Vancouver Rings In New Year With 2-1 SO Win Over Anaheim

Posted on January 1, 2016 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff January 1, 2016

CANUCKS NOW 4-1-1 IN LAST SIX GAMES

Vancouver (15-15-9) grinded it out against the Anaheim Ducks (15-15-7), giving them a taste of their own game, in a 2-1 shootout victory at Rogers Place, in the third game of four straight against Pacific division opponents on their 7-game home stand.

Chris Tanev, in his first game since December 22, scored the tying goal; and Alex Burrows got his first point in 17 games with an assist on the 1-1 goal.

The win vaulted Vancouver ahead of San Jose into 3rd place in the Pacific division and a playoff position for now with 39 points.

San Jose has three games in hand on the Canucks; Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim and Calgary, each have two games in hand on Vancouver.

The opening frame was uneventful except for a couple of Anaheim goal posts by Mike Santorelli and Rickard Rakell. The good scoring chances either team had, both starting goaltenders Jacob Markstrom and Frederik Andersen, stood solid, keeping the game scoreless after the first period.

Canucks were out shot, 9-6; were 7 for 19 in the face-off circle; and were out hit 7 to 4. No Canuck had more than one shot in the opening period.

Both Linden Vey and Adam Cracknell were 2 for 3, for 67%; Bo Horvat, 2 for 5, for 40%, in the face-off circle.

For Anaheim, Ryan Getzlaf, was a perfect 6 for 6 on face-offs. Both teams were 0 for 1 on their power plays.

Vancouver came out in the second period with some jump, and played well in the first five minutes, out shooting the Ducks 5-2, before Yannick Weber took a penalty for interference on Kevin Bieksa at 5:31.

The Ducks would get on the score sheet with their second power play opportunity of the game, on their fourth shot with the man advantage, as Ryan Kesler popped in his first goal against his former team in 8 games.

It was Kesler’s 5th goal of the season, with assists from Chris Stewart (5) and Mike Santorelli (3) at 7:24. And the Ducks 4rth power play goal in their last 4 games.

Brandon Prust locked skates with Ryan Kesler and left the game in the last three minutes of the period.

Canucks down 1-0 after two periods.

Both teams were even in shots in the period with 9 each. Canucks were 8 for 14 in the face-off circle, and out hit the Ducks 8 to 6. Four Canucks had 2 shots each after two periods: Yannick Weber, Alex Edler, Jannick Hansen and Bo Horvat. Seven other Canucks had one shot each after forty minutes.

Anaheim went into the final period looking for a third consecutive shutout to end their three game Western Canada road swing.

And Vancouver breathed a sigh of relief as Brandon Prust came back into the game for the final period.

The Canucks started off the period with an early man advantage at 0:33 seconds as Jakob Silfverberg got an interference penalty on Jacob Markstrom. The Canucks were unsuccessful at tying the game and became 0 for 19 in their last 9 games on the power play.

Vancouver played with a sense of urgency and purpose, with the game opening up, and both teams getting scoring opportunities.

Nearing the seven minute mark of the period, Vancouver continued to be thwarted and frustrated by the Duck’s back checking and fore checking, intercepting Canucks passes and interfering with Vancouver break out attempts from their end.

Canucks persistence would pay off, as a long wrist shot by Chris Tanev, off the post and in, evened up the game at 1-1. It was Tanev’s 2nd goal of the year at 10:24 with assists from Alex Burrows (7) and Linden Vey (1). It was Burrows first point in 17 games.

As the Canucks continued to take the game to Anaheim and attempt to get that go ahead goal, Ryan Kesler took a minor penalty at 15:28 for tripping Jannick Hansen that put Vancouver on the power play for the 3rd time in the game. The Canucks would end up 0 for 3 on their man advantage for the game, and 0 for 20 in their last 9 games (including tonight’s game).

Vancouver is now 2 for 35 in their last 13 games with the man advantage (2 for 24 at home).

