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 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 For Another Road Win In Minnesota Tonight

Posted on December 15, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 15, 2015

Updated: 1:12 pm PST

CANUCKS NEED TO KEEP BATTLING

AGAINST TEAMS WITH TALENT AND SPEED

Winning on the road is hard. We’ve won some big games on the road…..there’s some tough buildings to win in…..and we’ve won in ‘em. Coach Willie Desjardins, on winning big games in tough buildings, as the Canucks look to establish another winning streak.

The Vancouver Canucks (11-12-8) will play the Minnesota Wild (15-7-6) at Xcel Energy Center tonight.

Minnesota begins a stretch of six of the next seven games at home after returning home from a three-game road trip that Minnesota finished 1-0-2.

The Wild carry a season-high seven-game point streak (4-0-3) into the game tonight.

It is game two, of a six game road trip for Vancouver, that lost its first game of the trip 4-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks on December 13. Ryan Miller started in goal for Vancouver and made 26 saves on 29 shots.

The loss ended a two game win streak for the Canucks with previous victories against the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers at Rogers Place.

Vancouver are without a win in their last four road outings (0-2-2) and have not won on the road since their last visit to the Xcel Energy Center back on November 25, when they knocked off the Wild by a 3-2 score.

Tonight marks the second of three meetings this season between Vancouver and Minnesota. The Wild visit Rogers Arena on Feb. 15th.

The Canucks are tied for 2nd place in the Pacific division. Vancouver is trying to keep pace with 1rst place Los Angeles in the division, where teams Nos. 2-7 are separated by just three points.

Vancouver has 6 wins in 17 road games (41-GF & 49-GA), and are 2-5-4 in the last 11 road games.

Ryan Miller is expected to start again tonight.

Miller is 4-6-1 since November 12, with a 2.80 GAA, and .913 Sv%. He is 1-5-1 on the road during that stretch with a 3.11 GAA and .902 Sv%.

Ryan Miller, has seen action in 25 of 31 possible games this season. His record is 9-10-6, with a 2.53 GAA and a .914 save percentage, his highest in three seasons. He has 1 shutout.

In his last three starts, Miller is 2-1-0, allowing 6 goals on 96 shots, with a GAA of 2.04 and a .938 save percentage.

Canucks on the mend and the unavailable include, Luca Sbisa (hand); Brandon Sutter (sports hernia surgery), and Dan Hamhuis (facial fracture) are on the injured reserve list.

The Wild carries a season-high seven-game point streak (4-0-3) into the game on tonight. That includes a current five-game stretch in which the Wild has allowed four goals, two of which have come at even-strength, and two in regulation.

The Wild are in 4rth place in the Central division, two points behind St. Louis and Chicago tied for 2nd place and 10 points behind Dallas in 1rst place.

Minnesota have 10 wins in 15 home games (40-GF & 27-GA), and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 home games.

The Wild’s latest win came against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, a 2-0 victory.

Vancouver’s win against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center is one of the Minnesota’s three home regulation losses this season, tied for the fewest in the NHL. The Wild’s 10 home wins are tied for second-most in the NHL.

The Wild are 4-0-2 in their last 6 games, and have scored 10 goals and only more than two goals in a single game on one occasion in those six games. However, they’ve only allowed 5 goals in those same 6 games which includes three shutouts. If you take out goals they surrendered in 3-on-3 overtime, that total drops down to just three goals allowed.

Minnesota have held their opponents to 25-or-fewer shots in each game while averaging 14.5 blocked shots per game.

Darcy Kuemper is expected make his fourth start in goal for Minnesota tonight, since Devan Dubnyk sustained a mild groin injury on Dec. 5.

The only injury to Minnesota is Devan Dubnyk (groin strain) and he is expected to be in the lineup tonight in a backup role.

The Wild power play ranked t-23rd in the league entering Tuesday at 17.2 percent. The Canucks’ penalty kill ranked 19th at 79.8 percent.

