Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks - Wednesday January 15 - 7:30 pm - Sportsnet Pacific, Fox Sports West
Vancouver Canucks 24-14-9 57 points fourth in Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks 35-8-5 75 points first in Pacific Division
The Vancouver Canucks will try to build off an emotional game at Staples Center on Monday night when they visit the toughest rink in the league to take on the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
After losing their lead late in the third period, then succumbing to a Corey Perry overtime-winner at 4:58 of overtime, Vancouver squeezed a single point out of the Honda Center when they visited last on January 5.
The Ducks are still undefeated at home this season, now with a record of 19-0-2. They're on a seven-game winning streak that stretches back to New Year's Eve, and have been sitting at home since Sunday, when they beat Detroit 1-0. They're now five games away from tying the record for the longest-ever home point streak to start a season: the Philadelphia Flyers went 26 straight back in 1979-80.
Sounds like the Canucks will not have to face red-hot Jonas Hiller tonight. Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register is reporting that he's sick:
Some goalie stuff this a.m. Frederik Andersen has been recalled from AHL Norfolk. Jonas Hiller is sick. Apparently was sick yesterday.
— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) January 15, 2014Andersen had been sent down to Norfolk to get some playing time. He took the pre-game skate in Anaheim but as I type this at 10:20 am, there's no definite word on whether Hiller's out tonight. The Canucks faced Andersen when they lost 3-1 at the Honda Center early in the season, back on November 10.
For their part, the Canucks will be trying to use their "moral victory" against the Kings on Monday to keep the emotion high, while scoring some goals along the way.
Darren Archibald was re-assigned to Utica on Tuesday. In three games during this most recent recall, he averaged just over five minutes a night—less than when he was here back in November. Even after Sestito's game misconduct on Monday, Archibald still played just 5:49.
Torts says David Booth will be back in the lineup on Wednesday, and that he plans to recall another player from Utica.
"Booth will play against the Ducks as we've sent Archibald to Utica. We'll be calling up another player." - Torts
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) January 14, 2014With another game on Thursday against Phoenix, the thinking is that the extra forward will help to cover the back-to-back.
Will we get to see Nicklas Jensen for the first time this year? His play has picked up in recent games, though he still is just 5-4-9 in 29 games this season.
The Comets will be heading out west next week, stopping off in Chicago before a pair of weekend games against the Abbotsford Heat on January 24 and 25. Will any of you be attending and able to offer a scouting report?
The Ducks will be a formidable opponent, but one thing I've really enjoyed about this year's Canucks is their unpredictable ability to raise their game against some of their toughest opponents. I was pleasantly surprised by what they were able to achieve against Boston, against Chicago the last time they played them, even against the Blues last week. They haven't been able to pull a rabbit out of their hat in SoCal yet this year—maybe tonight's the night? They ended a 23-game Detroit home winning streak on February 23, 2012. It can be done!
Quick Hits:
- Thanks for all the lively discussion yesterday about the pros and cons of the Canucks' playing style against the Kings on Monday. To a man, the team seemed pretty pleased with the outcome, and a lot of you seemed to appreciate seeing our boys stand up for themselves.
Before I get too excited, I want to see if it can be sustained and translated into wins. We have previously seen the Canucks amp their physical game way up—that daytime game in Boston in 2012 comes to mind—but it didn't take long before they were back to their usual selves.
It should be possible to play a physical enough game to make it tough on the other guys without putting your team in a hole. And goals will need to be scored along the way.
- Pierre LeBrun has a good piece outlining how the Olympics will affect teams' trading opportunities for the rest of the year. Click here to take a look.
Basically, the pre-Olympic trade freeze will go into effect on February 7. Roster will be unfrozen again on February 23, then the final deadline for the year will be March 5. With only a 10-day window to make deals after the Olympics, will we start to see some action over the next couple of weeks?
No surprise here—Lebrun suggests the Canucks could move a defenseman for a center or a top-nine winger, but he thinks a center would be more appealing.
The Canucks also get a few mentions in Sportsnet's current blog. Click here for that link. Steve Ott and Dustin Byfuglien are two of the players that Mark Spector thinks could fit here in Vancouver. Plenty of other names are also bandied about.
- One last thing! Canucks' prospect Ben Hutton is a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in NCAA hockey. Fans can vote once per day. Here's the link: