Vancouver Canucks Game Day: Canucks Try To Stay Hot In Desert
After a crucial win on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche, the Vancouver Canucks will try to end the road trip with a victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
Ladies and gentlemen, your Vancouver Canucks are officially in the playoff picture. Since this has been so fun, why shall it stop? They have no reason to cool down on this red-hot January that has put them back in the Western Conference’s elite eight.
A red-hot Ryan Miller and the continued breakout seasons of Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi have helped Canucks fans forget about a no-fun November and depressing December. Nobody expected this team to climb back, but didn’t you know better? Never count out a team led by head coach Willie Desjardins.
So, as it stands, the eighth-placed Canucks have 52 points — one point ahead of the Calgary Flames who have played two more games. The Los Angeles Kings are just two points behind Vancouver with a game in hand.
Unfortunately for the Canucks, they only have two games left this month, thanks to the All-Star Game. Can they finish the month how they started? On paper, it doesn’t get much easier with a visit against the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
Alexander Edler (23) checks Arizona Coyotes forward Ryan White (25) during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports” width=”590″ height=”396″ />
Vancouver Canucks
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 23-20-6
Away Record: 6-14-3
2015-16 Record vs. Coyotes: 4-1-0
Goals For: 119
Goals Against: 137
Power Play: 13.6% (29th)
Penalty Kill: 79.8% (22nd)
Leading Scorers: Bo Horvat (49 GP – 14 G – 18 A – 32 PTS), Henrik Sedin (49 GP – 11 G – 21 A – 32 PTS), Daniel Sedin (47 GP – 11 G – 16 A – 267 PTS)
Injuries: Alexander Edler (hand, day-to-day), Anton Rodin (knee, day-to-day), Ben Hutton (upper body, day-to-day), Jannik Hansen (knee, day-to-day), Erik Gudbranson (wrist, indefinite), Derek Dorsett (neck, out for season), Philip Larsen (upper body, day-to-day)
WHO’S ON OFFENCE:
Sven Baertschi: After going five-straight games without a point, Baertschi scored two goals against Colorado — including the game winner. And hey, he’s three points away from setting a career high!
Bo Horvat: After going three games without a point, Horvat has rebounded on this road trip. He had a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks and set up Baertschi’s opening goal last night.
WHO’S ON DEFENCE:
Chris Tanev: It’s easy to overlook his value to the Canucks — but Tanev’s health has been a key reason for this successful January. The Canucks have gone 11-3-4 since he returned to the lineup on Dec. 16.
WHO’S IN NET:
Ryan Miller: Will we see Mr. January, or the man who struggles on the road? Miller is just 2-7-2 with a brutal 3.27 goals against average and .902 save percentage away from home this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Daniel Sedin — Henrik Sedin — Loui Eriksson
Sven Baertschi — Bo Horvat — Alexandre Burrows
Markus Granlund — Brandon Sutter — Jayson Megna
Brendan Gaunce — Michael Chaput — Jack Skille
Alexander Edler — Troy Stecher
Luca Sbisa — Chris Tanev
Nikita Tryamkin — Alex Biega
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
Arizona Coyotes
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 15-26-6
Away Record: 10-11-2
2015-16 Record vs. Canucks: 1-3-1
Goals For: 105
Goals Against: 152
Power Play: 14.3% (25th)
Penalty Kill: 74.6% (29th)
Leading Scorers: Radim Vrbata (47 GP – 11 G — 22 A – 33 PTS), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (47 GP – 9 G – 16 A – 26 PTS), Tobias Rieder (45 GP – 10 G – 10 A — 20 PTS)
Injuries: Dave Bolland (leg, day-to-day), Brad Richardson (leg, indefinitely), Maxi Domi (hand, indefinitely), Jordan Martinook (upper body, day-to-day), Shane Doan (upper body, day-to-day)
WHO’S ON OFFENCE:
More from The Canuck Way
Radim Vrbata: The former Sedin linemate has been one of the few bright spots on a struggling Coyotes team. He had a goal and three assists on Saturday, and has nine points in all of January.
Martin Hanzal: Keep an eye closely on Hanzal, who is expected to be a hot commodity at the trade deadline. His stock has taken a hit with only four points in January, though.
WHO’S ON DEFENCE:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: He’s second in team scoring – that’s good news for him, bad news for the Coyotes. Ekman-Larsson is also having a tough month, with just six points in 10 games.
WHO’S IN NET:
Mike Smith: Though Smith’s 10-13-5 record leaves a lot to be desired, Smith has been tough to score on in The Desert. He’s 7-7-2 at home this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal — Radim Vrbata
Brendan Perlini – Christian Dvorak — Shane Doan
Jamie McGinn – Alex Burmistrov — Christian Fischer
Lawson Crouse – Peter Holland — Ryan White
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Luke Schenn
Alex Goligoski – Michael Stone
Jakob Chychrun – Connor Murphy
Mike Smith
Louis Domingue
Finishing January How It Started
The Canucks began January with three wins. Heck, despite losing four games in a row, three of those games went beyond 60 minutes — earning them a trio of loser points. Vancouver has gone 6-2-3 this month after going 7-7-1 in all of December.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Perhaps the Canucks hot run doesn’t have to end, but January does within a week. This is their last game before the All-Star break, before they hit the ice again on Tuesday. At this point, the Canucks just need to focus on the next two games and keep their second wild card spot.
The Canucks appeared down and out heading into the new year, but Ryan Miller’s resurgence and the struggles of Calgary and Los Angeles have given them new hope. We know just how hard the front office tried to ice a competitive team.
So far, mission accomplished. The Arizona Coyotes always seem to be a difficult matchup, but this doesn’t mean the Canucks can afford to let two points slip away to a team that is only better than the Colorado Avalanche.
Broadcast Info
Vancouver Canucks vs. Colorado Avalanche – 6:00 PM PT
Gila River Arena – Glendale, Arizona
TV: SNP, FS-A PLUS
Radio: TSN1040
Online Streaming: Rogers GameCentre LIVE, NHL.TV
Predictions
Alex:
VancouverCanucks4
Arizona isn’t much better than Vancouver,and the Canucks have more to play for. Their hard work will give them an overtime victory.
Gerald:
VancouverCanucks3
The Coyotes are bad, but the Canucks are wildly inconsistent. They are due for a terrible game. Mike Smith has been good this year, and will steal another game for the desert dogs.
Janik:
CanucksCanucks2
It’s going to be a good week. Following the Avs win, the Canucks beat the Coyotes because, well, they can. Horvat scores the winner.
Jeff:
VancouverCanucks3
The Canucks are three-fifths of a season series sweep of the Coyotes. No reason to think they’ll stop there.
