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Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators - Tuesday December 3 - 5:00 pm - Sportsnet Pacific, Fox Sports Tennessee
Vancouver Canucks: 14-10-5 fifth in Pacific Division Nashville Predators: 13-11-3 sixth in Central Division
I spoke too soon about the Canucks escaping Carolina without serious injury. As you've probably heard by now, Alex Burrows' jaw was broken on Sunday when he was hit by Chris Tanev's clearing attempt.
Dan Murphy has the blow-by-blow, if you will, of how Burrows got worried that something was seriously wrong during Vancouver's team dinner in Nashville on Sunday night.
"I had like 10 crab cakes, lobster bisque and I had some linguini with tomato and ground beef sauce … I had super-small bites because I couldn’t chew at all so I would stuff tiny pieces and just swallow them,… Burrows said. “So frustrating when guys around are having the big surf and turf."
Of course, the injury is just another blow in a terrible season for Burrows. He missed 12 games earlier this year after suffering a broken foot in the season opener, and hasn't scored all season. Burrows has contributed defensively—he saved what would have been the tying goal in Carolina on Sunday, after his injury.
No definite word yet on how Torts will juggle his lines to deal with Burrows' absence, but Zack Kassian draws back into the lineup. I'd be interested to see him get deployed in Burrows' spot with the twins, but am not holding my breath.
Here's Murph's report from the game-day skate in Nashville:
No line rushes for #canucks. Looks like Santorelli will move into top 6, Dalpe likely to centre 4th line and Kassian returns to lineup.
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) December 3, 2013On Tuesday, the Canucks will face a Predators team that has struggled to score goals but has been defensively stingy despite the absence of goaltender Pekka Rinne and defensemen Shea Weber and Kevin Kline.
Czech rookie goalie Marek Mazanec has been stellar since he stepped in for Rinne, with a 2.00 goals-against and .932 save percentage in 11 games. The Preds have been heavily reliant on rookie blueliner Seth Jones, who leads all first-year NHLers with an average of 23:42 of ice time per game.
For the first time this year, the Canucks have managed to score power play goals in five straight games, but they'll be facing a hot penalty killing unit in Nashville. The Preds haven't given up a goal while shorthanded for the last eight straight games; they'll be looking to tie their franchise record tonight.
The Canucks haven't won back-to-back games since the four-game winning streak that wrapped up the long road trip at the end of October. If they string together two in a row tonight—and the Coyotes lose to Edmonton—they can move into eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
Expect to see Roberto Luongo back in net for Vancouver.
Quick Hits:
- After Vancouver's visit to New York on the weekend, it seems like a good time to reflect on how the teams' styles of play have changed under their new coaches. Here's a quick comparison of some key stats compared to last year:
Blocked Shots:
Vancouver: 2013-14 tied for third in NHL 2012-13 27th in NHL New York Rangers: 2013-14 17th in NHL 2012-13 sixth in NHL
Hits:
Vancouver: 2013-14 21st in NHL (12th in road hits) 2012-13 23rd in NHL (19th in road hits) New York Rangers: 2013-14 12th in NHL (third in road hits) 2012-13 third in NHL (also third in road hits)
Shots on Goal:
Vancouver: 2013-14 first in NHL 2012-13 20th in NHL New York Rangers: 2013-14 seventh in NHL 2012-13 seventh in NHL
The Canucks now lead the entire NHL in shots on goal, though that's partly because they've played so many games. They drop to third in shots per game, but are definitely firing a lot more rubber at the net than they did last year under Alain Vigneault.
And yes—they really are blocking a lot more shots, too. I feel like I might jinx them by mentioning this, but they're going about their blocking safely. Hopefully that trend continues.
Hitting numbers are still relatively low, though road hits have increased a bit. I'd say part of the reason here is that Torts deploys his top two lines so much; they're not going to do a lot of hitting.
I wouldn't mind seeing more physical play from the blue line. Bieksa and Edler do this very well when they're at the top of their game.
- I hate to wrap up on a depressing note, but here's a troubling story out of Quebec, where Gino Odjick has been hospitalized with post-concussion syndrome issues after travelling home to attend his father's funeral. Click here to read the full report from Marc De Foy of QMI Agency.
It was great to see Gino alongside Pavel Bure at the jersey retirement ceremony last month and he got a huge roar from the crowd at Rogers Arena. As one of the most beloved Canucks of all time, here's hoping that he gets the help that he needs.