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.

VANCOUVER’S HOME STAND OPPONENTS:

Los Angeles Kings on December 28th
Anaheim Ducks on January 1rst
Arizona Coyotes on January 4rth
Carolina Hurricanes on January 6th
Tampa Bay Lightning on January 9th
Florida Panthers on January 11th

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

OILERS PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-OILERS AT A GLANCE

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

Canucks Begin 7-Game Home Stand On Boxing Day

Posted on December 24, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 24, 2015

Improvement Needed For Successful Home Stand

The Vancouver Canucks (13-14-9) begin a 7-game home stand on December 26,with their first 4 games against Pacific division opponents, starting with the Edmonton Oilers.

Vancouver also welcomes:

Los Angeles Kings on December 28th
Anaheim Ducks on January 1rst
Arizona Coyotes on January 4rth
Carolina Hurricanes on January 6th
Tampa Bay Lightning on January 9th
Florida Panthers on January 11th

Vancouver has played the most games in their division (36) 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.

The other teams in the Pacific division have been playing catch up to the Canucks in games played for most of the season, and still are. Anaheim, Arizona and Los Angeles, all have 3 games in hand on Vancouver. San Jose and Calgary both have 2 games in hand on the Canucks. Edmonton has 1 game in hand.

For the Canucks, those games in hand continue to put pressure on Vancouver to play well, as the top three teams at season end will make the playoffs. In their last 10 games, Calgary (8-2-0), Edmonton (7-3-0) and Los Angeles (6-3-1) are providing the Canucks with reasons to get their game together and start racking up some wins.

To that end, the Canucks are 2-0-1 in their last three games, as they look to the friendly confines of Rogers Place, for their next seven games.

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

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.

In conclusion, 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.

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 were 2-0-1.

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.

Vancouver Go Home Winners, Defeat Tampa Bay 2-1

Posted on December 22, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 22, 2015

CANUCKS TAKE 5 OF 6 POINTS IN FINAL 3 GAMES OF 6 GAME ROAD TRIP

Vancouver (13-14-9) played the last game of their six game road trip against Tampa Bay (17-15-3) tonight, and outlasted the home team for a 2-1 win.

The Canucks got on the winning side of things, after a tough 5-4 shoot out loss to Florida on Sunday afternoon.

The opening period saw Vancouver dominate play and they were rewarded before the end of the period.

Sven Baertschi, with his 5th goal of the season and 3rd goal in three games, on a backhand shot, put Vancouver up 1-0 at 15:57. Radim Vrbata (8) and Alex Biega (2) assisted on the goal.

Vancouver out shot Tampa Bay, 7-4. Jannick Hansen had 3 shots; Sven Baertschi, 2 shots. Canucks were better in the face-off circle, 8 for 15. Bo Horvat was 3 for 5; Henrik Sedin, 2 for 5. Vancouver out hit Tampa Bay, 9-6 with Alex Biega leading the way with 3 hits. Six other Canucks had one hit each.

Vancouver was 0 for 1 on the power play; 3 for 3 on the penalty kill, with no shots allowed

In the middle frame, Tampa Bay continued getting the favour of the referees by being given three power plays, scoring on one to tie the game up at 1-1 in the final minute.

Jonathan Marchessault, his 5th goal of the season, on a snap shot, off the post, assisted by Nikita Kucherov (12) and Anton Starlman (10) at 19:38.

It was a Tampa Bay’s period as they out shot Vancouver 13-9; and dominated the face-circle, winning 16 of 20 face-offs. Alex Edler had 4 blocked shots after two periods.

A fast start for Tampa Bay in the final period greeted Vancouver, as they continued where they left off in the second period.

Markstrom came up with a huge save on Steven Stamkos in the first minute of the final frame, and the Lightning continued to press Vancouver.

And as happened in the first two periods, the Canucks continued to be subjected to the bad side of the referees, as they continued to get penalized, making it difficult to get their even strength game going.

But the Canucks would score, at 6:08 of the period, but a penalty to Henrik Sedin for tripping wiped out the goal that would have given Vancouver a 2-1 lead.

Instead, Tampa Bay ended up going on their 8th power play and the game continued to be tied 1-1.

The referees obviously thought the Canucks were a goon squad as they ended up shorthanded for a 9th time at 8:49 when Radim Vrbata got a penalty for hooking.