The Canucks power play ranked t-14th in the NHL entering Tuesday at 18.4 percent. The Wilds’ penalty kill ranked 16th at 77.1 percent. Vancouver leads the NHL in power play opportunities with 114 entering Tuesday.

Minnesota’s 16 PPG on the season are t-8th most in the NHL.

Vancouver’s 21 PPG on the season are t-3rd most in the NHL with Nashville, behind Chicago with 23 and 5 teams tied with 22.

The Canucks are the worst team in the face-off circle, with a 46.6 FOW percentage overall. They have a 43.3 FOW percentage on the road (30th) and a 50.8 FOW percentage at home, t-19th with Pittsburgh.

The Wild are ranked 6th in the face-off circle, with a 51.4 FOW percentage overall. They have a 52.8 FOW percentage at home (9th) and a 50.1 FOW percentage on the road (6th best).

Canuck defensemen average 12.5 block shots and 10.9 hits per game this season. Matt Bartkowski leads Vancouver defensemen with 2.1 hits per game, while Chris Tanev leads defensemen with 2.7 block shots per game.

Canucks forwards average 6.9 block shots and 22.4 hits per game this season. Adam Cracknell leads active forwards with 2.4 hits per game, while Brandon Prust and Derek Dorsett lead Vancouver forwards with 0.7 block shots per game.

Minnesota defensemen average 9.9 block shots and 6.6 hits per game this season. Christian Folin leads Wild defensemen with 1.4 hits per game, while Jared Spurgeon leads Wild defensemen with 2.2 block shots per game.

Wild forwards average 7.1 block shots and 18.3 hits per game this season. Chris Porter leads Minnesota forwards with 2.7 hits per game, while Charlie Coyle leads Wild forwards with 1 block shot per game, this season.

PROJECTED LINEUPS:

CANUCKS

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen

Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Alexandre Burrows

Chris Higgins – Jared McCann – Radim Vrbata

Derek Dorsett – Adam Cracknell – Brandon Prust

Alexander Edler – Christopher Tanev

Yannick Weber – Ben Hutton

Alex Biega – Matt Bartkowski

Ryan Miller

Jacob Markstrom

WILD

Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville

Thomas Vanek – Mikko Koivu – Jason Zucker

Nino Niederreiter – Charlie Coyle – Justin Fontaine

Chris Porter – Erik Haula – Ryan Carter

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin – Marco Scandella

Nate Prosser – Matt Dumba

Darcy Kuemper

Devan Dubnyk

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

Tonight marks Bo Horvat’s 100th NHL game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, at 20 years and 225 days old, Horvat will be the 20th Canucks player to appear in 100 games prior to his 21st birthday, and the first to do so since Taylor Pyatt played in his 100th game on Feb. 2/02 (20 years and 175 days).
Last game against Chicago, Daniel Sedin notched a game-high six shots…Matt Bartkowski registered a game-high six hits…Ryan Miller made 26 saves…Radim Vrbata appeared in his 900th career game.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

-Dec. 13 – Jake Virtanen loaned to Team Canada for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship

-Dec. 12 – Ronalds Kenins and Andrey Pedan recalled from Utica

-Dec. 10 – Guillaume Brisebois signed to a three-year entry level contract.
Daniel Sedin has 15 points (6-9-15) in the last 11 games. He currently leads the team in points (33), goals (13), ppg (5) and ppp (12), gwg (3), and t-first in assists (20). He is also 6th in NHL scoring.
Henrik Sedin has 14 points (4-10-14) in the last 11 games. Henrik ranks t-first on the team in assists (20), second in points (29), and t-second in goals (9), ppg (4), and ppp (12). He is also t-11th in NHL scoring.
Alex Edler leads the team in time on ice per game (24:25) and has led the team in that category in 27 of 30 games he’s played, including 16 games where he’s led all skaters in TOI. He currently ranks 18th in the NHL in TOI/GP.
Chris Tanev leads the team and ranks 6th in the League in blocked shots with 77. His defence partner Alex Edler ranks 19th in the NHL with 61 blocked shots.
Canucks power play is 2 for 19, 11 percent, in its last 5 games.
Vancouver’s penalty kill has killed all 12 of 13 man advantages in the last 5 games, 92.3 per cent.
VANCOUVER’S 2015.16 RECORD WHEN…

