Thursday March 28 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 77 GP, 32-35-10, 74 pts, sixth in Pacific Division Los Angeles Kings: 76 GP, 28-40-8, 64 pts, eighth in Pacific Division
Quinn Hughes is expected to become the 13th defenseman to suit up for the Vancouver Canucks this season as he makes his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at Rogers Arena.
It'll be a very different look on the left side of the Canucks blue line tonight, with Hughes in and Ben Hutton also returning from the foot injury that has kept him sidelined for the last 11 games.
Hughes skated with Luke Schenn at practice on Wednesday. The pair are 10 years apart in age but first met more than a decade ago, when Schenn was an 18-year-old rookie with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Quinn's father Jim was doing player-development work with the team.
Quinn Hughes was a little kid when he met Luke Schenn. Now together with the #Canucks, Hughes starts his NHL career as Schenn tries to save his. https://t.co/CHorEWDt1R
— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) March 28, 2019
Quinn's looking sharp at Thursday's optional morning skate.
Hughes taking part in an optional #Canucks skate. pic.twitter.com/1RashGP3f9
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 28, 2019
Thatcher Demko gets the start for Vancouver. He's now 2-3-0 in six appearances so far this year, with a 3.31 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.
Thursday's game will be Tanner Pearson's first in a Canucks uniform against his old team. He faced them twice during his brief tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins, picking up one goal.
As for the Kings—I guess you have to respect Willie Desjardins' commitment to making sure the rebuilding team gets a good slot in the draft lottery mix. Since Willie took over behind the bench on November 4, the Kings have gone 24-32-7. Their 55 points are tied with Buffalo for second-worst in the league over that stretch, but they're only one point worse than Vancouver, which has gone 23-29-10 over the same timeframe, but has played one fewer game.
For the year, the Kings are also second-last in scoring, putting up just 2.39 goals per game. Anze Kopitar still leads the team offensively, but after hitting career highs with 35 goals and 92 points and finishing third in Hart Trophy voting last year, he has a much more humble 21-35-56 in 75 games this season. The Kings' captain turns 32 this summer, and has five years remaining on the contract that carries a cap hit of $10 million a season.
The Kings hoped to augment their offense with the signing of Russian sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, but he hasn't been much of a solution. In the first season of a three-year deal that carries a full no-move clause for the first two years, Kovalchuk has just 14-17-31 in 60 games this year.
Kovalchuk has been scratched for five of the Kings' last six games, and is not with the team on this road trip.
Can confirm, per Rob Blake, that it's better for Kovalchuk "to stay and get good work done with our skills and development group." Leipsic will do the same.
— Curtis Zupke (@curtiszupke) March 25, 2019
Los Angeles Times writer Helene Elliott has covered hockey since the late 70s. She's seen a thing or two, but is aghast at the suggestion that a player with Kovalchuk's talents needs skills work—and worried that the Kings' treatment of Kovalchuk could make it harder for them to sign quality free agents going forward.
Kings’ handling of Ilya Kovalchuk is beyond bizarre, @helenenothelen writes https://t.co/mXFWJ7thXt pic.twitter.com/bOVpNHP9pB
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) March 25, 2019
After the Kings picked him up on waivers from the Canucks back in early December, Brendan Leipsic has 5-13-18 in 45 games with the Kings this season. He's currently rehabbing a lower-body injury that has kept him on the sidelines for the last three games.
Thursday's game will also be a milestone for former captain Dustin Brown. The 34-year-old will pass Dave Taylor to become L.A.'s new franchise leader in games played with 1,112.
The Kings took Wednesday off after back-to-back games in Alberta. They shut out Calgary 3-0 on Monday, but got shellacked by an 8-4 score in Edmonton on Tuesday.
To close today, a check-in on the CHL playoffs.
First: it's nice to see Mikey DiPietro smiling after his Ottawa 67s advanced to the second round in the OHL playoffs with a sweep of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Next, they'll face the winner of the first-round series between Niagara and North Bay; the Ice Dogs are currently leading 2-1.
Carving new ice @Ottawa67sHockey.
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 28, 2019
Hard to believe but that’s the first series win for @Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro in his illustrious #OHL career.#OHLPlayoffs | #OTTvsHAM pic.twitter.com/DZSNNTncsJ
Meanwhile, Jett Woo's WHL season is over after his Moose Jaw Warriors were swept by the Saskatoon Blades.
#Canucks prospect Jett Woo has his @TheWHL season end tonight as Moose Jaw falls in OT in Game 4 & is swept by Saskatoon. Expect to hear Woo joining @UticaComets within the next few days.
— Joey Kenward (@kenwardskorner) March 28, 2019
It'll be interesting to see if Woo can help salvage the Utica Comets' playoff chances. With eight games left on their regular-season schedule, the Comets are currently in sixth place in the AHL's North Division, six points behind fourth-place Belleville.
Enjoy the game!