Vancouver Attempts To Dethrone Division Leading Los Angeles Kings Tonight

Posted on December 28, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 28, 2015

Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows, Chris Higgins To Play Tonight

Vancouver (14-14-9) plays the 2nd of four games against Pacific division opponents tonight as they host the Los Angeles Kings (21-11-2), on their 7-game home stand.

The Canucks enter the game with a 3 game undefeated streak at home (6-6-3), and 7 points in their last 4 games, where they are undefeated going 3-0-1; the last win being on Boxing Day, 2-1 in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers.

Jannik Hansen notched two goals to lead Vancouver to victory. His game winning goal puts him 20th for most GWG’s in franchise history with 16. Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Matt Bartkowski and Jacob Markstrom each had an assist. Vancouver was 3 for 3 on the penalty kill but 0 for 2 on the power play. Adam Cracknell had 8 hits in the game, a season high for any Canuck. Jacob Markstrom stopped 32 or 33 shots.

This marks the longest winning streak at home this season; last year the Canucks posted one four game winning streak (Feb. 7-Mar. 1) at home and two three game winning streaks at Rogers Arena (Apr. 6-11 and Oct. 26-30).

Vancouver sits tied for 3rd place in the Pacific division with Arizona with 37 points, 7 points behind the Kings in 1rst place.

Canucks are a single point ahead of San Jose and Calgary; three points ahead of Edmonton and four points in front of Anaheim.

Vancouver is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.

The game is the third of five meetings this season between the two teams and first to be played in Vancouver. The Kings visit Rogers Arena again on Apr. 4. The Canucks pay a visit to the Staples Center on Mar. 7. The Canucks have a record of 1-0-1 in the season series to date.

Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows and Chris Higgins are confirmed to play tonight.

Jacob Markstrom will start in net for the Canucks with Joe Cannata backing him up.

Markstrom is 3-5-3 in his last 11 games, with a 2.33 GAA and .924 Sv%. and is 2-0-0 in his last two games with a 0.97 GAA and .967 Sv% in relief for the injured Ryan Miller.

In the Kings last game, Arizona managed to score twice on a major penalty late in the third period to force overtime against the Los Angeles Kings, but it would be the Kings scored the eventual winner. Anze Kopitar popped in the winner 36 seconds into the overtime period, for a 4-3 victory.

Los Angeles is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

The Canucks need to tighten up their defensive game, giving up less even strength shots to their opponents and win more face-offs, while getting more shots on opposing goalies.

Canucks were 32 for 66 in the face-off circle against Edmonton; 12 for 25 in the final period and overtime. Which is an improvement over previous games.

Vancouver also needs to come up with an improved power play which has been a let down in recent games. Canucks power play is 0 for 13 in their last seven games, including the 6 games on their recent road trip. The 7 games prior, it was only 4 for 30. In the last 14 games, their power play is 4 for 43 for 9.3 percent.

When it comes to the penalty kill, Vancouver is second best in the Pacific division at home, and continued that strong showing on Saturday night when they were 3 for 3 on penalty kill, which will need to continue to be strong the rest of the season.

Vancouver is 17 for 20: 85.0% on their penalty kill, in their last 4 games, in which they sport a record of 3-0-1.

Vancouver overall is the 3rd most penalized team in the NHL, with 438 minutes. They have the 3rd most penalties handed out (172); the 3rd most minors (148); tied for the 6th most majors (14); the 2nd most miscellaneous at 6.

The Canuck players have to be more disciplined and selective when it comes to taking penalties.

In December, Vancouver is the 2nd most penalized team in the league with 158 penalty minutes in 12 games. They are tied for the most penalties taken with 63; are 1rst in most minors with 56; tied for 5th majors with 4.

Be best for Vancouver not to upset the referees, but if they do, the penalty kill is nearing the best it has ever been. The Canucks are 41 for 49, 83.7% in 12 games this month and 21 for 24 in their last five games for 87.5 percent.