Score 4+ Goals: 7-0-0

Score 3 Goals or Less: 4-12-8

Allow 4+ Goals: 0-7-3

Allow 3 Goals or Less: 11-5-5

On 0 Days Rest: 2-1-2

On 1 Day Rest: 4-6-5

On 2 Days Rest: 4-3-1

On 3+ Days Rest: 0-2-0

Score a PPG: 6-5-6

Give up a PPG: 3-8-6

25+ Shots on Goal: 9-9-7

Less than 25 shots: 2-3-1
CANUCKS RECORD:

Overall record/streak: 11 – 12 – 8 / Lost 1

Home record/streak: 5 – 6 – 3 / Win 2 / Undef 2

Road record/streak: 6 – 6 – 5 / Lost 1

Last 5 Games: 2 – 3 – 0

Last 10 Games: 3 – 5 – 2

1-Goal Games: 4 – 6 – 8

2-Goal Games: 1 – 2

3-Goal Games: 6 – 4

Scoring first: 6 – 2 – 5

Opponent scoring first: 5 – 10 – 3

Leading after 1 period: 5 – 0 – 3

Trailing after 1 period: 0 – 8 – 3

Tied after 1 period: 6 – 4 – 2

Leading after 2 periods: 8 – 1 – 5

Trailing after 2 periods: 0 – 11 – 1

Tied after 2 periods: 3 – 0 – 2

OT Record – This Season: 1 – 8

OT Record – Franchise: 169 – 151 – 219

Shootout Record – This Season: 1 – 1

Shootout Record – Franchise: 51 – 56

Outshooting opponent: 4 – 5 – 5

Outshot by opponent: 7 – 6 – 3

Even shots: 0 – 1 – 0

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WILD PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS-WILD AT A GLANCE

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

Vancouver Visits Chicago To Start Extended Road Trip

Posted on December 13, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 13, 2015 3:45 PM PST

MAKE OR BREAK ROAD TRIP

“It’s like playoff hockey for us, and we need to recognize that. Our urgency level has to be higher. I think the guys know that, so I would expect us to be battling. Saying that, I do believe in the character of this group, and I don’t believe there are many nights that they haven’t given everything they have.” Willie Desjardins, prior to the Canucks taking on Minnesota in the first game of their last road trip.

Vancouver (11-11-8) plays the first of four games in 6 nights when they face-off against Chicago (16-10-4) this evening.

The 6-game road trip will conclude 12 days after Vancouver’s last home game, on Tuesday, December 22 against Tampa Bay. In between they play, Minnesota on December 15; Philadelphia on December 17; Detroit on December 18; Florida on December 20.

Vancouver is on a winning streak of two straight wins. The last time the Canucks won two straight games was when Vancouver defeated Arizona and Philadelphia, October 30 and November 2, respectively.

Vancouver will play its first game since losing defenseman Dan Hamhuis (facial fracture) for an estimated two months, after he was struck in the face by the puck during the Canucks’ 2-1 win against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

Yannick Weber will likely replace Hamhuis.

Derek Dorsett missed practice Saturday and has gone back to Saskatchewan for personal reasons. Ronalds Kenins is expected to be in Dorsett’s place in the line-up against Chicago.

Tonight marks the second of three meetings this season between the Canucks and Blackhawks. The Blackhawks visit Rogers Arena again on Mar. 27th.

The Sedin twins combined for nine points against Chicago in their first meeting of the season at Rogers Place on November 21—Daniel notched a hat trick, while Henrik posted a career-high five points, including four assists.

Goaltender Ryan Miller will get the start against Chicago tonight. Miller is 4-4-1 since November 12, with a 2.73 GAA, and .917 Sv%. He is 1-3-1 on the road during that stretch with a 3.10 GAA and .906 Sv%.

