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Vancouver Canucks Game Day: Spanked by Kings, Ducks Await

November 10, 2013, 1:52 PM ET [109 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Saturday November 9 Los Angeles Kings 5 - Vancouver Canucks 1

Ouch. Not even sure I want to post the highlights from Saturday's tilt, but here we go:



During the lockout season, the Vancouver Canucks went 2-0-1 against the then-champion Kings, putting to rest all the bad blood that boiled during the 2012 playoffs. On Saturday night, we saw *those* playoff Kings again—the nasty, surly, in-your-face, crash-the-net, make-you-pay Kings.

The cast of characters was a little different. Rookie Tyler Toffoli was the offensive star for Los Angeles with two goals and an assist, playing on a line with Mike Richards and Dwight King.

The Canucks got off to a strong start, but Jonathan Quick brought his "A" game and gave his team a chance to weather the storm. Vancouver outshot Los Angeles 13-11 in the opening frame but the Kings took the lead on an odd-man rush after Dan Hamhuis fell at the offensive blueline. LA stretched the lead to 2-0 in the final minute of the opening period on a 4-on-4 goal by Toffoli.

Early in the second, the Canucks looked ready to mount their comeback, but an Alex Burrows goal was waved off after it was correctly ruled that he kicked the puck into the net. Dan Hamhuis made amends for his first-period gaffe when he fired a bullet from the blue line to bring the score to 2-1, but the momentum quickly switched back to the Kings when Mike Richards answered just a minute later.

Roberto Luongo looked dazed after being run over by Alex Edler on the Richards goal, then surrendered his fourth goal on 18 shots to Justin Williams just a minute later before getting the hook for the night. An ice-cold and unprepared Eddie Lack allowed Toffoli to make it 5-1 on the first shot he faced but looked solid in stopping 13 more shots the rest of the way.

Special teams proved to be a non-factor, as all six goals were scored at even strength. The BeastModo line was Vancouver's undoing on this night—it was on the ice for Hamhuis' goal, but also for four of the Kings' five tallies. At this point, it looks like Darryl Sutter has a very clear read on how to work successfully against Vancouver's best players.

Once the win was out of reach, the Canucks' primary mission was to make a statement for future games. The final stat sheet shows the hits were pretty even—35-34 in favour of Los Angeles. The war between Kevin Bieksa and Dustin Brown raged in the third period as the role-players ate up the majority of the ice time.

Ice time for the forwards came out remarkably even across all four lines, with Alex Burrows the top minute-man at 17:40. Even the fourth line of Sestito, Welsh and Dalpe all logged more than 10 minutes each.

That's smart bench management with less than 24 hours until Sunday's tilt in Anaheim. Still, the win by the Kings was definitive and pulls them just two points behind Vancouver in the Pacific Division standings, with two games still in hand.

It won't be long before the Canucks get a chance to answer back from this defeat. With the rivalry raging once again, the battle continues when Kings and Canucks meet in Vancouver in a couple of weeks, on Monday November 25.

Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks – Sunday November 10 - 5:00 pm - Sportsnet Pacific, Prime Ticket

Vancouver Canucks 11-6-2 tied for third in Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks 14-3-1 first in Pacific Division

Life doesn't get any easier for the Canucks on Sunday as they roll down the highway to Orange County to take on the best team in the NHL.

The Anaheim Ducks have won four in a row and are coming off a 6-2 trouncing of the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. They lead the league in goals, with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry now in the top 10 in league scoring.

The Canucks were 1-2 against the Ducks last year, losing both games at Rogers Arena but collecting a 5-0 shutout at the Honda Center. This is their first game against Anaheim this year, who boast a perfect 7-0-0 home record and have outscored the opposition 32-12 in those games.

The Ducks' power play has been their Achilles heel in the early going, but even that is now getting on track. After sitting in the NHL basement for much of the year, they've now climbed to 25th spot with a 12.1 percent conversion rate—two places higher than the Canucks.

After the Kings game, Tortorella said that Eddie Lack will start as planned against Anaheim, while Jonas Hiller gets the nod for the Ducks.

The Canucks played a respectable third period on Saturday against LA and have generally shown good bounce-back abilities. They've only recorded back-to-back losses twice this season—at home against the Sharks and Habs, and on the road against Pittsburgh in the shootout, then Columbus.

They're in for a tough fight tonight and will need to show some stiffness, as Torts would say, if they hope to end this road trip with a winning record.

Note the early start: the game is at 5:00 tonight, on Sportsnet Pacific.

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