CANUCKS BANTER     By Andrew Chernoff    January 6, 2016

SPECIAL TEAMS LEAD CANUCKS TO WIN OVER HURRICANES

The Vancouver Canucks  (16-16-9) never-say-die attitude against the Arizona Coyotes (16-18-7) pays off,  led by Bo Horvat’s offensive outburst, as the Canucks win 3-2, their third win in five games on their seven game home stand.

Bo Horvat, with two goals, including the winner on the power play with 1:06 remaining in regulation; and Sven Baertschi, with a goal on his return to the lineup, scored for Vancouver to improve the Canucks record to 5-2-1 in their last eight games.

For Horvat, after scoring his first goal in 28 games against Arizona on Monday night, he now has 3 goals in two straight games, two on the power play.

Horvat, had his first career multi-goal performance in 109 games played, and also led the Vancouver to its eighth consecutive victory over the Hurricanes at Rogers Arena dating to January 12, 2002 (0-6-2).

For Baertschi, he now has 4 goals and 2 assists along with 12 shots on net, in his last 6 games played.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 of 28 shots in his 6th straight start, for a Sv% of .929. He is now, 4-2-1 in his last 7 games, with a GAA of 2.12 and a Sv% of .929. In his last nine games, he is 4-4-1, with a GAA of 2.02 and Sv% of .932.

Vancouver was 1 for 5 on the power play, and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. Canucks are now 2 for 27 in their last 11 games with the man advantage, and 21 for 24 in their last 9 home games on the penalty kill.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 6: Sven Baertschi #47 of the Vancouver Canucks watches the second goal of teammate Bo Horvat #53 get past Eddie Lack #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes during their NHL game at Rogers Arena January 6, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 3-2. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Canucks came out in the first period with Sven Baertschi and Brandon Prust returning from injuries; Alex Edler over the flu, and the return of Eddie Lack, in a different uniform no less, to motivate them in the opening period.

The period was scoreless but not uneventful.

Bo Horvat had at least four good scoring chances and was easily the best forward on the ice for Vancouver.

Eddie Lack had a couple of goal posts and some tremendous stops, especially on Bo Horvat, Alex Burrows and Daniel Sedin.

Even though Jacob Markstrom only had two shots, his calming influence when Carolina had some prolonged offensive pressure in the Canucks zone, gave the Canucks the ability to move the puck out of their end unscathed.

Carolina was out shot by Vancouver 8 to 2; with the Hurricanes not getting their first shot on goal until between the 10th and 11th minutes of play.

Vancouver was 0 for 1 on the power play. Carolina was 9 for 16 on face-offs. Canucks Linden Vey was 3 for 5 in the face-off circle. Bo Horvat led Canucks in shots with 3; Daniel Sedin had 2 shots. Derek Dorsett led Vancouver in hits with 2. Carolina had 5 giveaways in the opening period. Jordan Staal was 5 for 8 for Carolina on face-offs.

Carolina carried over their late power play opportunity in the first period into the middle frame but the Canucks killed it easily enough. Canucks power play is a killer at 20for 23, 86.96 percent in their last 9 home games.

Play in the second period was initially to Vancouver’s liking, with the Canucks continuing to look for that elusive first goal of the game but with the amount of offensive possession in the Hurricanes end, Carolina was out shooting Vancouver 3-2 nearing the seven minute mark of the period.

Canucks received a power play opportunity when Noah Hanifin was penalized for holding Sven Baertschi at 6:37.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, on the power play Linden Vey gave up the puck on a stick check by Jordan Staal, and Carolina quickly left their zone, eventually scoring the opening goal of the game shorthanded.

John-Michael Iles, his 2nd goal of the season, on a wrist shot, assisted by Jordan Staal (9) at 8:02 to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.

To add insult to injury, the Canucks were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunity, going 0 for 2 in the game, making it 1 goal on 24 opportunities  in their last 11 games.

After the Hurricanes goal, and a dejected Canucks team, Carolina turned up their game a notch, pestering Markstrom and the Canucks with shots, eventually catching up to the Canucks for shots in the game and surpassing them.

