Press Start!!: Canucks & Ducks

 

> Secondary Scoring: The Sedins picked up where they left off in the spring, but the rest of the Canucks have been napping. That includes the new look second (Raymond/Kesler/Hansen) and third (Torres/Malhotra/Schafer) lines. These lines are still learning on the fly, but it’s only a matter of time before they break through. Raymond leads all Canucks in shots (9). On the back end, gunslingers like Edler and Bieksa haven’t notched a point yet either, but again it’s coming (Bieksa’s five shots leads all D-men).

> Underestimating the Enemy: The Ducks are caught in a torrid mudslide: they can’t score, they can’t stop getting scored upon, they can’t stay out of the box and can’t stay healthy. But tonight’s their home opener and they have enough veteran experience to calm the locker room and give their fans something to cheer about. The Canucks can’t take them lightly; this is one of those slam dunk moments where the two points are Vancouver’s to lose if they forget to play their game.

> The Muscle: Much has been made of Vancouver’s lack of a true enforcer whereas Anaheim can ice George Parros whenever they want. The Canucks can counter with Tanner Glass and – in his first NHL game this season – Rick Rypien, neither of which are in the same class as Parros. Ideally cooler heads will prevail, but Rypien fans have wanted to see him tussle with a true heavyweight for a few seasons now. If he’s so inclined, Parros will certainly oblige and the results could run the gamut from hilarious to downright frightening.