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Colorado Avalanche at Vancouver Canucks - Sunday December 8 - 5:00 pm - Sportsnet Pacific, Altitude Sports
Vancouver Canucks: 16-10-5 fifth in Pacific Division
Colorado Avalanche: 20-7-0 third in Central Division
Apologies for the lateness of the post today. It has been a very busy weekend, and it ain't over yet!
I'm excited to be heading to the rink tonight as the Canucks play Colorado for the first time this season. The Avalanche might be the team that has undergone the biggest transformation since last season, so I'm very interested to see how that plays out live on the ice.
Will we see the Avs team that has gone 0-7-1 in its last eight visits to Rogers Arena, or the one that has hit the 20-win mark faster than any other in Colorado franchise history? That's an impressive stat—those Avs teams in the late '90s with Sakic, Forsberg, Roy and the rest would dismantle Vancouver with depressing consistency when they visited. Is this group even better?
After one of the hottest starts in the league, the Avalanche have cooled off a little bit, but their place in the standings is deceiving. They've played less games than most teams, so they're actually tied with San Jose for the best winning percentage in the NHL, at .741. The Canucks, by comparison, are tied with Detroit for 13th at .597.
Both teams have picked up 12 points in their last 10 games. Colorado is 6-4-0 while Vancouver is 5-3-2.
The Avalanche are wrapping up a three-game Canadian road swing. They beat Calgary 3-2 on Friday after suffering their worst loss of the year—an 8-2 drubbing in Edmonton.
Matt Duchene was getting all the press early this season as he blossomed under new Avalanche coach Patrick Roy, but it's captain Gabe Landeskog who now leads the Avs in scoring. He's on a four-game point streak and now boasts 22 points in 26 games played.
Tonight's game will be our first chance to see 2013 No. 1 draft pick Nathan MacKinnon. The 18-year-old has been solid in his first NHL season, averaging 15:48 of ice time so far. MacKinnon has 17 points in 27 games and is a plus-5. He's also demonstrating the clutch play that made him a superstar in junior, with three game-winning goals already this season—most recently on Friday night in Calgary.
A big part of Colorado's success this season has come from stellar defensive play by their top pairing of Jan Hejda and Erik Johnson, but Hejda suffered a knee sprain against Edmonton and is on the shelf for a couple of weeks. The D drops off significantly after that top pair, so Vancouver's top players may be able to take advantage tonight.
For their part, the Canucks are coming off an emotional win against Phoenix on Friday as they continue their five-game homestand with back-to-back games. Based on practice on Saturday, John Tortorella is looking to use the same lineup as he did on Friday night.
Yannick Weber was recalled from Utica on Sunday, so he could slot into Andrew Alberts' spot if he gets to Vancouver in time.
Weber has performed well during his stint in Utica, potting two goals and five assists in seven games. It's nice to see his hard work pay off: here's what he Tweeted when he was assigned to the farm:
Speaking of Edler, Eklund is reporting today that the Capitals are interested.
I know he's a favourite rumour-target, but I'll still be surprised if he—or any of the top players—is moved.
The Canucks have a chance to tie their season-high record of four straight wins tonight, and extend their power-play goal streak to an impressive eight games. In a back-to-back situation with Carolina coming in on Monday, expect Roberto Luongo to start tonight while Eddie Lack draws in for his second game against the Hurricanes.
Tortorella has continued to preach the need to stay intense and play for a full 60 minutes. With another game around the corner tomorrow, let's see if the Canucks can honour Torts' wishes and still manage to balance their ice time.
Note the early start time: the game is at 5 p.m.
Quick Hits:
Another teaser has been released for
NHL Revealed—this one capturing the Canucks' reactions to the clip that was released earlier this week. Dale Weise's comment makes me think that producers do poke the players to make sure they have some interesting material, but I like these looks behind the scenes and will be interested to see the series when it airs.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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