Vancouver Canucks (29-22-11) shoot for a third straight victory when they host the Dallas Stars (41-20-2) at Rogers Arena.
But they’ll likely have to get the job done against one of the league’s top teams without their captain.
What we know
The Canucks elected to forego a morning skate ahead of tonight’s 6 pm faceoff so final lineup decisions won’t be revealed until closer to game time. Kevin Lankinen is expected to make a third straight start in goal. He posted a season-high 37 saves in a 3-1 win over Minnesota on Friday night. Lankinen has held opponents to two goals or fewer in seven of his last nine outings (6-2-1).
Elias Pettersson and Kiefer Sherwood both snapped 15-game goal droughts in Friday’s win over the Wild. Pettersson opened the scoring with a one-time blast on the power play while Sherwood snapped a 1-1 tie with under four minutes to go with what proved to be the game-winner. Teddy Blueger sealed the victory into an empty net.
Blueger has now scored in back-to-back games after going 28 games without a goal. And with two assists on Friday, Filip Hronek now has back-to-back two-assist games, has two goals and 11 helpers in his last 20 games and leads the team in scoring with eight points in 11 games since February 1st.
The Canucks are expected to go with the same forward lines and defence pairings they used against Minnesota. That is how they skated at practice at UBC on Saturday. That means Quinn Hughes will likely miss a third straight game and his 13th game this season.
After struggling for much of the season on home ice, the Canucks are finding their form in front of the home fans. They have won four straight and are 5-0-1 in their last six at home, outscoring opponents 15-8 over that span.
Minnesota’s third period power goal on Friday was the first goal surrendered by Canucks penalty killers on home ice since January 18th. The team has successfully killed off 13 of its last 15 penalties at home (86.7%).
With Calgary’s 1-0 win over Montreal last night, the Flames moved back ahead of the Canucks and into the second wild card slot in the West. The Flames have 70 points in 63 games. The Canucks have 69 points in 62 games. St. Louis has 69 points but through 65 games.
The opponent
The Stars arrive here following a 5-4 loss in Edmonton last night. Newcomer Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his Stars debut while Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored. Jake Oettinger allowed five goals on 27 shots.
The loss snapped the Stars’ four-game win streak. They had won seven of their last eight. And despite dropping last night’s game, Dallas is still 12-3-1 in its last 16 and a league-best 21-7-2 since Christmas.
Rantanen leads Dallas with 28 goals, followed by Jason Robertson with 27, while Matt Duchene and Roope Hintz both have 25 goals. Hintz took a puck to the face and left last night’s game. His status for tonight is unknown.
Wyatt Johnston has scored in five straight games (seven goals) and has nine goals and 15 points on a nine-game point streak, while Jason Robertson has seven goals and 14 points on a seven-game streak. Victoria’s Jamie Benn needs one goal to reach 400 for his NHL career.
On the season, the Stars are the fourth best team in the league in both offence and defence. They are also third in the overall standings behind only Winnipeg and Washington and boast the league’s best penalty killing.
With back-to-back games, the Stars are expected to give Casey DeSmith the start in goal. The former Canuck netminder is 11-6-2 on the season and has won his last five starts.
Dallas defeated the Canucks 5-3 in the Lone Star State on January 31st. That was the night JT Miller was traded to New York and also the same night Quinn Hughes suffered an oblique injury. These teams will meet one more time this season in Dallas on April 8th.
Tonight’s referees: Graham Skilliter & Brandon Blandina
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
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