The Ducks and Canucks went into overtime to try and settle the game, with Anaheim having an edge on shots, hits and face-off dominance with Vancouver having 9 giveaways to 3 for the Ducks in regulation play.

Henrik Sedin had a great chance in the final seconds of overtime as he broke in on Andersen on a break away but could not pull off a victory in overtime.

Vancouver would eventually defeat Anaheim 2-1 in a shootout as Corey Perry was unable to extend the shootout against Jacob Markstrom.

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD STANDINGS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS

STATISTICS COURTESY OF THE NHL AND VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Vancouver Faces Anaheim In New Year’s Day Game

Posted on January 1, 2016 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff January 1, 2016

The Vancouver Canucks play the 3rd of four games against Pacific division opponents tonight as they host the Anaheim Ducks, on their 7-game home stand.

Tonight marks the 11th time the Canucks have played on New Year’s Day and their seventh game on home ice on New Year’s Day.

Overall the Canucks have a record of 4-5-1 on New Year’s Day.

Being home for the holidays is generally a good thing, but it’s a whole different story on New Year’s Day as far as the Canucks are concerned. On the road, Vancouver is 4-0 all-time in New Year’s Day games. At home, it’s not pretty.

The Canucks are 0-5-1 (five losses and a tie) all-time at home on New Year’s Day. This is the third straight year that Rogers Arena will host the Canucks on New Year’s Day. The Canucks are 0-2 at Rogers Arena after falling 3-2 to the Kings last year, and 4-2 to the Lightning the year before that.

Source: canucks.nhl.com

Coach Willie Desjardins said today he thinks Tanev is good to go versus the Ducks. “He competes hard and he’s a real team guy. We’re happy he’s back”

Tanev thought he might be out longer after blocking two hard shots from Steven Stamkos in the final minutes of 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 22, according to canucks.nhl.com.

The news is not good for Sven Baertschi, who suffered an upper-body injury in the loss to the Kings and will not be in the lineup tonight. Baertschi left in the second period against the Kings and hasn’t skated since. He is listed as day-to-day, according to the Vancouver website.

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

Jacob Markstrom will get the start for the Canucks, his 4rth straight start with Ryan Miller injured, while the Ducks may go with Frederik Andersen after John Gibson got the call yesterday, in his shutout win over Edmonton.

Gibson is 3-0-0 with two shutouts and a .967 save percentage in his past three starts and has already shut out the Canucks in both career starts against them, including 25 saves in a 4-0 win on Nov. 30, according to the Canucks website.

Anaheim (15-15-6) comes into the game having defeated the Edmonton Oilers last night 1-0 at Rexall Place, in the second game of their 3 game Western Canada road swing, their second straight shutout.

Anaheim snapped Calgary’s 11-game home winning streak with a 1-0 victory at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 29th.

In their last 6 games on the road, the Ducks are 3-2-1 with 8 GF and 12 GA; averaging 26.0 shots for and 22.0 shots against.

In those six games, the Ducks power play is 1 for 12, while their penalty kill is exceptional at 18 for 19, for 94.7 percent success, with a face-off win percentage of 47.9 percent. Anaheim has been shutout in 5 of their 18 road games.

The Ducks have played on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the same season only one other time in club history, during the 2005-06 campaign, Anaheim earned a 5-4 shootout victory on Dec. 31 at St. Louis before following up with a 4-2 win on Jan. 1 at Nashville.

ANAHEIM DUCKS NOTES

After tonight the Ducks have an eight game home stand beginning January 3.
Anaheim have two games in hand on the Canucks.
Including last night’s game in Edmonton, the Ducks have yielded a league-low 22 goals in December.
Anaheim led the NHL in fewest shots allowed in December with 251
(next closest is Winnipeg at 335).
This season, the club ranks second among league leaders in fewest goals allowed in the first period (19) and second in fewest allowed in the third (25).
Anaheim leads the NHL in penalty kill percentage (88.0%), having successfully killed 110-of-125 penalties in 36 games and 36-of-40 over the last ten contests (90.0%).
The Ducks are tied for second in the NHL in fewest power-play goals allowed with 15.
Anaheim is among the top teams in the face-off circle, ranking third with a 51.4 win percentage.