Canucks were getting the odd scoring chance but Eddie Lack continued to stymie his former Vancouver teammates, holding the Canucks off the score sheet, as Carolina continued to build on their momentum.

Then with the second period nearing an end, Sven Baertschi, with a leading pass from Adam Cracknell, went in on Eddie Lack all alone, burying the puck behind a surprised Lack, to tie the game up at 1-1.

Sven Baertschi, his 6th goal of the season, on a wrist shot, assisted by Adam Cracknell (5) at 17:39.

The Canucks good fortune, sort of, continued late in the period, as Vancouver received their third power play of the game when Jordan Staal was sent to the penalty box for hooking Ben Hutton at 18:41.

Then with six seconds left in the middle frame, Carolina’s Elias Lindholm, received a delay of game penalty for putting the puck over the glass, giving the Canucks a 5-on-3 for the first 41 seconds of the 3rd period.

The Hurricanes out shot the Canucks 13 to 7 in the period with both teams having 15 shots each after two. Carolina was 11 for20 on face-offs. Daneil Sedin had 4 shots after two periods; Bo Horvat, 3 shots; Alex Edler and Ben Hutton, 2 shots each. Linden Vey was 6 for 10 on face-offs after two; Henrik Sedin, 4 for 9; Bo Horvat, 5 for 14.

The Canucks entered the final period of the game with a two-man advantage, but were disappointing with both power plays, as they were unable to take advantage of either opportunity, and became 0 for 4 in the game on the power play, making it 3 for 41 in their last 15 games with the man advantage; 1 for 26 in their last 11 games.

With the killing of both power plays, the Hurricanes continued to dominate the game, continuing to out shoot Vancouver, and out chance them, in the first six minutes of the final frame.

And then demonstrating that persistence pays off, Bo Horvat gave the Canucks its first lead in the game, 2-1, as he grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, came down the right side of the boards, swung into the middle, rushed in on net, moved wide to his left and buried the pick past a sprawling Eddie Lack, with a highlight-reel goal.

Bo Horvat, his 4rth of the season, and second goal in two games, assisted by Matt Bartkowski (8) and Alex Biega (3), at 7:15.

But the Hurricanes still had air in their sails, as Jordan Staal, would even up the game 2-2 just over four and a half minutes later, with his 8th goal of the season, at the twelve minute mark, on a wrist shot, assisted by Noah Hanifin (7).

Jannick Hansen would leave the game with just under five minutes left in the game unable to play through an injury suffered earlier in the game.

The Canucks received an excellent opportunity with 2:43 left in the game with their 5th power play on a delay of game penalty to Carolina. Canucks were having repeated difficulty to gain control of the Hurricanes blue line and set up.

But once again, the persistence of Bo Horvat and the Canucks pays off, as Horvat scored a power play goal, his second goal of the game, and third goal in two games.

Horvat, his 5th goal of the season, on a wrist shot, assisted by Sven Baertschi (7) and Linden Vey (2), giving Vancouver the go ahead goal, 3-2.

Carolina would pull goalie Eddie Lack but the Vancouver Canucks would hang on for the 3-2 victory on home ice; their third victory on their seven game home stand, with two games left.

With the win, Vancouver takes over 3rd place in the Pacific division with 41 points, a point behind Arizona in 2nd place. They are 11 points behind Los Angeles; are a point in front of Calgary. They are  two points in front of Anaheim, three a head of San Jose and 4 points in front of Edmonton.

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD STANDINGS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS

STATISTICS COURTESY OF THE NHL AND VANCOUVER CANUCKS

CANUCKS BANTER     By Andrew Chernoff    January 6, 2016

EDDIE LACK RETURNS TO VANCOUVER TO PLAY AGAINST FORMER TEAM

The Vancouver Canucks (15-16-9) play the 5th game on their 7-game home stand against the Carolina Hurricanes  (16-17-7) tonight at Rogers Place.

In their last game, Vancouver’s comeback attempt against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night fell short,  as the Canucks lost 3-2 in the fourth game of four consecutive games at home against Pacific division opponents.