Ryan Miller, has seen action in 24 of 30 possible games this season. His record is 9-9-6, with a .914 save percentage, his highest in three seasons.

In his last two starts, Miller is 2-0-0, allowing three goals on 94 shots, with a GAA of 1.51 and a .955 save percentage, to help Vancouver break out of their 5- game losing slump. .

Corey Crawford will likely start in net, after making 25 saves against Winnipeg on Friday night, for his third shutout.

Crawford has allowed two goals on 93 shots in his past three starts, going 3-0-0 with a GAA of 0.67 and a .978 save percentage.

The Blackhawks are in 4rth place in the Central division, two points behind St. Louis in 2nd place and 10 points behind Dallas in 1rst place.

Chicago has 11 wins in 15 home games (44-GF & 25-GA), and are 4-1-0 in the last 5 games.

Patrick Kane will be looking to extend his points streak to 26 consecutive games. He has 25 points in 29 games against Vancouver.

Chicago Point Streaks:
PATRICK KANE (16-23-39 / 25 Games)

Chicago Goal Streaks:
PATRICK KANE (3 / 3 Games)

The Canucks are tied for 2nd place in the Pacific division. Vancouver is trying to keep pace with 1rst place Los Angeles in the division, where teams Nos. 2-7 are separated by just three points.

Vancouver has 6 wins in 16 road games (41-GF & 45-GA), and are 2-4-4 in the last 10 road games.

Vancouver Point Streaks:
ALEXANDER EDLER (1-2-3 / 2 Games)
HENRIK SEDIN (1-2-3 / 2 Games)
DANIEL SEDIN (1-3-4 / 2 Games)

Vancouver Assist Streaks:
DANIEL SEDIN (3 / 2 Games)
ALEXANDER EDLER (2 / 2 Games)

The Hawks power play, which scored two goals Friday, ranked fifth in the league entering Sunday at 22.2 percent. The Canucks’ penalty kill ranked 16th at 80.4 percent.

The Canucks power play, which scored a goal Wednesday night against the Rangers, ranked 14th in the NHL entering Sunday at 18.9 percent. The Blackhawks’ penalty kill ranked 15th at 81.0 percent. Vancouver leads the NHL in power play opportunities with 111.

Tonight marks Radim Vrbata’s 900th career NHL game. He becomes the 18th player born in the Czech Republic to appear in 900 or more games in his career.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin have played in 585 wins together. According to ESB, since 1990.91 the only pairs of teammates to play in more wins together are Niklas Lidstrom and Kris Draper (664); and Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom (599).

