Everything OOO-Vey, Canucks Get It Done, Beat Detroit 4-3 In Shootout

Posted on December 18, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 18, 2015

Vancouver had been shutout in two of their last three games, and in four of their last nine outings dating back to November 30.

Vancouver came into the game having lost their 3rd game in a row of the road trip, and their 6th straight on the road.

Their captain Henrik Sedin could not play and his consecutive games played ended at 126 games.

But Sedin replacement Linden Vey, a thorn against Detroit last season, rose to the occasion and scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Canucks (12-14-8), a 4-3 win against the Red Wings (16-9-7) tonight at Joe Louis Arena.

With the victory, Vancouver pulled into a 3rd place tie with Calgary in the Pacific division of the Western conference, with 32 points.

Sven Baertschi had two points ( 1-1=2). Jared McCann, his 7th and Radim Vrbata, his 10th, scored for Vancouver (12-14-8), which won for the third time in 11 games (3-6-2).

The Canucks won their first game of the 6 game road trip, ending their three game losing streak to start the trip; and ended their 6 game losing streak on the road going back to November. They are 1-3 with 5 GF and 15 GA.

Ryan Miller made 25 saves through overtime and six more in the shootout.

Vancouver power play was not powerful as it was 0 for 2, with 5 shots. Canucks penalty kill was a perfect 3 for 3, with Miller only facing 4 shots.

On the current road trip their power play is 0 for 8, while their penalty kill is 10 for 14, 71.4%.

The Canucks out shot the Red Wings in the opening period 17-5, and in the game 40-28. Vancouver has out shot their opponents on the current road trip 137-130.

Canucks did not draw well on face-offs as they were 22 for 62. Bo Horvat was 10 for 22; Linden Vey, 5 for 15; Adam Cracknell, 3 for 10; Jared McCann, 2 for 12.

Vancouver face-off win percentage on their present road trip, after 4 games of 6, is an embarrassing 37.9 % (96 for 253).

The Canucks, if things were not desperate for them as it is, have teams in their division with games in hand, that could result in Vancouver making it into the basement of their division sooner than later, if they do not start using the momentum of the win tonight to register more victories, starting Sunday against Florida:

Anaheim, currently in last place, has 4 games in hand
Los Angeles, Calgary and Arizona, have 3 games in hand
San Jose has 2 games in hand
Edmonton has 1 game in hand

NEXT GAME UP: AT FLORIDA PANTERS, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2015

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS AT A GLANCE

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

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

Vancouver Continues To Build Up Losses, With 6-2 Loss To Minnesota

Posted on December 15, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 15, 2015

Updated at 8:55 pm PST

CANUCKS MAKE LOSING LOOK EASY

The Vancouver Canucks (11-13-8) registered their 21rst loss of the season, in a lopsided loss, to the Minnesota Wild (16-7-6), and continue to be winless on their 6 game road trip.

Vancouver came out skating with the Wild and got the first two shots on Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper but the home team scored first on the power play when Ben Hutton took a penalty for holding Charlie Coyle, at 4:50.

Thomas Vanek scored on the power play, his 11th goal of the season, on a tip in, assisted by Zach Parise (7) and Jason Pominville (14) at 5:17.

The Wild continued to take the game to Vancouver as they pressed the Canucks in their own end, with Miller coming up with timely saves. At the halfway point of the period, Minnesota had built up a 13 to 5 shot lead.

After a few good shifts that saw the Canucks get some good scoring opportunities, Minnesota beat Vancouver to the net, scoring at 12:47 to make it 2-0, on an even strength goal,when Jason Zucker scored his 7th goal, on a wrist shot, assisted by Thomas Vanek (10) and Mikko Koivu (17).

Minnesota outshot Vancouver 17-12. Canuck defensemen got most of the shots in the first period for Vancouver: Matt Bartkowski had 3; Alex Edler and Alex Biega, 2 each; no Canuck forward had more than one shot in the period.
Canucks were not very good in the face-off circle, successful on 8 for 22. Adam Cracknell was 3 for 5; Henrik Sedin, 2 for 7; Bo Horvat, 2 for 5; Jared McCann, 1-5.
Canuck defensemen had four of the 5 block shots, led by Chris Tanev with 2; Chris Higgins had the only block shot amongst the Vancouver forwards. Vancouver and Minnesota had 7 hits each, with no Canuck having more than one.

In the middle period, Vancouver continued to get into penalty trouble, and play with little intensity or push back, and Minnesota continued to make Vancouver pay.

Yannick Weber got a penalty at 5:17 for holding Charlie Coyle, and the the Wild wasted little time adding to their lead as Zach Parise scored his 10th goal, assisted by Thomas Vanek (11) and Mikko Koivu (18) at 5:25, to make it 3-0 Wild.

Miller had stopped Parise on two previous shots, but he couldn’t stop the third, and a frustrated Miller had to be wondering where his teammates were on that goal. Minnesota had out shot Vancouver 5-0 up to goal.