CANUCK JOTTINGS

Point Streaks:
- DANIEL SEDIN (2-1-3 / 3 Games)
- HENRIK SEDIN (0-2-2 / 2 Games
Daniel Sedin (133) and Radim Vrbata (130) rank seventh and eighth in the League, respectively, in shots.
Vancouver has a .667 win percentage when scoring three or more goals (10-1-4).
The Canucks 21 PPG on the season are t-16th most in the NHL
Vancouver has had 122 power play opportunities to date, tied for fourth most of any team in the League; 69 of these opportunities have been drawn on the road (t-1st in the NHL).
The Canucks are 16th in the League in blocked shots with 496 and ninth in shots for with 108.
The Canucks called up blue-liner Ashton Sautner from Utica (AHL) yesterday although, for the time being, that appears to be just a depth move.
On Saturday, despite seven regulars out of the line-up including starting netminder Ryan Miller, the Canucks managed to battle back from a one-goal deficit to earn their first overtime win of the season in the 2-1 victory over the Oilers.
Canucks have earned points in four straight (3-0-1), their longest such streak since a five-game run from October 24 to November 2.

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

KINGS PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-KINGS AT A GLANCE

Statistics from the NHL, Vancouver Canucks and SportingCharts, with thanks.

Hansen Scores Winner In Overtime As Canucks Defeat Edmonton 2-1

Posted on December 26, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 26, 2015

Updated: December 27, 2015 10:52 am PST

HOCKEY GODS SMILE ON VANCOUVER AS THEY WIN FIRST OVERTIME GAME OF SEASON

The Vancouver Canucks (14-14-9) won their 3rd consecutive home game, and are undefeated in their last 4 games, as they beat Pacific division opponent Edmonton Oilers (15-18-3) by a score of 2-1 in overtime.

It was the Canucks first overtime win of the season, and the first overtime goal by Jannick Hansen, who scored the winner with less than a minute left in overtime. It was his second goal of the game, and 12th of the season.

Hansen’s goal was that more amazing as he left the game with a minute left in the final period with a facial laceration when his forehead violently hit the crossbar of the Edmonton net on a scoring attempt.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 32 of 33 shots, and had a .970 Sv%.

Markstrom is now 3-5-3 in his last 11 games, with a 2.33 GAA and .924 Sv%.

FIRST PERIOD REVIEW

Vancouver came out in the opening period a little rusty from the Christmas break, giving the puck up a few times and Edmonton had some good scoring chances.

And a giveaway would hurt the Canucks, as Vancouver gave up the puck on their blue line, leading to Edmonton opening up the scoring early in the last half of the opening period.

Mark Letestu, his 4rth goal of the season, made it 1-0 Edmonton, on a wrist shot, assisted by Lauri Korpikoski (3) and Matt Hendricks (4) at 12:55. Letestu came in on Markstrom off the Vancouver blue line, took his time, and buried the puck, to give the Oilers the lead.

There was no further scoring after one period.

Vancouver was 12 for 22 in the face-off circle: Linden Vey, 4 for 4; Bo Horvat, 3 for 5; Henrik Sedin, 4 for 9; Jared McCann, 1 for 4.
Canucks continue to be out shot by opposing teams, as Edmonton out shot the Canucks, 13-6. Radim Vrbata had 4 shots for Vancouver. Defensemen Yannick Weber and Alex Biega the other two shots.
Vancouver had 4 giveaways, one leading to the Edmonton goal. Canucks out hit the Oilers, 8-2 with Adam Cracknell and Andrey Pedan having 2 each.

SECOND PERIOD REVIEW

Canucks came out better in the middle frame, as Bo Horvat caused some excitement in the first minute as he came down the left wing with a burst of speed on Cam Talbot in the Edmonton net, and the Canucks swarmed the Oiler net looking for that tying goal.

Vancouver would eventually score a few minutes later, on an Edmonton turnover, as Jannick Hansen, on a pass from Henrik Sedin (24), would score his 11th goal of the season, on a wrist shot past Talbot, with Daniel Sedin (21) getting the other assist, at 3:37.

A few minutes later the Oilers would make Markstrom come up with some great saves as the Canucks were trapped in their end. At the seven minute mark of the period, shots were 5-4 Edmonton. Edmonton 5 for 7 in the face-off circle.

At the 8 minute mark of the period, it was discovered that Henrik Sedin was favoring his lower body. His brother would have to to take a face-off for him in their end, after which he was replaced by Bo Horvat.

Vancouver pressed Edmonton for nearly two minutes to start the last half of the middle frame, including getting a goal post, as Edmonton unable to get the puck out of their own end. At the end of it all, the Oilers did get the puck out of their end, and Ryan Nugent Hopkins broke away in the netural zone, and came in on Markstrom, on a great scoring chance, that was thwarted by a slash from Yannick Weber.

The first penalty of the game resulted in an Oiler power play at 11:44, which Vancouver would kill with no shots on Markstrom.

Edmonton would continue to have problems breaking out of their own end as Vancouver continued to put pressure on the Oilers in the offensive zone.