Bo Horvat and Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver. For Horvat, it was his first goal in 28 games; for Sedin, it was his 17th goal of the season, to lead all Canucks.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 of 29 shots in his 5th straight start, for a Sv% of .897. He is now, 3-2-0 in his last five games, with a GAA of 2.14 and a Sv% of .929. In his last eight games, he is 3-4-1, with a GAA of 2.02 and Sv% of .932.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 4: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks looks on as Laurent Dauphin #76 of the Arizona Coyotes skates in to the net during their NHL game at Rogers Arena January 4, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Arizona won 3-2. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

Vancouver sits in 5th place in the Pacific division of the Western Conference. They continue to be 13 points behind Los Angeles; are 3 points behind the Coyotes; a point behind Calgary. They are also a single point in front of San Jose; and two points ahead of Edmonton.

Canucks are 3-4-1 against the Metropolitan division this season.

Alex Edler, who had the flu; Brandon Prust (lower body injury), and Sven Baertschi (upper body injury) will be in the line-up tonight for Vancouver.

G Ryan Miller (groin), F Brandon Sutter (sports hernia surgery), D Luca Sbisa (hand), and D Dan Hamhuis (facial fracture) are on the injured reserve list.

Jake Virtanen will not be in the line-up, and is a healthy scratch.

Carolina (16-17-6) comes into the game having played the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night at Rexall Place, losing 1-0 in overtime in the second and last game of their two game Western Canada road swing.

Cam Ward made 26 saves for the Hurricanes, who have lost back-to-back games in overtime.

Carolina sits in 6th spot in the Metropolitan division of the Eastern Conference, with 39 points seven points behind the 3rd place New York Rangers and a playoff spot. The Hurricanes are 6 points behind New Jersey and 3 points back of Pittsburgh. They are two points in front of Philadelphia and 6 points ahead of Columbus.

Carolina is 5-3-1 against Pacific division teams this season.

Phil Di Giuseppe (concussion) is day-to-day. Nathan Gerbe (ankle) and James Wisniewski (torn ACL) are on the injured reserve list.

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES

• Hurricanes blueliner Justin Faulk is tied for 1rst in the NHL in power-play goals with 12.
• The Carolina Hurricanes rank first in the NHL in faceoff win percentage (53.1).
• Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal ranks fifth among all NHL skaters in faceoff win-percentage (more than 350 faceoffs taken) at 57.7%).
• The Carolina Hurricanes rank first in the NHL in total takeaways with 356 and 12th in the NHL with the least giveaways with 336.
• Carolina is 28th in the NHL with blocked shots with 464.
• Carolina is 2nd in the NHL with the least shots against with 1044, a 26.1 average.
• Carolina is 10th in the NHL with shots on goal with 1190, a 29.75 average.
• The Hurricanes have been shorthanded the least in the NHL, a total of 92 times, 2.3 times per game average.
• Carolina has allowed the 4th least amount of shorthanded goals in the NHL with 19.
• The Hurricanes have the least amount of face-off losses in the NHL with 1059.

