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Brock Boeser returns to the lineup as the Vancouver Canucks host the Kings
November 27, 2018, 2:25 PM ET [330 Comments]
Carol Schram
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Tuesday November 27 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650

Vancouver Canucks: 26 GP, 11-13-2, 24 pts, fifth in Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings: 23 GP, 8-14-1, 17 pts, eighth in Pacific Division

After bumping their slump in Los Angeles on Saturday night, the Vancouver Canucks are kicking off a five-game homestand against those same L.A. Kings on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.

Though the game is part of a home-and-home for Vancouver, both teams are coming off wins. The Kings knocked off Edmonton on Sunday at Staples Center by a score of 5-2 in a game that wasn't without controversy. Known as a roll-four-lines coach during his time behind the bench here in Vancouver, Willie Desjardins raised some eyebrows when he stapled his leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk to the bench for the last 25:44 of the game. He didn't get a shift in the third period, which was closer than the final score appeared: Dustin Brown finished up with a hat trick as the Kings scored two empty-net goals.




Before John Stevens was fired on November 4, Kovalchuk had 4-7-11 in 13 games. He added a goal and two assists in Desjardins' first game behind the bench, a 4-1 win over Anaheim, but has since gone pointless in nine straight games. He played 13:23 against Vancouver on Saturday on a line with Adrian Kempe and Carl Hagelin, but after Hagelin suffered an MCL injury during that game, Kovalchuk was moved down to play with Michael Amadio and Nate Thompson on Sunday, where he played just 6:20 against the Oilers.

Despite the recent slump and decline in ice time, Kovalchuk is still tied with Drew Doughty for the Kings' scoring lead, as L.A. ranks second-last in the league in goals per game—a hair ahead of Anaheim at 2.17. As a matter of fact, five of the eight lowest-scoring teams hail from the Pacific, also including Arizona (third-lowest at 2.36), Vegas (sixth-lowest at 2.72) and Edmonton (eighth-lowest at 2.78). By comparison, Vancouver is a relatively lofty 12-lowest at 2.92. Not bad!

And speaking of scoring, Brock Boeser will return to the Vancouver lineup on Tuesday after missing 11 games over the last three weeks as he recovered from that groin strain.




Boeser skated with Elias Pettersson and Nikolay Goldobin at the Canucks' practice on Monday. His last game was that 7-6 overtime thriller against Colorado on November 2, when he had four points, Pettersson had five and Goldobin had two assists.

Darren Archibald cleared waivers on Monday after making room on the roster for Alex Edler. The Canucks will need to clear another spot today for Boeser.

Here's how the lines looked at Monday's practice:




Travis Green looks to be sticking with the same defense pairings that helped deliver the win in Los Angeles, so Derrick Pouliot and Troy Stecher will likely sit for the second straight game.

The other matchup to watch tonight will be Jake Virtanen vs. Dion Phaneuf, which turned into a battle with some gamesmanship on Saturday night.

The pair have some history, too:




After playing in both of the Kings' games on the weekend, Cal Petersen is expected to make his eighth career NHL start on Tuesday while Jacob Markstrom and his lucky ear mask should get the nod for Vancouver.

One big off-ice note tonight: the Canucks are offering a brain-bending one miiillllllllion dollar 50/50 jackpot for one night only:




As always, the jackpot will be split between the winner and the Canucks for Kids Fund. According to the Canucks' website, the highest jackpot so far this year was $242,125 at the season opener against Calgary on October 3, so tonight's jackpot will be more than four times as much.

Tickets can be purchased at the rink or online.

And I'll finish off with a couple of notes from Utica:













Also, a couple of thoughts from Thatcher Demko, who came back in fine style last week with a pair of wins after battling through his concussion.







Enjoy the game!
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