Canucks Army GDT #59 – Canucks @ Islanders
By Rhys Jessop
9 years agoThe Vancouver Canucks continue their Eastern road swing this afternoon, visiting the Metropolitan division leading New York Islanders. With their win over the New York Rangers on Thursday, the Canucks pulled themselves to second in the Pacific division, but a loss over the lowly Devils prevented them from putting some daylight between themselves and the Wild and Sharks. As it stands, the Canucks sit just two points out of a tie for 9th in the conference, so this afternoon’s two points are critical.
Read past the jump for a preview of this afternoon’s game.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 3:00 PM PST
TV: CITY TV
Radio: TSN 1040
Lineups
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Zack Kassian |
 Chris Higgins |  Shawn Matthias |  Radim Vrbata |
 Brandon McMillan |  Linden Vey |  Derek Dorsett |
 Ronalds Kenins |  Bo Horvat |  Jannik Hansen |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Dan Hamhuis |  Yannick Weber |
 Luca Sbisa |  Alex Biega |
 Ryan Stanton |  Adam Clendening |
Zack Kassian will take Alex Burrows’ spot with the Sedins (!?) as Burrows is out with an ailment tonight. Shawn Matthias will move up to centre Chris Higgins and Radim Vrbata. Linden Vey will play with Brandon McMillan and Derek Dorsett on what’s realistically the fourth line, while Bo Horvat’s line will remain intact. Ryan Miller will start in net.
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Anders Lee |  John Tavares |  Josh Bailey |
 Michael Grabner |  Frans Nielsen |  Ryan Strome |
 Nikolay Kulemin |  Brock Nelson |  Cal Clutterbuck |
 Matt Martin |  Kael Mouillierat |  Colin McDonald |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Nick Leddy |  Johnny Boychuk |
 Calvin de Haan |  Travis Hamonic |
 Lubomir Visnovsky |  Thomas Hickey |
Lubomir Visnovsky will return to the Isles’ lineup as Brian Strait sits. Jaroslav Halak will play in goal as backup Chad Johnson picked up the shootout loss to the Capitals yesterday.
Head to Head
Storylines
- Man on Fire – Zack Kassian will start the game playing with the Sedins tonight, and it will be interesting to see how long Willie Desjardins is willing to let this experiment last. It worked well last game, as Kassian provided the only offence the Canucks could muster against the New Jersey Devils, scoring twice in Vancouver’s 4-2 loss. Since the All-Star break, Kassian has 5 goals and 3 assists at even strength in 9 games, and is second in the NHL in both Goals/60 and Pts/60, trailing only L.A’s Tyler Toffoli in both categories. He’s also carrying a personal shooting percentage north of 40%, and leads the NHL with an on-ice shooting percentage of 20.5% since this time, so he’s bound to cool off soon. A strong game with the Sedins tonight may buy him some more time in the lineup, however.
- Halak Attack – Despite sitting 3rd in the NHL in wins with 32, Jaroslav Halak has struggled at times this year with the Islanders, posting a rather pedestrian 0.911 save percentage. Still, it’s a testament to just how far the Isles have come over just the last offseason that Halak could set a franchise record for most wins by an Islanders netminder in one season with a win tonight. They’re one of the league’s top teams by shot attempt metrics, and have excelled nearly everywhere except for on the penalty kill and in net. Look for them to give the Canucks a tough game, despite playing just over 24 hours ago.
- Radim in a Rut – After catching fire immediately after the All-Star break, Radim Vrbata has gone pointless in his last 4 games – his longest drought of the season. This is largely due to some bad luck and poor linemates though. Linden Vey hasn’t been able to centre an NHL line this season, and has had his lunch fed to him since Brad Richardson and Nick Bonino went down with injury. Vrbata will play with Shawn Matthias and Chris Higgins tonight on what should be a much more effective second unit.
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