A little over a minute later, the Canucks spoiled Kuemper’s shutout bid, as Jannick Hansen scored his 9th goal, on a wrist shot, assisted by Henrik Sedin (21) and Daniel Sedin (21), at 6:45, and Vancouver pulled within two at 3-1.

Less than two minutes later, the Wild scored a disputed goal that was challenged by the Canucks when Mikko Koivu scored on Miller with a snapshot at 8:12. Vancouver believed the play to be offside but on review was ruled a good goal. Assists went to Thomas Vanek (12) and Nate Prosser (2), and the Wild were once again up by three goals at 4-1, on an even strength goal.

At 11:04 Jared McCann got a double-minor for high sticking Zach Parise and Minnesota were on power plays three and four of the game.

And once again, the Wild were efficient with their time as, they scored their 3rd power play goal of the game; Ryan Suter, on a wrist shot, his 5 goal, at 12:36, assisted by Zach Parise (8) and Mikko Koivu (19), making it 5-1.

Before the period would end, Minnesota would make it 6 to 1, on an even strength goal, when Marco Scandella scored his 4rth goal, on a wrist shot, assisted by Matt Dumba (4) and Nino Niederreiter (5) at 16:03.

The Wild outscored the Canucks 4-1 in the middle period and out shot Vancouver, 19-9.
The penalty kill was put to sleep as the Wild were 2 for 3 on the power play, needing little time to score against a lacklustre Canuck team.
At the end of two, Zach Parise led both teams in shots with 8, with teammates Jason Zucker and Ryan Suter having 4 each.
The Canucks defensemen had a total of 10 shots after two, led by Matt Bartkowski with 4. Jannick Hansen led the Vancouver forwards with 3 shots.
Vancouver did not do any better on face-offs in the middle period as they were 9 for 27. Adam Cracknell and Bo Horvat were the best face-off men after two period, both 6 for 12.

The final period started with a new goalie for Vancouver as coach Willie Desjardin replaced Ryan Miller with Jacob Markstrom, and Minnesota took their hand off the throttle, as there would be only one goal scored.

Just over six minutes into the period, a turnover to the Canuck captain, Henrik Sedin, resulted in Vancouver’s second goal, as he fed a pass to brother Daniel to make it a four goal game at 6-2 Minnesota.

It was Daniel Sedin’s 14th goal of the season, and Henrik Sedin’s 22nd assist of the campaign, at 6:16.

CANUCK JOTTINGS

Canucks were out shot 41-31 in the game.
In the face-off circle, Vancouver was 25 for 72.
Jannick Hansen had 5 shots for Vancouver; Zach Parise led the Wild with 8 shots.
Canucks had no power play opportunities; and were 2 for 5 on the penalty kill.
Canuck defensemen Alex Biega and Yannick Weber led all Canucks in hits with 3 each.
Chris Tanev finished with 3 block shots.
Vancouver has been outscored 10-2 in their first two games on the road trip.

NEXT GAME UP: AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2015

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS AT A GLANCE

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

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

BLACKHAWKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS-BLACKHAWKS AT A GLANCE

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

Buffalo Stands In Way Of Canucks’ End To Five Game Winless Streak

Posted on December 7, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff December 7, 2015

CANUCKS NEED TO BATTLE AND PUSH BACK

The Vancouver Canucks (9-11-8) take to the ice at Rogers Place tonight against the Buffalo Sabres (11-13-3).

Tonight marks the second of two meetings between these two teams this season. The two teams previously met in Buffalo on Nov. 7 (2-3 L).

The Canucks are 3-2-0 against the Sabres in the last five games played and 4-1-0 in the last five home outings versus Buffalo.

The game is the third of 4 games on the Canucks home stand, having lost the first two as part of a five game winless streak, in which they have been shutout twice and have less than eighteen shots (16,16,17) in three straight games.

The Canucks currently sit in 5th place in the Pacific division with 26 points, two points ahead of Edmonton and four points in front of Calgary.

Buffalo is currently on a three game Western Canada swing on their current road trip which ends on Thursday against the Calgary Flames.

The Sabres are in 7th place in the Atlantic division with 25 points, two points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Vancouver’s last game was against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night, a 4-0 loss. Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves with an .818 SV% in his latest start. The Canucks are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games, and 3-6-3 at home.

The Canucks lost their fifth straight National Hockey League game Saturday when they dropped a 4-0 decision on home ice to the Boston Bruins. It wasn’t so much that they lost — we’re getting used to that. It was how they lost. The Canucks barely put up a fight in what their coach had called a “must game.”

Source: ‘Frustrated’ Vancouver Canucks, struggling on both offence and defence, looking to ‘get that swagger back’, National Post, December 7, 2015

For the Sabres, they visited Edmonton last night, and lost to the Oilers 4-2. The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and 5-5-2 on the road.