Vancouver (14-15-9) enters the game having played the Los Angeles Kings on December 28, losing 5-0 at Roger’s Place.

Radim Vrbata notched a team-high seven shots; Andrey Pedan registered three hits and participated in his first NHL fight; and Jacob Markstrom had 33 saves in his third straight start.

On Boxing Day, Vancouver defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in overtime at Roger’s Place.

Vancouver begins play today sitting outside the playoff picture having been surpassed in recent days by the Sharks and Coyotes.

At home in their last 6 games, the Canucks are 3-3-0 with 11 GF and 17 GA; averaging 23.3 shots for and 32.3 shots against.

In those six games, all in the month of December, the Canucks power play was 2 for 22 for 9.1 percent, while their penalty kill was exceptional at 17 for 18 for 94.4 percent.

At home in December, Vancouver had a face-off win percentage of 45.7 percent. Only New Jersey was worse in December in the face-off circle at home, with a FOW% of 44.1 percent in 7 home games.

Vancouver has been shutout in 2 of their 16 home games.

Tonight marks Kevin Bieksa’s first visit to Rogers Arena as a member of the visiting team. Among defencemen in franchise history, Bieksa ranks seventh in games played (597), t-seventh in goals (56), sixth in assists (185), sixth in points (241), t-10th in ppg (19), and t-third in gwg (12).

Vancouver sits in 4rth place in the Pacific division with 37 points, 13 points behind the Kings in 1rst place. Canucks are a single point behind San Jose and two points behind Arizona. They are a point ahead of Anaheim and Calgary, and 4 points ahead of Edmonton.

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

Vancouver has points in 7 of its last 13 (5-6-2=12 pts) & 11 of its last 20 games (7-9-4=18 pts).
Vancouver is 1-1-2=4 pts, against the Pacific Division this season, including 4-1-1=9 pts on the road.
Radim Vrbata has 27 shots in his last 6 home games.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin have 6 points in their last 6 home games (1-5=6 each).
Bo Horvat in the last 6 home games has a FOW% of 61.2 percent; 10 shots, 7 hits, 5 takeaways and 5 blocked shots.
There are only three Canucks with more than one goal in the last six home games: Jannick Hansen and Radim Vrbata with 3 each; and Alex Edler with 2 goals.
Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom are tied among Canuck goalies in points with one assist each. Both are tied for 3rd place in goalie points with five others.
Radim Vrbata, Brandon Prust and Chris Higgins have no goals against Pacific division teams.
Daniel Sedin and Jannick Hansen each have 3G and 3A in 10 games against Pacific division opponents, with Hansen having a plus/minus of +9.
Radim Vrbata has a plus/minus of -6 in 10 games against Pacific division teams.
Daniel Sedin is 3 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 amongst defencemen in franchise goals
Vancouver enters 2016 with 23 games to play before the February 29th deadline: 14 games at home and 9 games away. The Canucks entered 2015 with 27 games to play before the March 2, 2015 deadline and were 15-12-0: 8-6-0 at home and 7-6-0 on the road.
Canucks picked up Sven Baertschi from Calgary at the 2015 trade deadline for 2015 2nd-round pick in the NHL draft.

DECEMBER IN REVIEW

In December, the Canucks, in 13 games:
- Had the the 3rd fewest goals scored with 23, ahead of Montreal and Anaheim.
- Gave up the 8th most goals in the month with 39.
- Had the 5th least amount of shots for with 346 and the 7th most shots against with 433.
- Had 3 power play goals, second worst in the NHL, just ahead of Anaheim.
- Were 30th, dead last, in power play average at 8.1 percent.
- Were shorthanded 52 times, the most of any team in the month.
- Were tied for the 5th most power play goals against with 9.
- Were 15th best on the penalty kill at 82.7 percent.
- Were 27th in face-off wins with 336 and 2nd in face-off losses with 468.
- Face-off win percentage was the worst in the NHL, at 41.8 percent.
- Were tied for the 4rth most losses in the month with 6.