Shortly after killing off the Vrbata penalty, the hockey gods looked favourably upon Vancouver, as Daniel Sedin scored on Ben Bishop, on a slapshot, his 16th goal of the season, giving Vancouver a 2-1 lead, assisted by Henrik Sedin (23) at 11:09.

A too many men on the ice penalty with less than two minutes left, gave Tampa Bay a chance to tie the game on their 10th power play opportunity of the game.

And soon after getting control, Tampa Bay pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, but the Canucks would hang on for an important 2-1 victory, taking 5 of a possible 6 points in the final 3 games of their 6 game road trip.

Canuck defenseman Chris Tanev took a shot on his leg in the final seconds of the game, and would limp off the ice at the buzzer.

Vancouver was out shot in the 3rd period, 10 to 3 and 27-19 in the game. Canucks were 0 for 1 on the power play and 9 for 10 on the penalty kill. The 10 power plays opportunities against are the most this season for Vancouver.

After a promising start in the face-off circle after the first period winning 8 of 15 draws, Vancouver was 9 for 37 the rest of the game (4 for 20 in the second period). Bo Horvat was 8 for 25: 32%; Henrik Sedin, 4 for 12: 33%; Jared McCann, 3 for 6: 50%.

Alex Edler had 7 blocked shots; Chris Tanev, 4 blocked shots. Derek Dorsett had 4 hits; defensemen Alex Biega and Matt Bartkowski, 3 hits apiece.

Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 of 27 shots in grinding it out for his 2nd win of the season, 2-3-3. He was 17 for 17 on even strength shots, and finished with a .963 Sv%.

With his goal, Daniel Sedin now has 18 points (9-9-18) in his last 16 games played.

Sven Baertschi extended his points streak to three games with a goal in three consecutive games, to go with his lone assist, for 4 points.

With his goal tonight, Baertschi matched his longest goal streak of three games that occurred March 11-15, 2012.

Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen and Jared McCann had their points streaks come to an end tonight.

ROAD TRIP REVIEW……

Vancouver record: 2W-3L-1SO (GF:11; GA: 20)
Canucks had six different goal scorers:
- Jared McCann, Radim Vrbata, Sven Baertschi
- Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen, Daniel Sedin
Sven Baertschi and Jannik Hansen finished with 4 points each.
Shot leaders:
- Daniel Sedin: 24
- Radim Vrbata: 23
- Alex Edler: 20
Face-off win percentage:
- Alex Burrows: 77.8%
- Bo Horvat: 50.0%
Plus/Minus:
- Daniel Sedin: +4
- Henrik Sedin: +3
- Yannick Weber, Ben Hutton: +2
- Chris Higgins: -7; Alex Edler: -3
- Chris Tanev: -3;
- Matt Bartkowski: -3
- Alex Burrows: -3
Penalty Kill: 21 for 28, 75%; Power Play: 0 for 11, 0%.
Face-off win percentage: 39.3%
Shots For: 190; Shots Against: 199

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

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

Vancouver Looks For Win In Tampa Bay In Final Game Of Road Trip

Posted on December 22, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 22, 2015

Updated: 2:37 pm PST

Henrik Sedin To Play

Vancouver (12-14-9) plays the last game of their six game road trip, when they face-off against Tampa Bay (17-14-3) tonight.

The Canucks will try to get on the winning track after a 5-4 shoot out loss to Florida on Sunday afternoon.

The Canucks did not lack offense with Jannnick Hansen, Sven Baertschi, Derek Dorsett and Daniel Sedin all scoring. Ryan Miller allowed four goals on 42 shots and left the game because of cramps in favor of Jacob Markstrom who took the loss in the shoot out.

Henrik Sedin will be in the lineup tonight as he was cleared after practice to play.

Sedin has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury but was a full participant in the Canucks’ optional morning skate and said he’s ready to go.

“[The injury is] much better and I should be good tonight,” Sedin said. “You never want to test something in a game. I’m going in there feeling 100 percent.”

Sedin said he should record his normal minutes and will have his usual role on his line and on the power play.

Vancouver recalled goalie Joe Cannata from Utica Comets as Ryan Miller will not back-up tonight, coach Willie Desjardins told reporters today.