FIVE GAME SKID REVIEW: November 26-December 7

During their 5 game winless streak, Vancouver is 0-3-2. Goals For:5. Goals Against: 16. Shots For: 110 (36, 25, 16,16,17) for 4.55 per cent shots turned to goals. Shots Against: 151 (30, 34, 40, 22, 25) for an .894 save percentage.
Their power play is 2 for 18: 11.1 per cent, 23rd best in the NHL.
Penalty kill has allowed 4 goals on 18 times short handed, for 77.8 per cent, 22nd best in the NHL.
Face-off win percentage, the worst in the league at 41.5 per cent.
As for the Plus/Minus (+/-) factor. During their 5 game winless streak, only one Canuck is in the plus, and that is Luca Sbisa at +1:
- There are 13 players in the minus, and 9 players at zero.
- The worst is Radim Vrbata at –6. There are three at –5: Alex Edler, Yannick Weber, and Jared McCann; four players at –4: Alex Burrows, Bo Horvat, Chris Tanev, and Chris Higgins; three players at –2: Derek Dorsett, Dan Hamhuis and Ben Hutton; two players at –1: Ronalds Kenins and Jake Virtanen.

Tickets to Saturday’s blowout against the Boston Bruins were selling for as low as $12 each shortly after the puck dropped. Monday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres is currently being sold as low as $30 a ticket, but that may drop even more closer to game time.

“It’s just the inconsistency,” said Tony Ell of Showtimetickets.com. “People want to get behind a consistent product.”

Traffic inside the Canucks official store was far from crowded on a Sunday a few weeks before Christmas.

Source: Demand for Canucks tickets sink to lowest levels in over a decade-globalnews.ca, December 7, 2015

CANUKS JOTTINGS

Since November 1, the Vancouver Canucks are the worst team in the NHL, with a record of 4-9-4 in 17 games played.
Their wins since November 1, are the least during that time, putting them dead last at 30th in the NHL.
During that time they have 40 goals for, 18th in the NHL; 53 goals against, tied with the Arizona for the second most allowed during that span, with Winnipeg the worst with 56 goals against.
Face-off win percentage during their last 17 games, puts them dead last in the NHL at 43.9 per cent.
Overall for the season, the Canucks face-off win percentage is 46.9 per cent in 28 games, worst in the NHL.
Canucks are 4-1 when Brandon Prust has a fight.
Daniel Sedin has 18 points (8-10-18) in the last 13 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 and ranks in the top-10 in the League in points (29), goals (12), ppg (5) and ppp (11).
Henrik Sedin has 17 points (5-12-17) in the last 13 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 in the top-10 in the NHL in points (26), assists (18), and ppp (10).
Alex Edler leads VAN in time on ice (24:22) and has led the team in that category in 24 of 27 games he’s played, including 14 games where he’s led all skaters in TOI. He currently ranks t-17th in the NHL in TOI/GP.
Jake Virtanen ranks t-third on the team and third among NHL rookies in hits with 53.
Chris Tanev leads the team and ranks fifth in the League in blocked shots with 69. His defence partner Alex Edler ranks t-14th in the NHL with 56 blocked shots.
Radim Vrbata is the worst Canuck in plus/minus with -17, closely followed by Bo Horvat at -13.
Jannick Hansen is the best Canuck in plus/minus with +10, followed by Henrik Sedin at +6.
Derek Dorsett missed practice yesterday but is expected to be able to play tonight.
Ryan Miller will get the call in net tonight against his old club, while blue-liner Alex Biega is expected to draw into the line-up as well likely in place of either Yannick Weber or Matt Bartkowski.
Miller will start his 23rd game of the season. He has a 2.59 GAA; .910 SV%; and one shutout.
In his last 9 starts, Ryan Miller has won only 2 games, with a 3.17 GAA and .898 SV%.
The Sabres could go with back-up netminder Linus Ullmark tonight after Chad Johnson went the distance last night. Ullmark is winless in his last five starts but did beat the Canucks back on November 7.

Are the Canucks the worst team in the NHL?

You can certainly make the case without much effort. They’re currently on the worst streak. They have the lowest winning percentage of any NHL team. They can’t score and they’re having trouble defending.

But here’s the most sobering part. Look at the NHL standings and find a team you can point to and confidently say: “The Canucks are better than these guys.”

Source: Willes’ Musings: Are the Canucks the worst team in the NHL?, The Province, December 7, 2015

SEASON SNAPSHOT

“We haven’t come out with some of the games I thought we’d come out with,” coach Willie Desjardins told the Canucks website after practice Sunday. “I like our group, I still do. … We’ve been inconsistent and when you’re inconsistent, guys lose confidence in each other so we have to start at the basics and we have to work through it and we have to get back on track.”

Vancouver has scored five goals in five games.

“I’ve seen this team play some amazing hockey and we have to get back to that, we have to get that swagger back, that confidence back,” forward Brandon Prust said. “We have a great team here.”

Source: canucks.nhl.com

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

SABRES PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS-SABRES AT A GLANCE

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

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

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