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Vancouver Canucks Game Day: November 14 vs. San Jose Sharks, Settling Games

November 14, 2013, 1:27 PM ET [168 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks – Thursday November 14 - 7:00 pm - Sportsnet Vancouver, Comcast Sports Network California

Vancouver Canucks 11-7-2 fourth in Pacific Division
San Jose Sharks 11-2-5 third in Pacific Division

The Vancouver Canucks will see the San Jose Sharks for the final time this season when the teams square off Thursday night at Rogers Arena.

So far, the season series is 2-1 in the Sharks' favour, though Vancouver handed San Jose just its second regulation loss of the year at the Shark Tank last week.

Though the Sharks have cooled off in the last two weeks, they are still earning points. Tonight's game is the third on a five-game road swing that has seen San Jose lose to Winnipeg in overtime, then come back after blowing a 2-0 lead to beat Calgary in the extra frame.

The Canucks are starting a six-game homestand, their longest of the year. The team is hoping to avoid dropping three in a row for the first time this year.

David Booth will return to the Vancouver lineup, likely back on the third line with Zack Kassian and Brad Richardson. Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun reports that Booth took his three-game conditioning assignment in Utica as a positive and hopes it will help him to find his game again.

Here's hoping. The Canucks would use some scoring help after potting just two goals last weekend in Southern California. Interestingly, Vancouver has scored only once in all seven of its regulation losses so far this season. As soon as they get a second goal, they're golden.

Alex Burrows has now been back in the lineup for seven games and has yet to record his first goal. He has two assists and is a minus-4. Burrows has had plenty of chances and has always been a streaky scorer. He should get on track once he buries the first one—hopefully sooner rather than later.

Jannik Hansen practiced with the team on Wednesday but is not eligible to return from long-term injured reserve until Sunday's game against Dallas.

For the Sharks, Brent Burns remains on the shelf. He has been missed by his teammates as they've struggled for the past two weeks. Burns is now skating with the team but Todd McLellan told Comcast Sports that he wouldn't be ready to play on Thursday night.

Roberto Luongo typically bounces back well after his sub-par outings. He was pulled after giving up four goals on 18 shots Saturday night in Los Angeles and will need to be sharp against the Sharks, who lead the league with an average of 37.1 shots per game. The Canucks chased Antti Niemi when they played San Jose last week but he's expected to get the start tonight.

Note once again that tonight's game is on Sportsnet Vancouver, not Sportsnet Pacific. I'll be watching from my perch in the press box and let you know tomorrow what's changed since the boys put the hurt on Toronto before leaving for this road trip.

How to Settle Games?

If the Sedins can't score in the shooutout, let's do away with it entirely! Though not specifically for their benefit, eliminating the shootout was one of the suggestions at the general managers' meetings this week in Toronto. Ideas being floated included a longer, 10-minute four-on-four overtime period, perhaps with a subsequent drop to three-on-three.

Personally, I don't mind shootouts. It's fun to watch skaters and goalies go one-on-one and when I'm doing Stats at games, the ice-cleaning gives me time to double-check my data. I do, however, object to the fact that some games are worth more points than others in the standings.

If the league is looking for more definite winners and losers, why not encourage teams to try to win in regulation? Offer three points for a regulation win, but keep the two-and-one breakdown for overtime and shootout games. Overall point totals would go up, but teams would have way more incentive not to settle for a tie at the end of 60 minutes.

How do you think the NHL should deal with the overtime issue?

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