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Monster showing from Jacob Markstrom gives Canucks the win over the Kings |
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Saturday December 28 - Vancouver Canucks 3 - Los Angeles Kings 2
Playoffs, baby!
The details of the scenario that I laid out in Saturday's blog came true. The Canucks won and the Wild lost, so Vancouver wakes up on Sunday morning back in the second-wild card spot in the Western Conference — ahead of Edmonton thanks to games in hand.
The result comes after a heroic performance by Jacob Markstrom, who made a career-high 49 saves in Vancouver's 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
I was back in the press box again on Saturday, covering the game for the Canadian Press. All the details are in my game story, including Markstrom playing down his busy night *and* saying that if he's asked, he's fine with playing again on Sunday in Calgary.
When I started this holiday fill-in assignment with the game against Vegas on December 19, the level of confidence around the team was at its lowest point of the season. Remarkably, the Canucks are now out the other end on a four-game winning streak, with a chance to climb even higher if they can pull out another win against the Flames on Sunday.
Travis Green and his team were well aware of the fact that they were fortunate to pick up two points against the Kings. Coming out of the holiday layoff, Green said his group was "fighting the puck" and Elias Pettersson admitted, "It was a good thing that we can come away with a win, but we can't play like this next game. It's going to be tougher."
But after a sluggish start to the game, Jake Virtanen and Tyler Motte gave Vancouver a 2-0 lead after one period, before the Markstrom show really began. The Kings chipped away, finally tying the game at 6:46 of the third, but it took just 19 seconds for Pettersson to answer back with his 18th of the year.
The Kings are a better team now than they were earlier in the season, when the Canucks skated to two easy wins. As Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan put it, "we closed the gap from the last time we played this team. They owned us for six periods. Playing back-to-back after Christmas isn’t easy and we certainly closed the gap on them."
Now halfway through their 2019-20 schedule, the Kings have collected 36 points in 41 games. That's only a hair better than their 71-point finish last season but they're trending in the right direction. Tied for fourth in the league with an average of 33.9 shots per game, expect to see them continue to make life difficult for their opponents in the second half.
Sunday December 29 - Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames - 6:30 p.m. - Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 39 GP, 20-15-4, 44 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
Calgary Flames: 40 GP, 20-15-5, 45 pts, third in Pacific Division
It feels like an understatement to say that a lot has happened around the Calgary Flames since they shut out the Canucks 3-0 on October 5, in their only other meeting of the year.
The Flames were struggling on the ice when the Bill Peters scandal broke just over a month ago. Since associate coach Geoff Ward took over behind the bench in Buffalo on November 27, Calgary has gone 9-3-1, and came back after Christmas with a 5-1 trouncing of the Oilers in Edmonton on Friday night.
After playing 45 games last season, David Rittich has now consolidated his hold on the Flames' No. 1 netminding job. In the first year of a two-year deal that pays him just $2.75 million a season, Rittich is 17-8-5 with a 2.65 goals against and .916 save percentage — numbers that compare favourably to our hero Markstrom's 13-11-3 record, now with a 2.63 GAA and .919 save percentage.
Rittich is confirmed to start against Vancouver — and it looks like now 23-year-old Sam Bennett will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Deployed mostly on the fourth line these days, Bennett is pointless in five games since returning from an upper-body injury on December 17, and has just five points in 25 games this year.
Here's how the Flames are projected to roll their lines:
One change that Ward has made is moving Elias Lindholm to centre. He was drafted as a centre when he was chosen fifth overall by Carolina in 2013, but found a home at right wing on a line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau when he came to Calgary last season, which led to a career-high 78-point campaign.
This year, Lindholm has 30 points in 40 games, which projects to 62 points. But his 16 goals still lead the Flames and he has been hot lately, with seven points in his last four games.
Note the unusual 6:30 p.m. PT start time for the game — part of a double-header of sorts on Sportsnet that kicks off with Montreal visiting Florida at 4 p.m.
And as far as World Juniors go — it's scoreless between Russia and Team USA as I type this, midway through the second period on a light day of action in the Czech Republic. Earlier, Canucks prospect Toni Utunen picked up his first assist of the tournament as the Finns dispatched Kazakhstan by a score of 7-1.
Kazakhstan's next opponent is Nils Hoglander and the Swedes in Monday's early game in Trinec, while Canada faces Germany in Ostrava. In the later games, Switzerland takes on Slovakia and the U.S. will play the Czechs.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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