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Vancouver Canucks at Ottawa Senators – Thursday November 28 - 4:30 pm - Sportsnet Vancouver, Sportsnet Ottawa, RDS, NHL Network (US)
Vancouver Canucks 12-9-5 fifth in Pacific Division Ottawa Senators 10-11-4 sixth in Atlantic Division
The Vancouver Canucks will look to build on the gritty effort they showed in their last game when they start a four-game road trip in Ottawa on Thursday night.
Vancouver ultimately fell 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings, but showed some real backbone in dealing with the punishment being dished out. Daniel Sedin told Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun that the team wants to make that tenacity a core part of its identity:
I really like the way we responded. After that hit, we totally took over the game. We talked after the game, too, that this is the way we should play from the get-go. It shouldn’t take Henrik getting hit for us to play that way. We were really desperate, hungry.
Despite the defensive errors that allowed the Kings to score their two late goals on Monday, Torts told Jason Botchford of The Province that he's leaving his pairings as they are:
Sometimes you have to make the pair fight through it and get it together without destroying the other pairs who are playing really well. I think we’ve played well defensively. I like our defence.
Botchford downplays the Martin Erat trade possibilities, suggesting that Erat would be a downgrade from David Booth. He reasons that Erat has been ineffective in the weaker Eastern Conference and that he's older than Booth. I'd argue that the fit just wasn't right for him in Washington. Erat was a useful player during his time in Nashville—useful enough that the Caps paid handsomely for him at last year's trade deadline. I'm not saying he'd get the Canucks lighting the lamp again, but in my mind it's a low-risk deal when Booth's contribution has been zero.
Booth will start the game in the top six tonight. Let's see if he can make me eat my words.
The Canucks have the schedule advantage in this game, for a change. They've been in Ottawa since Tuesday, while the Senators wrapped up a three-game road trip on Wednesday night in Washington. They were down early by a 3-1 margin before rallying to beat the Capitals 6-4. It was a big win for the Senators, who have been struggling in their own right, but the Canucks may be able to take advantage of a fragile and tired team playing on back-to-back nights.
Craig Anderson played Wednesday in Washington so Robin Lehner will likely start for the Sens against Vancouver.
Quick Hits:
- The NHL is using today's game as a marketing springboard for Vancouver's Heritage Classic game in March against these same Senators. The special vintage jerseys have been unveiled and ticket details have been announced. Click here for pictures and details.
- I did Stats on Wednesday for the Leafs/Penguins game, in which Pittsburgh came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 6-5 in the shootout. The game seemed like a different sport from what we've been watching here in Vancouver. Three major issues jumped out for me:
1) Both teams made a number of glaring defensive errors that were at least as bad as what unraveled the Canucks on Monday night. Quite a few of those errors led to goals, but none stood out as a game-changer. It reminded me that the margin for error in the NHL can often be much greater than what the Canucks have been dealing with in recent games.
2) The Penguins didn't break when they fell behind by three goals in the second period. They got a power play about eight minutes in and Dan Bylsma called a time out to regroup his team, but Sidney Crosby waved it off, certain that the power play could execute without drawing up a play. Sure enough, it took Evgeni Malkin just 10 seconds to score, starting the Penguins' comeback. Compared to our fragile Canucks, Crosby's confidence was impressive and enviable. I hope our boys can get that same sort of swagger back.
3) Crosby and Malkin in the shootout—wow. Though specialist Jussi Jokinen didn't deliver for the Penguins, the team's two offensive superstars both made dazzling moves to beat Jonathan Bernier and give their team the win.
Here's the video. I'd love to see the Canucks show this kind of creativity when the game is on the line.
I'll be back tomorrow with a recap and a look ahead at the weekend.