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

• Canucks are averaging 2.35 goals per game. For an 82 game schedule the estimate is Vancouver will finish with 193 goals. The least number of goals ever scored by a Vancouver team in a full season of 82 games were 192 by the 1998-99 Canucks. 
• Vancouver is 27th in the NHL as a team in hits with 762; 16th in giveaways with 313; 17th in blocked shots with 532; 26th in takeaways with 194.
• Vancouver is 3 for 37 in their last 14 games with the man advantage (3 for 26 at home). They are 1 for 22 in their last 10 games as well.
• Canucks penalty kill is a killer at 19 for 22, 86.4 percent in their last 8 home games. And 25 for 31 in their last 8 games overall, 80.6 percent.
• Vancouver has points in 8 of its last 15 (6-7-2=14 pts) & 12 of its last 22 games (8-10-4=20 pts).
• Vancouver is 2-2-2=6 pts at home, against the Pacific Division this season, including 4-1-1=9 pts on the road.
• Daniel and Henrik Sedin have 7 points in their last 8 home games (2-5=7 and 1-6=7 respectively).
• Radim Vrbata has 29 shots in his last 8 home games. Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler are next with 17 each.
• Bo Horvat in the last 8 home games has a FOW% of 57.4 percent (78 FOW and 58 FOL); 14 shots, 9 hits, 7 takeaways and 6 blocked shots.
• Daniel Sedin is 2 goals from tying Markus Naslund (346) for first all-time in franchise goals
• Alex Edler is 2 goals from tying Sami Salo (74) for third all-time among defencemen in franchise goals
• Daniel Sedin has 4G and 3A for 7 pts in 12 games against Pacific division opponents, with JannickHansen and Henrik Sedin having 6 pts:  Hansen on 3G and 3A; Henrik on 1G and 5A.
• Ronalds Kenins and Alexandre Grenier were reassigned to Utica of the AHL on Tuesday.
• Alex Burrows collected his 15th shootout goal and 5th career game-deciding goal on Jan. 1 vs Anaheim. He is now the franchise leader for most game-deciding goals in a Canucks uniform.
• Ryan Miller earned his 54th career shootout victory on Dec. 18 at DET. It is the most wins in the shootout by any goaltender in NHL history.
•  Captain Henrik Sedin is 10 games played from tying Trevor Linden (1140) for most games played in a Canucks uniform. Henrik has skated in 1,130 career regular season games and also ranks first in franchise history in points (949), assists (729), and plus/minus (+225).
•  Vancouver has had 133 power play opportunities to date, the t-fifth most of any team in the League; 69 of these opportunities have been drawn on the road (t-3rd in the NHL)

COMING INTO TONIGHT…….

CANUCKS AND NHL PLAYERS STATS

• Daniel Sedin is tied for 9th in NHL scoring with 38 points (17-21=38).
• Henrik Sedin is tied for 22nd in NHL scoring with 34 points (9-25=34).
• Derek Dorsett is tied for 48th in NHL hits with 89.
• Chris Tanev is 7th in the NHL in blocked shots with 97.
• Alex Edler is 11th in the NHL in blocked shots with 88.
• Henrik Sedin is tied for 8th in the NHL in assists with 25.
• Radim Vrbata is 8th in the NHL in shots on goal with 139.
• Daniel Sedin is 9th in the NHL in shots on goal with 138.
• Henrik Sedin is 14th in the NHL in total face-offs with 702. FOW% of 47.6
• Bo Horvat is 16th in the NHL in total face-offs with 695. FOW% of 51.1.
• Jacob Markstrom is tied for the 8th least goals allowed in the NHL, for goalies playing at least 10 games or more, with 29.
• Jacob Markstrom is 24th in the NHL in GAA with 2.49 (minimum 10 games played).
• Jacob Markstrom is 19th in the NHL in Sv% with .921 (minimum 10 games played).
• Ryan Miller is 4rth in the NHL in goals allowed with 76.
• Ryan Miller is 12th in the NHL in shots faced with 836.
• Ryan Miller is 13th in the NHL in saves made with 760.
• Ryan Miller is 1rst in the NHL in overtime losses with 7.

LACK OF PRODUCTION

• Chris Higgins, 21 games without a goal; plus/minus of -14
• Adam Cracknell, 20 games without a goal
• Alex Burrows, 18 games without a goal; plus/minus of -7
• Derek Dorsett, 1 goal in last 31 games played
• Brandon Prust, 1 goal in last 29 games played
• Bo Horvat,  1 goal in the last 28 games; plus/minus of -16
• Jared McCann, 1 goal in last 20 games played; plus/minus of -8
• Radim Vrbata, 1 goal in last 11 games played
• Chris Higgins, 1 assist in last 24 games played
• Brandon Prust, 1 assist in last 20 games played
• Chris Tanev, 2 assists in last 24 games played

THE CANUCKS HAVE NEVER PLAYED A FULL SEASON WITHOUT A  25 GOAL SCORER. WHO WILL IT BE THIS YEAR?

• Daniel Sedin, 17 goals in 40 games played
• Jannick Hansen, 12 goals in 40 games played
• Radim Vrbata, 10 goals in 38 games played
• Henrik Sedin, 9 goals in 38 games played
• Jared McCann, 7 goals in 37 games played

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

HURRICANES PLAYER STATS

STATISTICS COURTESY OF THE NHL AND VANCOUVER CANUCKS