Vancouver Canucks vs. Phoenix Coyotes - Sunday January 26 - 5:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Fox Sports Arizona Plus
Vancouver Canucks 26-17-9 61 points fourth in Pacific Division Phoenix Coyotes 24-18-9 57 points fifth in Pacific Division
The Vancouver Canucks look to get back on the winning track as they continue their last homestand before the Olympic break with a Sunday matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Jason Botchford of The Province reports that the Canucks spent an hour working on their power play at Saturday's practise, and that Mike Gillis would like to see the team practise more—though he blames the new CBA and the mandated days off, rather the coaching staff that gives the group lots of extra rest:
“I think fatigue is a factor but I think lack of practice time is a bigger factor,… Gillis said on TEAM 1040. “With the new CBA, you have to have four days off during each month. With our travel schedule, fitting four days off in is taking away from practice time."
Word is that Yannick Weber will be back in the lineup to help out in extra-man situations. The Canucks will likely go with seven defensemen, while David Booth sits out.
Booth was hunting for samples at the Gluten Free Expo on Saturday after practise:
I'm going to crush so many samples at this gluten free expo thing ah ma jig.
— David Booth (@D_Booth7) January 25, 2014The other big storyline for Sunday's game will be the issue of revenge for Martin Hanzal. Just 10 days ago, Hanzal went on an unprecedented offensive with his stick in the third period of Vancouver's 1-0 loss to Phoenix in the desert. He knocked both Mike Santorelli and Henrik Sedin out of the lineup, but drew his only penalty for the stick to the head of David Booth, who wasn't injured.
Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun quotes Dale Weise suggesting revenge is imminent:
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow but I think he’s going to have to answer the bell,… said Weise. “Obviously he took a pretty good stab at Hankie, a pretty good stab at Boothie and then Santorelli off the draw. It was tough for us (to immediately react). We saw what he was doing but it’s a tight game and you can’t really go out and get a penalty trying to jump a guy, or trying to engage a guy, and then they score and make it 2-0. So you have to be smart about the way you do it.…
I'm glad to see that even Weise acknowledges that revenge must be served "smart." With the Coyotes sitting just four points behind Vancouver in the standings, I'd hate to see an undisciplined incident fuel a Coyotes win that could ultimately lead to them snatching away the Canucks' playoff spot.
One thing's for sure: the Hanzal storyline creates an air of intrigue around this game that doesn't happen very often when the Coyotes come to town. I'm curious to see what happens tonight.
The Canucks also mixed up their lines at practise yesterday. Here's what we could see against Phoenix—I wonder if they'll use Yannick Weber up front at all on a fourth line, or strictly for power play duty?
Higgins-Kesler-Burrows Daniel-Dalpe-Kassian Weise-Richardson-Hansen Sestito, Lain
Quick Hits:
- As I type this, today's outdoor game at Yankee Stadium has been delayed by an hour due to "sun glare." Funny that a nice day can wreak as much havoc as rain or snow—I guess that's all part of the problem of being outside!
I watched a bit of the Kings and Ducks from Dodger Stadium last night. I thought the night-time vibe worked and the stadium looked good on TV, but when there are no fans close to the rink, the playing surface looks smaller to me, somehow: the players look like a bunch of dads playing on their kids' rink at school. Not much of a game, either—the Ducks got two early goals and that was basically the whole story.
I heard one of the NHL suits say yesterday that they'd definitely do "less than six" outdoor games next year. This makes me hopeful that they're recognizing the overkill—and maybe realizing that the effort outweighs the benefits.
- Another win for the Utica Comets on Saturday night in Abbotsford. For the second straight night, Benn Ferriero was the overtime hero. This time, the Comets beat the Heat 4-3. Jordan Schroeder had one assist and Alexandre Grenier had two goals, giving him 15 on the season. He's a 6'4" right winger who was selected by the Canucks in the third round of the 2011 draft, and he's now third in Comets scoring behind Pascal Pelletier and Ferriero. Has he earned a look on the big club?
- Even ex-Canucks can't catch a break these days. Detroit put Mikael Samuelsson on waivers on Saturday, as did Calgary with Shane O'Brien.
- Eklund's suggesting that the Canucks have interest in soon-to-be UFA Matt Moulson. Would Mike Gillis move away from his "no rentals" position if the injuries persist and the goals stay scarce?