Jacob Markstrom will in net tonight, with Cannata as his backup.

Markstrom has been in 9 games this seasons and has a record of 1-1-3 with a 2.76 GAA and a .911 Sv%.

Chris Higgins did not skate today, and will not be in the lineup tonight.

Vancouver sits in 3rd place in the Pacific division of the Western Conference with 33 points, a point behind San Jose in 2nd spot, and a single points ahead of Arizona, Calgary and Edmonton. Anaheim is 4 points out of a playoff spots.

Five points separate Nos. 2-7 in the Pacific division.

Tampa Bay enters the game after a 5-2 win at Amalie Arena against the Ottawa Senators, their third win in a row. Steven Stamkos scored two times while Mike Angelidis, Nikita Nesterov and Alex Killorn also scored. Ben Bishop put in a 23 save effort for the win.

Tampa Bay occupies 6th in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference, with 37 points, four points behind Detroit in 3rd spot and a playoff position.

Five points separate Nos. 2-6 in the Atlantic position.

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

Point Streaks going into the game tonight:

JARED MCCANN (1-1-2 / 2 Games)

JANNIK HANSEN (1-2-3 / 2 Games) BO HORVAT (0-2-2/ 2 Games)

SVEN BAERTSCHI (2-1-3 / 2 Games)
Sven Baertschi has goals in consecutive games for the first time this season. He last had a goal in consecutive games from Apr. 13-15/13. His

longest goal streak is three games from Mar. 11-15/12.
Bo Horvat has recorded an assist in consecutive games for the second time this season (he previously had an assist in consecutive games from Nov. 21-22/15). Last season, Horvat had an assist in two consecutive games on three separate occasions.
Jared McCann has two points (1-1-2) over the past two games. It is the first time he has recorded at least a point in consecutive games in his career.
Ryan Miller earned his 54th career shootout victory on Dec. 18 at DET. It is the most by any goaltender in NHL history.
Daniel Sedin has 17 points (8-9-17) in his last 15 games played. He currently leads the team in points (35), goals (15), ppg (5) and ppp (13), gwg (3), shots (129) and is second in assists (20).
The Canucks have gone two straight games where they have scored three or more goals (first time since Nov. 8-10)
Vancouver has a .667 win percentage when scoring three or more goals (10-1-4)
Vancouver has had 121 power play opportunities to date, the second most of any team in the League; 68 of these opportunities have been drawn on the road
The Canucks are 15th in the League in blocked shots with 469 and sixth in shots for with 1043

Here are the projected lineups:

CANUCKS

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen

Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Alexandre Burrows

Ronalds Kenins – Jared McCann – Radim Vrbata

Derek Dorsett – Adam Cracknell – Brandon Prust

Alexander Edler – Christopher Tanev

Yannick Weber – Ben Hutton

Alex Biega – Matt Bartkowski

Jacob Markstrom

Joe Cannata

Injured: Chris Higgins (undisclosed), Ryan Miller (cramps), Luca Sbisa (hand), Brandon Sutter (sports hernia surgery), Dan Hamhuis (facial fracture)

Scratched: Andrey Pedan

LIGHTNING

Vladislav Namestnikov – Steven Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn – Valtteri Filppula – Ryan Callahan

Jonathan Marchessault – Cedric Paquette – Erik Condra

Mike Angelidis – Mike Blunden

Victor Hedman – Anton Stralman

Jason Garrison – Andrej Sustr

Matthew Carle – Braydon Coburn

Nikita Nesterov

Ben Bishop

Kristers Gudlevskis

Injured: Ondrej Palat (undisclosed), Tyler Johnson (undisclosed), Jonathan Drouin (lower body), Joel Vermin (hand surgery), Brian Boyle (upper body)

Scratched: Tanner Richard

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

LIGHTNING PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-LIGHTNING AT A GLANCE

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

Vancouver Looks To Make It Two Wins In A Row On Road Trip, Against Florida

Posted on December 20, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 20, 2015

Vancouver (12-14-8) plays the second to last game of their six game road trip, when they face-off against Florida (17-12-4) this afternoon.

The Panthers open a 6 game homestand after winning 3 of 4 on the road that ended with a 2-0 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Florida is 9-3-0 in their last 12 games.