COMING INTO TONIGHT

CANUCKS POWER PLAY ‘OUT OF ORDER’
- Vancouver’s power play is on an extended power outage at 0 for 17 in their last 8 games and 2 for 29 in their last 10 games.
- Those eight games include their last two games at home where Vancouver is 0 for 6 and counting.
CANUCKS PENALTY KILL IS HOMICIDAL
- Vancouver’s power play is a killer at 17 for 18, 94.4 percent in their last 6 home games. And 23 for 27 in their last six games overall, 85.2 percent.
CANUCKS NO STRANGER TO THE SIN BIN
- Vancouver is the 5th most penalized team in the league overall with 458 total penalty minutes in 38 games (12.1 minutes per game). They have taken the 3rd most penalties at 179 (4.7 penalties per game). They have the 3rd most minors taken with 153; tied for the 5th most majors with 16.
- A year ago, December 31 2014, Vancouver was the 16th most penalized team in the league overall with 369 total penalty minutes in 35 games (10.5 minutes per game). The had the 17th most penalties with 153 (4.4 penalties per game); the 20th most minors taken at 130; and the 13th most majors at 15.
- In December, Vancouver were tied with the 4rth most penalty minutes in the league with 178 in 13 games. They had the 2nd most penalties taken with 70; were 1rst in most minors with 61; tied for 4th most majors with 6.
CANUCKS EVEN STRENGTH SHOT ATTEMPTS GAME NOT PRETTY
- At home, in 16 games, the Canucks shot attempts at even strength, are 667 shot attempts against to 575 shot attempts for, a deficit of -92 shots. A 41.7 shot attempts against average per game, compared to a 35.9 shot attempts for average per game.
- In their home games in December, Vancouver shot attempts at even strength were, 280 to 213, a deficit of -67 shots in 6 games. A 46.7 shot attempts against per game average, compared to 35.5 shot attempts for per game average.
- Over all, in 38 games, the Canucks shot attempts at even strength are, 1606 shot attempts against to 1469 shot attempts for, a deficit of -137. A 42.3 shot attempts per game against average, compared to a 38.7 shot attempts for per game average.
- Last season, in 35 games at December 31, 2014, the Canucks shot attempts at even strength were, 1517 shot attempts against to 1495 shot attempts for, a deficit of -22. A 43.3 shot attempts per game against average, compared to a 42.7 shot attempts for per game average.
CANUCKS FACE-OFF GAME LACKING A LOT OF SKILL
- Offensive zone, defensive zone, neutral zone; ahead, behind, close—-the Canucks are the worst in the 30 team NHL. Looking for a plus? Nowhere to go but up.
LACK OF PRODUCTION
- Bo Horvat, 26 games without a goal; plus/minus of -14
- Chris Higgins, 19 games without a goal; plus/minus of -12
- Adam Cracknell, 18 games without a goal
- Alex Burrows, 16 games without a goal; plus/minus of -8
- Derek Dorsett, 1 goal in last 29 games played
- Brandon Prust, 1 goal in last 27 games played
- Jared McCann, 1 goal in last 19 games played; plus/minus of -8
- Radim Vrbata, 1 goal in last 9 games played

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

DUCKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS PACIFIC DIVISION SPLITS-REGULAR

Stats from ESPN.com

CANUCKS PACIFIC DIVISION SPLITS-EXPANDED

Stats from ESPN.com

Statistics provided by the NHL, Vancouver Canucks and ESPN.com, with thanks.

