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Vancouver Canucks aim for franchise record as they visit Los Angeles Kings

October 22, 2016, 1:49 PM ET [444 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Saturday October 22 - Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - 7 p.m. - CBC

Vancouver Canucks: 4 GP, 4-0-0, 8 pts, first in Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings: 4 GP, 1-3-0, 2 pts, sixth in Pacific Division

The Vancouver Canucks will attempt to open their season with five straight wins for the first time in franchise history tonight, when they visit Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings are off to a slow start—they just picked up their first win of the year in overtime against Dallas last Thursday, after dropping their first three games to San Jose, Philadelphia and Minnesota.

The team's biggest concern is goaltending. The normally stingy Kings have given up 15 goals in their first four games, ranking them 25th overall in the league in goals against, after workhorse Jonathan Quick suffered a groin injury in the first game of the season.

Quick has elected not to have surgery, so he's currently listed as week-to-week, though early reports speculated that he could be sidelined as long as three to four months. With Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj currently holding down the fort, there's speculation that L.A. could be looking to upgrade in net, but it won't be easy for them to do so.

According to CapFriendly, the Kings currently have just $1.6 million in available cap space, which limits their options if they go looking for a fill-in netminder.

That being said, Quick has a cap hit of $5.8 million and Marian Gaborik is also on the shelf—expected to be sidelined until late November with the broken foot that he suffered at the World Cup of Hockey. Putting those two players on long-term injured reserve would create at least some cap relief for the Kings.

The situation got even worse for the Kings on Saturday, as Zatkoff suffered an injury at the morning skate:




Right now, it's not clear whether or not Zatkoff will be able to play tonight.




Canucks goalie Ryan Miller's wife Noureen DeWulf works in Hollywood, so it's hard not to consider whether Miller would be a fit in Los Angeles. He's in the last year of his three-year contract with the Canucks—though, admittedly, his $6-million cap hit would be tough for Los Angeles to take on this early in the season.

Also—with Vancouver on an early roll, it's unlikely that the Canucks would be looking to make a move that would downgrade their goaltending at this time. Though Miller has played just one game, he looked great in the season opener against Calgary and currently boasts a 1.000 save percentage—even though he wasn't awarded a shutout due to the Loui Eriksson own goal in that game.

Miller would probably be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Los Angeles, but unless the Kings forked over a huge price it's hard to imagine Vancouver making a deal at this time.

So—no official word yet about who will be in net on either side tonight. At of 10:30 a.m., the always-helpful Left Wing Lock says Miller is the "likely" starter for the Canucks, while Peter Budaj is "probable" for the Kings.

If you're looking for more insight into the mindset that has the Canucks off to their unexpectedly strong start this season, look no further than this article from Josh Clipperton of the Canadian Press, via CBC.ca.

Here's how Daniel Sedin sees the shift in the team's play:

"It's not about developing players," said Sedin. "We are playing to win. Every situation is important. Putting guys out there for offensive faceoffs, defensive faceoffs, everything. There is a lot more coaching and it's about winning this year, it's not about maybe developing the young guys like it was last season."

"It's little subtle changes that make a big difference, but the buy-in is what's important," added Jannik Hansen. "You need every guy wanting to do it. It does require a little more work, but so far it's paying off."

While many teams around the league are handing the keys to the car to their young players, the Canucks are leaning on veteran experience and a commitment to team defense to stay competitive. It goes against the grain and sometimes it doesn't lead to the most exciting hockey, but with coach Willie Desjardins fighting to keep his job and the Sedin twins looking for one more chance to challenge for a championship before they hang up their skates, it's hard to argue with the early results so far.

Elsewhere...

Brock Boeser scored all three goals in North Dakota's 3-2 win over Bemidji State on Friday—the third one on a penalty shot. Boeser now has 10 points in his first four games and is attracting national attention.




Friday was also a good night for Canucks' 2016 draft pick William Lockwood of Michigan State.




I'm pumped to see if the Canucks can go 5-0 for the first time in franchise history—and pull out a rare win at Staples Center. Last season, the Canucks were 1-1-1 in L.A., with an early-season 3-0 shutout win followed by a 2-1 overtime loss in December, then a 5-1 drubbing in March.

Enjoy the game!
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