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Vancouver Canucks look to sweep season series against struggling Blackhawks |
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Thursday March 22 - Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks - 5:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 73 GP, 25-39-9, 59 pts, 30th overall
Chicago Blackhawks: 74 GP, 30-35-9, 69 pts, 25th overall
Since the Chicago Blackhawks have now officially been eliminated from this year's playoffs, they're getting the same treatment here as the Canucks, standings-wise: more emphasis on where they'll fall when draft lottery odds are determined than on where they sit in their division. That would be last, in case you were wondering—same as Vancouver.
Canucks fans didn't get their wish for a Buffalo win over Arizona last night, so last place remains out of reach for now—but the Sabres' next game is another winnable one, against Montreal on Saturday.
Meanwhile, let's put the tank talk aside for a moment. If the Canucks could snap their own losing streak tonight against the Blackhawks, they'd also sweep their season series against Chicago. There's some satisfaction in that idea, isn't there?
The Hawks are limping to the finish line with a 3-6-1 record over their last 10 games, most recently a 5-1 spanking by Colorado. Certainly, the absence of Corey Crawford for much of the season has been a big part of their issue. Fingers have been pointed at Brent Seabrook's play on the blue line and Jonathan Toews' production, though his 20-32-52 stat line over 74 games is not that out of the ordinary. Toews has actually cracked 70 points just once in his career, and he has now hit the 20-goal plateau in each of his 11 NHL seasons.
He has also been playing hurt—or else is just sick of losing. Now that the Blackhawks are officially out of the playoff race, he's taking some time to rest and recover.
Duncan Keith also missed Chicago's morning skate today, but there's no indication at this point that he won't play.
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has been criticized for bringing Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp back into the fold. Saad's 31 points have certainly been a disappointment—especially when the main player to go the other way, Artemi Panarin, is on pace for his third-straight 70-point season in his first year with Columbus. Sharp's a non-factor. For $800,000, his 19 points are just fine.
I'd say the big issue that hasn't gotten much airtime is the absence of Marian Hossa. Though it was widely assumed that the Blackhawks were happy to get out from under Hossa's $5.275 million cap hit when he announced that he'd be sitting out the season due to a skin condition, they sure do miss his on-ice contributions. Even last year, when he turned 38 in January, Hossa finished the season third in goals (26) behind Patrick Kane and Panarin—and he's supposed to be a defensive specialist! His ice time had dropped a bit over his last two seasons, down to 16:51 per game, but his absence is part of the reason why the Blackhawks' scoring has dropped from 2.93 goals per game last year to 2.81 this season and even moreso, why they've gone from 2.59 goals against per game to 3.07.
Hossa always flew under the radar during the 'Hawks glory years. Now, his absence is glaring.
Even after trading Ryan Hartman to Nashville for a first-round pick at the trade deadline, the Blackhawks do still have an intriguing collection of young players. Brock Boeser's old teammate from North Dakota, Nick Schmaltz, is third in team scoring with 48 points and has probably triggered a nice bonus by hitting the 20-goal mark, as has rookie Alex DeBrincat, whose 25 goals include three hat tricks.
As for the Canucks, Tyler Motte draws back in against the team that drafted him after sitting out on Tuesday in Vegas.
Hopefully he'll have better luck with his revenge game than Brenda Leipsic did on Tuesday. Leipsic was a minus-two in 14:43 of ice time in Vegas and is now pointless in his last six games.
Reid Boucher will sit tonight to make room for Motte. After playing 16:45 in Vegas following three healthy scratches, Jussi Jokinen will play again:
And that about covers it. The Canucks are on a back-to-back, with another game on Friday in St. Louis. Jacob Markstrom is expected to get the start tonight.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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