Vancouver Canucks game day: Putting rough night in Vegas in the rear view mirror with quick turnaround in Arizona
3 months ago
The Vancouver Canucks (46-21-8) make their one and only visit to Mullett Arena in Phoenix when they take on the Arizona Coyotes (31-38-5) on Wednesday night. The Canucks are the only team in the league yet to play in the 4600 seat rink on the Arizona State University campus this season.
The Canucks are also looking to bounce back from a 6-3 loss in Vegas last night. It was the first time since February 29th the Canucks have allowed more than three goals in regulation time. Quinn Hughes scored twice and is now up to 15 goals on the season while Nils Höglander had the other Vancouver goal. The Canucks were led in shots on goal by Tyler Myers with five and Carson Soucy with four. Defencemen combined for 16 of the team’s 30 shots and two of its three goals.
Casey DeSmith allowed six goals on 30 shots and will likely make way for Arturs Silovs on the second night of back to backs. Silovs picked up his first NHL win of the season on Sunday making 20 saves in a 3-2 victory over Anaheim.
With no morning skate, it will be closer to game time before Rick Tocchet confirms his line-up. With several healthy bodies on the road trip, don’t be surprised to see Noah Juulsen draw back in on defence. And there is a strong chance Phil Di Giuseppe and Nils Aman could slide in up front.
The Canucks have dropped three of their last four games and have not scored more than three goals in a game since a 4-2 victory over Calgary on March 23rd. Elias Pettersson has gone four games without a point and six without a goal.
After rounding into form for much of March, the Canucks penalty kill has allowed a pair of power play goals in two of the last three games. Dallas scored twice including the game winner with the man-advantage last Thursday. Vegas scored two power play goals including the game winner last night. The Canucks penalty killing has dropped to 19th in the NHL at 79.1% for the season.
The Coyotes have been a scoring machine of late posting six, eight and five goals in their last three games. Their last two outings have seen a total of 25 goals scored – an 8-4 win over Nashville last Thursday and an 8-5 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes with 32 goals and 68 points. He is 11 goals ahead of Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse and Nick Bjugstad for the team lead. Keller has 7+6=13 on an eight-game point streak while Bjugstad has scored in four straight games.
Rookie Josh Doan has made the most of his first look at the NHL. After scoring twice in his debut against Columbus last week, Doan has 2+3=5 and has picked up at least a point in each of his first three games.
Liam O’Brien leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 153. He is tied with Philadelphia’s Nic Deslauriers for the league lead with 11 fighting majors. That includes one against the Canucks Nikita Zadorov.
Connor Ingram has posted 20 of the Coyotes 31 victories this season. He is 20-19-3 with a 2.90 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Of his 75 NHL appearances, 45 have come this season.
Tonight is the sixth game in a seven-game homestand that will come to a close on Friday when Vegas pays a visit. Arizona will be in Vancouver next Wednesday. The Canucks took the first meeting of the season between these teams beating the Coyotes 2-1 at Rogers Arena on January 18th.
Today’s referees: Carter Sandlak & Jordan Samuels-Thomas
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