Roberto Luongo got his second shutout of the season against Carolina. He is 6-4-0 in his last 10 games with a 1.73 GAA and a .935 Sv%.

Florida is 5th in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference, 5 points behind Montreal in 1rst place, and 6 points ahead of Toronto in last place.

The Canucks look for their second consecutive road victory after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout on Friday. The win followed three earlier losses on the road trip to the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Black Hawks.

With the win against Detroit, Ryan Miller’s record improved to 5-4-1 in his last 10 games with a 3.03 GAA and .906 Sv%.

The last time Vancouver won consecutive road games was October 12 and 13 against Anaheim and Los Angeles.

Vancouver is tied for 3rd place in the Pacific division with Arizona and Calgary with 32 points, a single point behind San Jose in 2nd spot and three points ahead of Anaheim in last place.

Four points separate Nos 2-7 in the Pacific division.

CANUCK JOTTINGS

The Canucks wrapped up their sixth of 13 back-to-back series this season against Detroit on Friday night. Thus far, the Canucks have gone 5-4-3 in back-to-back games this season including a record of 2-3-1 in the first game and 3-1-2 in the second game.
Last season, Vancouver played in 12 back-to-back series. They posted a 15-8-1 record in those series going 10-2-0 in the first game and 5-6-1 in the second game.
ROAD TRIP SO FAR……
- Vancouver record: 1W-3L (GF: 5; GA: 15)
- Canucks have had five different goal scorers with a goal each:
  - Jared McCann, Radim Vrbata, Sven Baertschi
  - Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen
- Shot leaders:
  - Daniel Sedin: 20
  - Radim Vrbata: 17
  - Alex Edler: 14
- Face-off win percentage:
  - Alex Burrows: 66.7%
  - Bo Horvat: 53.3%
  - Derek Dorsett: 50%
- Plus/Minus:
  - Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin: +2 each
  - Chris Higgins: -6; Alex Edler: -5
  - Chris Tanev: -3; Bo Horvat: -4
  - Matt Bartkowski: -3
Chris Tanev leads the team and is t-7th in the League in blocked shots with 84. His defence partner Alex Edler ranks t-11th in the
NHL with 71 blocked shots.
Ronalds Kenins is t-4rth in the NHL in hits per games played with 4.5.
Derek Dorsett leads the team in hits with 76 and is tied for the 30th most hits in the league.
Daniel Sedin (126) and Radim Vrbata (117) rank 6th and 8th in the League, respectively, in shots.
The Canucks 21 PPG on the season are t-9th most in the NHL
Vancouver has had 119 power play opportunities to date, tied with Montreal for the the most in the League
The Canucks are 13th in the League in blocked shots with 460 and 8th in shots for with 1009
Vancouver is 24th in shots against with 1030.
Vancouver is 9th in the NHL in total face-offs with 2055 and 1rst in face-off losses with 1112.
The Canucks have the 5th least amount of hits in the league this season with 643 in 34 games for 18.9 hits per game.
Vancouver averages 29.7 shots for/gp (14th in the NHL) and 30.3 shots against/gp (22nd in the NHL).
In the last 10 games, the Canucks are 3 for 31: 9.7% on the power play:
- Road: 1 for 15: 6.7%
- Home: 2 for 16: 12.5%
The penalty kill, in the last 10 games, is 29 for 35, 82.9 percent:
- Road: 17 for 23: 73.9%
- Home: 12 for 12: 100%

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

The Outer Limits To The Inner Depths

Tag Archives: canucks banter

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

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 24, 2015

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

IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED

VANCOUVER’S HOME STAND OPPONENTS:

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

OILERS PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-OILERS AT A GLANCE

Canucks Begin 7-Game Home Stand On Boxing Day

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 24, 2015

Improvement Needed For Successful Home Stand

Vancouver Go Home Winners, Defeat Tampa Bay 2-1

CANUCKS TAKE 5 OF 6 POINTS IN FINAL 3 GAMES OF 6 GAME ROAD TRIP

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

Vancouver Looks For Win In Tampa Bay In Final Game Of Road Trip

Henrik Sedin To Play

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

LIGHTNING PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-LIGHTNING AT A GLANCE

Vancouver Looks To Make It Two Wins In A Row On Road Trip, Against Florida

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

PANTHERS PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-PANTHERS AT A GLANCE