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Phoenix Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks - Friday December 6 - 7:00 - Sportsnet Pacific, Fox Sports Arizona Plus
Vancouver Canucks: 15-10-5 fifth in Pacific Division Phoenix Coyotes: 16-8-4 fourth in Pacific Division
After several weeks on the outside looking in, the Vancouver Canucks have a chance to climb back into the playoff picture when they face the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks' recent struggles began the last time they played Phoenix. Coming off a dominant 4-0 win against Toronto, Vancouver hit the road and dropped its first game to the Coyotes—3-2 in a shootout. That started a ten-game stretch that saw the team go 2-4-4 before righting the ship on its most recent road trip. They'll need to keep the momentum going on this homestand if they hope to stay in the hunt.
Word from practice yesterday is that Alex Edler's injury is to his knee and that he's out indefinitely. Andrew Alberts draws in and will be playing with Jason Garrison. It'll be interesting to see how the pairings are deployed.
Here's how the forwards looked at Thursday's practice. Looks like David Booth will start the game with the Sedins—he was used in that spot for much of Tuesday's game against Nashville. Zack Kassian's slotted onto the fourth line with Sestito and Welsh.
Canucks practice lines: 22-33-7/20-17-25/32-15-36/29-13-9/
— Ben Kuzma (@benkuzma) December 5, 2013Special teams could be a critical part of tonight's game. Phoenix is 26th in the league on the penalty kill, while Vancouver's power play has now scored in six straight games. The Canucks have the top-ranked penalty kill and are in the NHL top 10 with three shorthanded goals.
For all the talk of Mike Smith being a potential Olympic goalie, his record has not been great this season. Phoenix is 25th in the league in goals-against per game, at 3.14, while Vancouver is 13th at 2.50. The Coyotes' success has been coming from the offensive side, where they're fourth overall, also with 3.14 goals scored per game.
Smith can get streaky, but the Coyotes are definitely beatable tonight.
If you're interested in diving into the statistical minutiae of the game, the Coyotes website has posted a PDF of the complete game notes package that will be handed out at the arena tonight. Here's the link:
http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=57421&navid=DL|PHX|home
Unfortunately, I will be wearing my DJ hat tonight so I won't be attending the game. I'll be getting the blow-by-blow from my spies and looking forward to reading your thoughts in the comments when I get home, and will have a recap for you tomorrow. Grading the Back End - Round 2 - December Report Card:
Continuing on from yesterday, here are my December player grades for the defense and goaltenders:
DEFENSE
Jason Garrison 3-14-17 minus-2
After being as cold as Vancouver's weather for a month—Garrison went from October 22 to November 22 without a single point—the man with the big shot is now back on track. Garrison has eight points in his last six games—not coincidentally, the same six games where the power play has started to click. Hopefully he can keep it going when paired with Andrew Alberts tonight.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: B
Kevin Bieksa: 1-10-11 plus-8
Bieksa has settled down since the early part of the season—and I'm not sure that's a good thing. He's at his best when he plays with an edge, which we've seen only in spurts over the last month. He came up swinging when Drayson Bowman boarded him early in the Carolina game, waking up the entire team in what could have been a sleepy matinee affair. I want to see more of this from Juice.
Previous Grade: A- New Grade: B+
Ryan Stanton: 1-9-10 plus-4
Though Stanton is a distant No. 6 among the blueliners with just 13:39 of ice time a game, he has been the standout of the season on the back end. He's second in hits behind Bieksa, has only three giveaways against him and is now third on offense, with 10 points. Stanton has gone quiet offensively ever since his big three-point night against Columbus, but when he's not being noticed, he's doing a lot of things right. He's living up to his positive first impression.
Previous Grade: B- New Grade: B
Alex Edler: 3-6-9 minus-12
Now sidelined with a knee injury, it's been a bumpy ride for Alex Edler. Like his namesake Alex Burrows, Edler is in the first year of a lucrative new contract and is struggling to live up to the expectations. Always a hot-and-cold player, Edler was leading the blueline in ice time before he got hurt but also uncharacteristically has the worst plus-minus on the team, with a minus-12. The thought of Andrew Alberts playing meaningful minutes for any stretch of time makes me nervous. Here's hoping Edler recovers quickly and his time off the ice helps him to find "the good Eddie" that we haven't seen much this year.
Previous Grade: B+ New Grade: C+
Chris Tanev: 1-8-9 plus-3
I've been a big supporter of Tanev since he joined the Canucks three years ago. I liked his steady, mistake-free game. Not sure if I take that for granted now or my expectations have grown, but lately I've been unnerved by the number of times Tanev seems to be wildly flailing in front of Roberto Luongo when the opposition scores a goal that Vancouver couldn't afford to give up. Maybe the breakdowns are happening farther out and he's trying to save the day on his own, but Tanev doesn't seem quite so calm, cool and collected anymore.
Tanev's nine points this season are already a career high for him and he's second to Stanton with just four giveaways. He's never going to be a dominating physical presence; perhaps I should be satisfied with what we have.
Previous Grade: B- New Grade: B-
Dan Hamhuis: 0-7-7 plus-3
I expect more from Hamhuis, too. His play has steadied since that rough patch at the beginning of the year, and he's improved his plus-minus. Tortorella has certainly given him every opportunity, even time on the power play. A little better, but I want more.
Previous Grade: C+ New Grade: B-
I won't assign grades for Alberts or Yannick Weber, as neither has played since the last report card.
GOAL
Roberto Luongo: 12-8-5 2.35 GAA .914 save percentage
After two years of constant drama surrounding Vancouver's goaltenders, the crease has been the calmest place on the ice for Vancouver this year. As is his fashion, Roberto Luongo got better in November, improving his goals-against and his save percentage and giving his team a chance to win every night despite its offensive challenges.
With the inside track to start for Team Canada in Sochi in February, this season has gone just about as well as Luongo and the Canucks could have hoped between the pipes. A strong playoff run would complete the package.
Previous Grade: C+ New Grade: B+
Eddie Lack: 3-2-0 2.41 GAA .911 save percentage
Though we've barely seem Lack, he has been solid when called upon and his numbers have also improved since the first report card. He basically matches Luongo's statistical performance and has kept a good attitude despite limited ice time.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: B
Quick Hit:
Thursday's Heritage Classic press conference featured the unveiling of a preview of the NHL Revealed reality series, which will cover the Canucks and other teams. The clip covers Vancouver's game in Ottawa, which makes sense. I wonder if the sense of accountability that comes with having cameras around is part of what has kickstarted Vancouver's play over the past few games?
Here's the clip, if you haven't seen it: