The Vancouver Canucks (34-26-13) wrap up a six-game road trip when they visit the Winnipeg Jets (50-19-4) at Canada Life Place on Sunday afternoon.
The Canucks find themselves six points back of St. Louis and Minnesota with nine games remaining on their schedule. The Blues and Wild are tied with 87 points while the Canucks have 81.
What we know
With the early afternoon start time, the Canucks did not hold a morning skate. The team did not practice on Saturday either. So it will likely take until today’s warm-up before the line-up is finalized.
It’s expected that Thatcher Demko will get the start in goal. Demko has won both of his games since returning from an undisclosed injury last Monday in New Jersey. He beat the Devils 4-3 in a shootout and then backstopped the Canucks to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Demko has won four straight decisions while posting a 1.42 GAA, a .949 save percentage and a shutout over that stretch.
The Canucks are coming off a crushing 7-6 shootout loss in Columbus on Friday night. The team held a 3-0 first period lead and was in front 5-3 six minutes into the third period. It was the third time this season the Canucks have let a three-goal lead slip away in defeat (also vs Calgary on October 9th and vs Seattle on December 28th).
Aatu Räty scored a pair of third period goals and now has three goals in his past two games. Kiefer Sherwood, who turns 30 on Monday, had three assists and has had back to back three-point efforts. Pius Suter had three helpers, too, and has seven points in his last three games.
Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk scored first period goals and remain tied for the Canucks team-lead in goals with 24 apiece. Linus Karlsson and Tyler Myers had the other Vancouver goals against the Jackets.
Wednesday and Friday marked the first time all season the Canucks have scored at least five goals in consecutive games.
The Canucks are 2-1-2 on the first five games of this lengthy road trip and are 5-2-2 in their last nine games overall. The team has been to overtime in three of its last five games and four of its last nine. On the season, the Canucks have been beyond regulation time a league-high 21 times (5-11 in games decided in OT and 3-2 now in shootouts).
The opponent
The Jets collected their 50th win of the season with a 4-0 victory over New Jersey on Friday. Alex Iafallo scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season.
Hellebuyck is now 42-10-3 on the season with a 2.02. GAA and a .925 save percentage. The reigning Vezina winner seems a certainty to retain that title and win the award for the third time in the past six seasons.
The Jets are the third highest-scoring team in the league and the best defensive outfit in the NHL. They also have the second best power play this season operating at 30.1%. It’s even better on home ice at 34%. The Jets are 27-6-4 in Winnipeg this season outscoring opponents 130-73.
Kyle Connor leads the club – and is third in the league – with 37 goals. He also sits seventh in league scoring with 88 points. Mark Scheifele netted his 36th goal on Friday. He also had an assist and now has 80 points.
These teams have split their first two meetings this season. The Jets were 6-1 winners on home ice on January 14th while the Canucks collected a 6-2 win in Vancouver on March 18th.
Today’s referees: Graedy Hamilton & Pierre Lambert
Today’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
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