles will win this matchup by two or more goals.
by Canucks Communications @Canucks / Vancouver Canucks
CANUCKS VS JETS PREVIEW
TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: SN650
MATCH-UP INFO
• Tonight marks the second of three meetings between the Canucks and Jets this season: Nov. 19 (3-2 W), Dec. 10 (home), Jan. 27 (away).
• Vancouver is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs Winnipeg (2-3-0 in their last 5).
• The Canucks have a 17-22-1-2 all-time record in 42 games against the Jets. Vancouver holds a 9-9-1-1 record at home against Winnipeg.
• Thatcher Demko has faced the Jets 8 times in his career (4-4-0), posting a .938 SV% and a 2.02 GAA.
• Jaroslav Halak has faced the Jets 13 times in his career (8-4-1), owning a .898 SV% and a 3.12 GAA.
QUICK NUMBERS
• J.T. Miller has seven points (2-5-7) in his last five games. • Quinn Hughes has seven points (0-7-7) in his last seven games. • Conor Garland has seven points (5-2-7) in his last 11 games. • Thatcher Demko has posted a .940 SV% and 1.90 GAA in his last nine games (5-4-0).
LAST MEETING – NOV. 19/21: VAN 3 vs WPG 2
Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened up scoring with a power play goal at 13:51 in the first period…Elias Pettersson and Vasily Podkolzin recorded assists on the play…Kyle Burroughs scored his first career NHL goal at 3:12 in the second period making him the fourth BC lower mainland-born defenceman to score in the regular season for the Canucks…Tyler Myers and Jason Dickinson registered the assists…Conor Garland scored the game winning goal on the power play at 6:54 in the second period…Tanner Pearson led the team in hits (4)…Tyler Myers led the team in blocked shots (4)…Bo Horvat led the team in TOI (22:13) and one 15 out of 20 face-offs (75%)…Thatcher Demko made 37 saves.
LAST GAME PLAYED – DEC. 8/21: VAN 2 vs BOS 1 (SO)
This game marked the 1000th Canuck game played at Rogers Arena since moving the team there in 1995…Brock Boeser opened up scoring with a power play goal at 15:01 in the second period…This marked his second consecutive power play goal…J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes recorded assists on the play…The Bruins tied it up in the third to push the game into overtime followed by a shootout…Thatcher Demko blocked all shootout shots and J.T. Miller (GDG) and Bo Horvat were both successful in their shootout efforts to collect the win…This marked the first time Bruce Boudreau has started 2-0-0 with a new team in 4 career NHL head coaching stints…Jason Dickinson led the team in hits (5)…Quinn Hughes led the team in TOI (28:32)…Thatcher Demko made 35 saves.
LAST 5 vs WINNIPEG
•Nov. 19, 2021: VAN 3 vs WPG 2
•May 11, 2021: VAN 0 at WPG 5
•May 10, 2021: VAN 3 at WPG 1
•Mar. 24, 2021: VAN 1 vs WPG 5
•Mar. 22, 2021: VAN 0 at WPG 4
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
• Noah Juulsen recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 9 • Travis Hamonic placed on injured reserve, Dec. 9
BEHIND THE BENCH
Bruce Boudreau was named the 20th Head Coach in Vancouver Canucks history on December 5 and made his Canucks coaching debut on Dec. 6/21 versus the Kings. He is the first coach in franchise history to record a shutout on their Canucks coaching debut. The Dec. 8th shootout win versus Boston marked the first time Bruce Boudreau has started 2-0-0 with a new team in 4 career NHL head coaching stints. Boudreau has a career coaching record of 568-302-115 in 985 regular season games with Washington, Anaheim, Minnesota and Vancouver.
Scott Walker, a former Canuck, also joined the team as Assistant coach from the OHL’s Guelph Storm where he was President of Hockey Operations. Walker was previously Head Coach of the storm for five seasons (2010.11 to 2014.15), where he guided the team to an OHL Championship in 2013.14.
BROCK STAR
Brock Boeser collected his 13th career game winning goal on Dec. 6, tying him behind 5 other notable names for most franchise GWG:
• Tony Tanti (26)
• Pavel Bure (26)
• Trevor Linden (22)
• Patrik Sundstrom (14)
• Bo Horvat (14)
MULTI-POINT MILLER
Recording three points (1-2-3) during a 6-2 win on Dec. 1 at OTT, J.T. Miller registered his team-leading 10th three-point effort since 2019.20, in which the Canucks are 8-1-1.
QUINN’S CAREER NIGHT
Quinn Hughes collected a career-high in points (4) and assists (4) on Dec. 1 at OTT, becoming just the fifth defenceman in franchise history to record four assists in a game, and the first since Jeff Brown (0-5-5) on Feb. 20/95. Hughes now ranks t-6th all time among NHL defencemen for most games (8) with three or more assists before the age of 23.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The Canucks play their fourth of 10 home games in December on Friday when they host the Jets, matching a franchise record for most home games played in the month of December (2017, 2019).
ONE HUNDRED HELPERS
Assisting on Elias Pettersson‘s power play goal on Nov. 29 at MTL, Quinn Hughes recorded his 100th career assist in his 151st career game, tying Brian Leetch for sixth-fewest games required by a defenceman to reach the milestone in NHL history. He also became the second-fastest Canuck of any position to reach 100 assists, behind only Barry Pederson (147 GP).
AT FACE VALUE
Bo Horvat leads all NHL skaters in face-offs taken (657), face-off wins (372) and even strength face-off wins (277) so far this season. Among centremen with at least 300 face-offs taken, Horvat’s face-off percentage (56.6%) ranks ninth League-wide.
TOP TWENTY
Collecting an assist on Conor Garland’s game-winning goal on Nov. 29 at MTL, Bo Horvat passed Mattias Ohlund for 20th place on the franchise all-time points list with 325 points (145-180-325). Horvat also ranks inside the top 20 in Canucks history for goals (145; 15th), power play goals (44; 16th), shorthanded goals (7; t-9th) and game-winning goals (17; t-19th).
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