Vancouver Completely Dominated By Kings In 5-0 Loss

Posted on December 29, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 29, 2015

CANUCKS SHUTOUT FOR FIFTH TIME

Vancouver (14-15-9) were completely dominated in the 2nd of four games against Pacific division opponents Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings (22-11-2), on their 7-game home stand.

The Canucks came into the game with a 3 game undefeated streak at home, and 7 points in their last 4 games, where they were undefeated going 3-0-1. Both came to an end as the Kings shutout Vancouver 5-0, the second shutout this season for Los Angeles against the Canucks.

With the loss, Vancouver sits tied for 3rd place in the Pacific division with Arizona with 37 points, 9 points behind the Kings in 1rst place.

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

Jacob Markstrom could not be faulted for any of the goals in the loss. With the loss, Markstrom is 3-6-3 in his last 12 games, with a 2.61 GAA and .917 Sv%. and is 2-1-0 in his last three games with a 2.29 GAA and .929 Sv% in relief for the injured Ryan Miller.

The Canucks entered the game hurting with Ryan Miller (undisclosed), Christopher Tanev (lower body), Dan Hamhuis (facial surgery), Luca Sbisa (hand), Brandon Sutter (sports hernia surgery) out indefinitely. Henrik Sedin, Chris Higgins and Alex Burrows back but ailing.

The Kings wasted little time in picking on one of the Sedins, and chose Henrik, who is playing through a lower body injury, as Brayden McNabb hit him hard, throwing an elbow. That resulted in Alex Biega coming to his teammate’s aid and taking McNabb on. The referees did not see the elbow and Biega was given the only penalty, and an early power play for the Kings that Vancouver would kill.

The Kings drew first blood scoring at 15:33 of the period on a goal by Tyler Toffoli (15) on wrist shot from Anze Kopitar (13) and Milan Lucic (12).

The Canucks were: out shot, 16-; 8 for 23 on face-offs; and had 4 giveaways
The Canucks did out hit the Kings, 7-6; and had 9 blocked shots to the Kings two. Radim Vrbata had 4 shots; Andrey Pedan and Henrik Sedin, 2 hits each.
Vancouver had one shot on the Kings after 10 minutes of play in the opening period, and were 3 for 14 face-offs halfway through.
Canucks were 0-1 on the power play; and 1 for 1 on the penalty kill.

Vancouver came out in the middle frame with more jump, getting some good scoring chances early, but quickly the Kings would take a 2-0 lead, changing the momentum of the game in the period.

Derek Forbort, his 1rst goal of the season, on a deflected shot, that also went off Andrey Pedan’s skate, and past Jacob Markstrom. Assisted by Trevor Lewis (3) at 1:57.

The Kings would make it 3-0, with their second goal of the period, on a goal by Brayden McNabb, his 2nd goal of the season,on a slapshot from the left point, assisted by Anze Kopitar (14) at 11:57.

And 3-0 Los Angeles would be the score at the end of the middle frame.

Canucks were: out shot 10-9; only won 4 of 16 face-offs; had 3 giveaways; were 0 for 1 on the power play
Vancouver had only won one face-off win by the 15 minute mark of the period.

In the third period, the Canucks knew they would face an uphill battle against Los Angeles, and Los Angeles would squash any hope of a Canuck rally, when they scored their fourth unanswered goal at 5:55 of the final frame.

Tyler Toffoli, his 16th of the season, second of the game, on a wrist shot, assisted by Anze Kopitar (15) and Alec Martinez (10), making it 4-0 Los Angeles.

Tyler Toffoli would pick up his hat trick goal and make it 5-0 for the Kings, a power play goal, on a deflected shot, at 12:56 assisted by Anze Kopitar (16) and Drew Doughty (16). It was his second career hat trick and 17 goal of the season.

Vancouver got their third and fourth power play opportunities of the game late in the period, and hope abounded that the Canuck could spoil the shutout bid by Jonathan Quick. But the Canucks would not be able to do it.