The Abbotsford Canucks will attempt to grab a 2-0 lead in their best of seven American Hockey League Western Conference Final when they host the Texas Stars tonight at Abbotsford Centre.
The Canucks prevailed in the series opener with a 3-2 overtime victory on Thursday night.

What we know

Christian Wolanin became the 17th different Abbotsford skater to score in these playoffs when he netted the game winner 5:51 into overtime in Game 1. Guillaume Brisebois and Ty Mueller had the other Canucks goals. Mueller had a goal and an assist, and the rookie centre now has four points in his last two games. 
Linus Karlsson picked up a pair of helpers in regulation time to push his team-leading playoff total to 12 points. Phil Di Giuseppe registered 10 shots on goal on the night. As a team, Abbotsford finished with 46 shots on goal – the team’s highest total of the postseason.
Arturs Silovs stopped 36 Texas shots for his ninth win of the playoffs. The Canucks netminder has allowed just 12 goals in his last eight starts.
Abbotsford has won all four of its series openers this spring, taking Game 1 against Tucson, Coachella Valley, Colorado and now Texas. The challenge now is to find a way to win Game 2 for the first time in this postseason. 
The Canucks were disciplined on Thursday taking just one penalty. However, it came late in the third period with the game tied 2-2. As they have throughout the playoffs, the team’s penalty killers came through. The Canucks PK is now 35 for 36 (97.2%) in the postseason. 
Teams that have taken a 2-0 series lead are 10-1 in this year’s playoffs. Saturday’s game is expected to be a sellout of close to 7,000 fans in the Fraser Valley after 5,643 took in the series opener.
Thursday was the eighth time in franchise playoff history that Abbotsford has been to overtime. Remarkably, it was the first time on home ice. The Canucks are now 2-1 in extra time in these playoffs.

The opponent

The Stars gave the Canucks all they could handle in the series opener. Kole Lind opened the scoring midway through the first period. It was his seventh goal of the playoffs tying him with teammate Justin Hryckowian and Canucks forward Linus Karlsson for the league lead. Antonio Stranges scored the other Texas goal, tying the game late in the second period.
Cameron Hughes had an assist on the Lind goal, extending his point streak to nine games. He has 15 points over that stretch. Richmond native Trey Taylor picked up helpers on both Texas goals in Game 1.
The Canucks managed to keep AHL playoff scoring leader Hryckowian off the scoresheet. That put an end to his five-game goal-scoring streak and his eight-game run with at least a point. Matej Blumel, who led the AHL regular season with 39 goals, had five shots on goal on Thursday night. Blumel also took the Stars’ only penalty of the game.
Remi Poirier was both busy and excellent in the Texas net, stopping 43 of 46 shots. He was named the third star of the game in the building.
As they look to rebound from Thursday’s setback, the Stars will try to draw on the fact that they have not lost consecutive games in the playoffs. 

Around the AHL Playoffs

Charlotte holds a 2-0 lead on Laval in the Eastern Final. The Checkers took the first two games of the series on the road. Game 3 is tomorrow in North Carolina.
Make sure to join the Rink Wide postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Abbotsford Canucks through the AHL playoffs. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
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