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

Daniel Sedin has 15 points (6-9-15) in the last 10 games. He recently had a seven game point streak from Nov. 14-27; it was the longest point streak of any Canucks player this season and his longest since a seven game streak from Oct. 22 – Nov. 5/13. He currently leads the team in points (33), goals (13), ppg (5) and ppp (12), gwg (3), and t-first in assists (20). He is also 5th in NHL scoring.
Henrik Sedin has 14 points (4-10-14) in the last 10 games. He recently had a six game point streak from Nov. 16-27. He also had a five game point streak earlier this season from Oct. 29 to Nov. 7. Last season, the Captain recorded points in three or more consecutive games on 10 different occasions. Henrik ranks t-first on the team in assists (20), second in points (29), and t-second in goals (9), ppg (4), and ppp (12). He is also 10th in NHL scoring.
Alex Edler leads the team in time on ice per game (24:26) and has led the team in that category in 26 of 29 games he’s played, including 16 games where he’s led all skaters in TOI. He currently ranks 18th in the NHL in TOI/GP
Forward Ronalds Kenins and defenseman Andrey Pedan were recalled Saturday night from the Utica Comets.
Kenins, 24, has played in two games with the Canucks this year and appeared in eight games for the Comets this season, registering an assist (0-1-1) and eight penalty minutes.
Pedan, 22, has appeared in 19 games with Utica this season, where he currently sits tied for second among Comets defensemen in scoring with nine points (2-7-9). He also played one game with the Canucks this year as a forward.
NHL holiday trade freeze is December 19th-27th.
Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins, Alex Edler, Ryan Miller, Dan Hamhuis and Brandon Sutter all have no-trade clauses.
As of December 23rd, the Canucks will have spent 33 of 48 days away from Vancouver.
According to Mark Abell, Vancouver Canucks have a rough offensive match-up but a good defensive match-up, this coming week, against Philadelphia, Florida, Minnesota and Detroit, all who are in the lower half of the league in scoring.
Vancouver signed defenseman Guillaume Brisebois to a three-year entry level contract, it was announced December 10. Brisebois was selected by Vancouver in the third round, 66th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Brisebois, 18, has appeared in 28 games for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL where he currently leads all defensemen on the team in scoring with 12 points (4-8-12).
The Canucks though will be without Dan Hamhuis who is expected to be out at least two months after surgery Friday to repair a facial fracture, coach Willie Desjardins told the Canucks website on Friday.
Vancouver continues to be without young center Brandon Sutter who has been sorely missed since November 10, 2015 and recently had sports hernia surgery on December 2 and is not expected in the line-up again until the latter part of January at the earliest.
Vancouver is also without Luca Sbisa (hand injury) and Jake Virtanen (conditioning assignment with Utica Comets).
Chris Tanev leads the team and ranks 6th in the League in blocked shots with 74. His defence partner Alex Edler ranks t-19th in the NHL with 59 blocked shots.
Alex Edler, with his power play goal on December 9, surpassed Rick Lanz for sole possession of second place for most PPG by a Canucks defenseman, with 38.
Rookie forward Jared McCann is t-14th in rookie scoring with 6-goals and 3-assist for 9-points. Among rookies, he ranks t-8th in goals; 9th in shots-on-goal with 50; 10th in shooting percentage at 12%; 12th in power play goals.
Rookie defenseman Ben Hutton is t-14th in rookie scoring with 9-points on 9-assists. Among rookies, he ranks t-4th in assists; t-18th in shots-on-goal with 34; 3rd worst among rookies this season in plus/minus with a -8; t-4rth in power play assists.
Canucks power play in relation to goals and opportunities:
- Of 4 or more opportunities: 15 for 77 in 15 games: 19.4%
- Of 3 or less opportunities: 6 for 34 in 15 games: 17.6%
The road trip this month starts with the Canuck power play 2 for 16 in its last 4 games.
Vancouver’s penalty kill has killed all 11 man advantages in the last 4 games.
VANCOUVER’S 2015.16 RECORD WHEN…

Score 4+ Goals: 7-0-0

Score 3 Goals or Less: 4-11-8

Allow 4+ Goals: 0-6-3

Allow 3 Goals or Less: 11-5-5
On 0 Days Rest: 2-1-2
On 1 Day Rest: 4-6-5
On 2 Days Rest: 4-3-1
On 3+ Days Rest: 0-1-0
Score a PPG: 6-5-6
Give up a PPG: 3-7-6
25+ Shots on Goal: 9-8-7
Less than 25 shots: 2-3-1

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

The Outer Limits To The Inner Depths

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff January 1, 2016

CANUCKS NOW 4-1-1 IN LAST SIX GAMES

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD STANDINGS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 28, 2015

Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows, Chris Higgins To Play Tonight

CANUCK JOTTINGS

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

KINGS PLAYERS STATS

CANUCKS-KINGS AT A GLANCE

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

FIRST PERIOD REVIEW

SECOND PERIOD REVIEW

THIRD PERIOD REVIEW

OVERTIME REVIEW

CANUCKS JOTTINGS:

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS NEED TO KEEP BATTLING

AGAINST TEAMS WITH TALENT AND SPEED

PROJECTED LINEUPS:

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WILD PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS-WILD AT A GLANCE

MAKE OR BREAK ROAD TRIP

CANUCKS JOTTINGS

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

BLACKHAWKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS-BLACKHAWKS AT A GLANCE