Vancouver would get their first power play at 16:55 when Leon Draisaitl would trip Sven Baertschi. Thirty-seven seconds after that penalty ended, Edmonton would receive another penalty, at 19:32 to Darnell Nurse for holding Linden Vey.

Both teams finished the period tied 1-1.

Vancouver out shot Edmonton 11-9; but still were being out shot after two full periods, 22-17.
Radim Vrbata led the Canucks with 5 shots after two periods.
Vancouver was 20 for 41 in the face-off circle after two; 8 for 19 in the middle frame. Henrik Sedin was 0 for 2; Bo Horvat, 6 for 7; Daniel Sedin, 0 for 4; Linden Vey, 0 for 2; Jannick Hansen, 2 for 2; Jared McCann and Derek Dorsett were both, 0 for 1, in that period.
Canucks out hit Edmonton, 10-5.

THIRD PERIOD REVIEW

Vancouver started the final frame with the power play for 1:28, but once again, the Canucks were fruitless, and their power play became 0-2 for in the game; 2 for 29 in their last 11 games (including tonight’s game).

Canucks continued to get chances but kept missing the net with their attempts. By the 6:33 mark of the period, the Canucks would register one official shot on net, many attempts going everywhere else but on net.

With Vancouver carrying most of the play, Henrik Sedin would take a penalty at 8:04, giving Edmonton another power play opportunity, as he hooked Leon Draisaitl. Canucks would kill the penalty.

With just less than 10 minutes left, the Oilers were out shooting the Canucks 26-20 but Vancouver was definitely out chancing Edmonton, as they continued to make a habit of missing the net.

Vancouver would take a careless power play with just over seven and a half minutes left in the game, as rookie Jared McCann would hook Taylor Hall behind the Canuck net.

On the penalty kill, Adam Cracknell grabbed an errant puck at the Vancouver blue line and went in on the Edmonton goalie on a two on one and passed it off to Brandon Prust who was unable to bury the puck on the shorthanded attempt.

Edmonton would be 0 for 3 with the man advantage as Vancouver would make it 36 for 43 (84 per cent) on their penalty kill in their last 11 games (including tonight’s game).

Henrik Sedin continued to play at less than 100%, unable to take face-offs, staying out of the physical play.

With a few minutes left in the game, the Oilers tested the Canucks with a flurry of scoring attempts in their own end, coming close to getting the tie breaking goal.

Jannick Hansen had a scary moment when he hit his forehead on the crossbar of the Edmonton net with just over a minute left in regulation play, on a scoring play that was unsuccessful. Hansen would leave the game to get medical treatment for a facial laceration.

Regulation play would end, with both teams tied at 1-1, needing overtime to attempt decide a winner.

OVERTIME REVIEW

The speed of the Oilers was obvious as the 3 on 3 overtime started, and they soon began pressing for the overtime winner, with the Canucks having difficulty in gaining the puck and moving it out of their own end.

Vancouver would finally make it into the Edmonton end, and move the puck around. Yannick Weber had a great opportunity to win the game but was stopped cold by Cam Talbot in close

But it would take the return of injured Jannick Hansen for Vancouver to win the game in overtime, as he came down the right side, over the Edmonton blue line, and let a slap shot go that Talbot could not stop, giving the Vancouver Canucks a 2-1 overtime win at 4:01.

It was Hansen’s 12 goal of the season, second of the game, assisted by Matt Bartkowski (7) and Canuck goalie Jacob Markstrom (1).

CANUCKS JOTTINGS:

Edmonton out shot Canucks in both the 3rd and overtime periods: 8-5 and 3-2 respectively. And overall, 33-24.
Canucks were 32 for 66 in the face-off circle; 12 for 25 in the final period and overtime.
Vancouver out hit Edmonton, 25-9; had more giveaways than the Oilers, 11 to 6.
Edmonton had more blocked shots, 10 to 9 against Vancouver.
Radim Vrbata finished with 7 shots; Jannick Hansen had 4; Daniel Sedin, 3; Yannick Weber, 3.
Adam Cracknell led all Canucks with 8 hits.
Bo Horvat led Vancouver with 3 blocked shots; Alex Edler had 2.

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

Statistics courtesy of the NHL and Vancouver Canucks, with thanks.

