The Vancouver Canucks (34-28-13) open their final set of back to back games of the season when they host the Anaheim Ducks (33-34-8) at 1pm at Rogers Arena. The team will be back in action against Vegas on Sunday night.
The Canucks are now eight points behind Minnesota and three points back of Calgary in the Western Conference wild card chase.
What we know
With the early puck drop, the Canucks did not hold a morning skate today. Based on Friday’s practice at UBC, there are a few question marks about player availability for today’s game. Nils Höglander has missed five games with an undisclosed injury, but was a full participant in practice yesterday. However, he is unlikely to dress today.
Nils Aman took a spill late in practice and needed to be helped off the ice. He was later seen leaving the rink with his arm and shoulder in a sling. On Saturday morning, Max Sasson was recalled from AHL Abbotsford and is likely to get plugged into the big league line-up.
Also, the Canucks are likely to be without veteran defenceman Tyler Myers who did not skate on Friday. That will open the door to rookies Elias Pettersson and Victor Mancini getting the chance to suit up in the same game.
Rick Tocchet did not tip his hand about a starting goalie for today’s contest, but the coach has a decision on his hands. Thatcher Demko has started the past two games and lost them both. Meanwhile Kevin Lankinen has not played since giving up six goals in a 7-6 shootout loss in Columbus on March 28th.
The Canucks are coming off a dispiriting 5-0 home ice loss to Seattle on Wednesday. The team has dropped three straight (0-2-1) including back to back regulation setbacks. Through all the ups and downs of this season, the team has yet to lose three straight in regulation and will try to avoid having that happen today.
Since Pius Suter opened the scoring in Winnipeg last Sunday, the Canucks have surrendered eight straight goals.
With 431, Kiefer Sherwood leads the NHL in hits by 150 over his nearest competitor. To add some context, there are only 63 players in the league this season that have registered 150 hits.
The opponent
The Ducks are back in action following a 4-1 loss in Calgary on Thursday that officially eliminated them from playoff contention. Defenceman Olen Zellweger scored Anaheim’s lone goal. John Gibson got the start in goal, but was shaken up in the second period and replaced by Lukas Dostal to start the third. Dostal is expected to get the call this afternoon against the Canucks.
Three players share the team lead in goals with 20: Frank Vatrano, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson while Troy Terry is the Ducks leading scorer with 52 points. Since the 4 Nations break, Anaheim’s top five scorers are all under 25 years of age (Carlsson, McTavish, LaCombe, Gauthier and Zegras).
The Ducks are tied for 29th in the league in offence averaging 2.69 goals per game. A huge part of the issue is a power play that is 31st in the NHL at just 12.5%.
After a 3-2 loss to Toronto on December 12th, the Ducks found themselves 10-14-4. Since then, however, they are 23-20-4. They have four more points than the Canucks over that span.
The Canucks have taken two of the first three meetings between these teams this season. They split their games at the Honda Center and the Canucks posted a 3-2 victory on home ice on March 5th.
Today’s referees: Kyle Rehman & Graham Skilliter
Today’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
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