Vancouver Looks To Level Knockout Blow To Rival Edmonton In Boxing Day Match

Posted on December 24, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 24, 2015

Canucks Need To Batten Down The Hatches On Home Stand Against Visiting Division Rivals

OILERS (15-18-2) at CANUCKS (13-14-9)

Vancouver plays the first of four games against Pacific division opponents tonight as they host the Edmonton Oilers, and begin their 7-game home stand.

The Canucks enter the game with a 2 game undefeated streak at home (5-6-3), and 5 points in their last three road games, where they are undefeated in regulation play going 2-0-1; the last win being Tuesday night, 2-1 over Tampa Bay.

Cam Talbot and the Oilers arrive in Vancouver with Talbot’s 44 saves in a 3-1 victory at home against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

Edmonton is 2-6-1 in their last 9 games on the road. They are 1-3-0 on the road in December, with 6 GF and 15 GA, and were shutout 4-0 in Chicago on December 17. The Oilers have lost 4 of their past 5 games away from Rexall Place.

The (Canucks) 14 home games are the second-fewest in the Western Conference, and their five home wins are tied for the fewest in the League.

Source: http://canucks.nhl.com/

Vancouver has played the most games in their division (36) at the Christmas break and currently sit in 3rd place, with 35 points, a point behind San Jose and a single point ahead of Arizona and Calgary; two points in front of Edmonton. Anaheim is in last place, with 30 points, five points behind Vancouver.

Edmonton is 9-6-1 since Nov. 20 in part because of a 2.75 goals-against average in that span, which is below their season average of 3.03. Anders Nilsson has a 2.47 GAA and .919 save percentage and is 7-5-0 in 12 games during that span.

Vancouver is 6-7-3 during that same period with a 2.94 GAA, which is above their season average of 2.81. Ryan Miller has a 3.10 GAA with a .906 SV%, and is 5-4-2 in 11 games since November 20. Jacob Marskstrom has a record of 1-5-2 in 8 games, and has a 2.19 GAA and .919 Sv% during that span.

IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED

Vancouver though have not done well at home so far this season (5 wins & 9 losses), and need to take advantage of the 7th man and last change, and exercise home ice dominance over their visiting teams.

The Canucks have the worst face-off win percentage in the NHL, and have seen the impact of the Brandon Sutter injury in that area of the game.

Vancouver are 20th in the NHL overall in shot attempts against 5-on-5, and 23rd overall in shot attempts for 5-on-5. Unfortunately for the Canucks, their opponents have taken 113 more shot attempts then they have, which puts them 21rst in the NHL overall.

At Rogers Place in 14 games, the Canucks have given up 68 more shots then they have made (572 to 504), the worst in the Pacific division.

Only two teams in the Pacific division have a positive SAT Close, Los Angeles and Anaheim. Vancouver is tied for second worst in the division, with a -39, meaning that when the games are close, Canucks opponents have more shot attempts then they do.

Canucks SAT percentage when games are close, is the second worst at home in the Pacific division, 47.19 percent; and only better than Ottawa, Arizona and Colorado in the NHL; overall in the NHL, Vancouver is 21rst in 36 games with 48.76 percent.

To the point, the Canucks need to tighten up their defensive game, giving up less even strength shots to their opponents and win more face-offs, while getting more shots on opposing goalies.

Vancouver also needs to come up with an improved power play which has been a let down in recent games. Canucks power play was 0 for 11 on their recent 6-game road trip.

At Rogers Place, the Canucks power play tops the rest of the teams in the Pacific division, but with the recent drought from recent road games, Vancouver will have to get that monkey off their back in a hurry, if that is going to continue to serve them well at home, otherwise, it is one more advantage for teams playing in Vancouver.

When it comes to the penalty kill, Vancouver is second best in the Pacific division at home, and will need to continue to be strong the rest of the season.

On the recent road trip, Vancouver was 14 for 17: 82.3%, in their last three games, in which they sported a record of 2-0-1, not losing in regulation play.

Vancouver is the second most penalized team in the NHL, with 432 minutes. They have the 3rd most penalties handed out; the 3rd most minors; tied for the 5th most majors; tied for the most miscellaneous at 6.

The Canuck players have to be more disciplined and selective when it comes to taking penalties.

If they are going to win games in the future, best not to upset the referees.

In their last game against Tampa Bay on December 22, Vancouver went 9-for-10 on the penalty kill, the first time they have successfully defended nine power plays since Oct. 21, 2007 against the Columbus Blue Jackets (also 9-for-10).

“If the [penalty kill] wasn’t on, that was going to be a 5-1 game or something like that,” forward Jannik Hansen told the Vancouver Province.