|
Vancouver Canucks face Blackhawks, look to start 2020 with 6th-straight win |
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday January 2 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 40 GP, 21-15-4, 46 pts, third in Pacific Division
Chicago Blackhawks: 41 GP, 18-17-6, 42 pts, seventh in Central Division
Happy New Year!
The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to start 2020 on a high note with their season-high sixth-straight win as the open the year by hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena.
All was well at the team's practice on Wednesday, when Chris Tanev and Elias Pettersson were back in the mix. Brandon Sutter, Micheal Ferland and Tyler Graovac remain sidelined due to their injuries.
Thursday's morning skate is an optional. Don't expect any lineup changes other than seeing Jacob Markstrom back in net after getting the night off in Calgary last Sunday.
As for the Blackhawks — they start the year sitting last in the Central Division. But they're trending in the right direction compared to their tumultuous 2018-19 season, which saw them drop to 15-21-6 on January 1, 2019, after their 4-2 loss to Boston at the Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium.
They're starting 2020 with a winning record, thanks to a 6-2-0 stretch over their last eight games. The Blackhawks are rolling into Vancouver on a three-game winning streak after beating Calgary 5-3 on New Year's Eve.
How have they done it? Well, Robin Lehner has taken over the net, for one thing. He started all six of those recent wins, and relieved Corey Crawford halfway through the weird 7-1 loss to New Jersey back on December 23. Those six wins are the most of any goaltender since December 15, and were built on the back of a .928 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average.
Up front, Patrick Kane has been on another one of his tears, with 14 points in those eight games. Jonathan Toews and Dylan Strome have also chipped in seven points each, and Dominik Kubalik has recorded two game winners.
Kane's now up to 51 points in 41 games this season — good for ninth overall in NHL scoring and on pace for another 100-point season. If you missed it, Kane finished the 2010s with more points than anybody else.
For a guy who came into the league with the tag that he was too small to survive in the NHL, Kane has also been very durable. He has missed just one game in the last five seasons — and that was here in Vancouver last year, when he was sick.
Now 31, it certainly seems like Kane's somewhat unorthodox off-ice training program, which I wrote about last year, continues to pay dividends.
The Blackhawks' recent success comes despite some significant injury challenges. The team announced on Boxing Day that defensemen Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan will both miss the rest of the season after they undergo surgery — or three surgeries, in Seabrook's case. Up front, Andrew Shaw is on LTIR after suffering a concussion at the end of November, Drake Caggiula has been dealing with a concussion since early November, and Brandon Saad is expected to miss at least another two weeks with an ankle injury.
Here's how the Hawks rolled their lines in their New Year's Eve win over Calgary on Tuesday. For all the talk of Kane's dominance, the transition to the new era is well underway, isn't it?
Now — a quick look at World Juniors, where quarterfinal games are staggered so they don't compete against each other, but started at 3:30 a.m. PT in order to squeeze them all in (1 a.m. if you count the first relegation game, where Germany beat Kazakhstan 4-0).
The final game is just underway as I type this — and one Canucks prospect will be eliminated in this contest, as Nils Hoglander's Swedes face Karel Plasek's Czechs. As usual, the Swedes led all teams at the end of the preliminary round with 11 of a possible 12 points, with their only blemish coming in an overtime win over Finland to start the tournament. Their incredible streak will roll over for another year — Sweden hasn't lost a preliminary-round game since 2006. That's getting close to a full generation of junior-age players!
Hoglander finished out the preliminary round with seven points, tied with his teammate Samuel Fagemo and a couple of other players for second spot in tournament scoring behind leader Trevor Zegras (nine points). And Hoglander earned the GIF treatment again in Sweden's final preliminary-round game for another creative behind-the-net play — that didn't quite work, this time.
Hoglander has just put Sweden up 1-0 against the Czechs with a much more traditional play — banging in a rebound that was left sitting in the crease during a Swedish power play. He also started the play with a pass out to the point from behind the net. I wonder how much the Czechs were worried that he was going to do something crazy while he was back there?
The Czechs finished out the preliminary round in fourth place in Group B with a 1-0-1-2 record. The hosts showed plenty of fire in their win over the Russians and overtime loss to the U.S., but with a long list of injuries, they were overmatched in the 7-2 loss to Canada that closed out the round. They do have their top goalie, Lukas Dostal, back in net against Sweden.
Canucks' prospect Karel Plasek has just one assist in the tournament, but has averaged a steady 15:05 in three games since he was added to the lineup as an injury replacement, and was named the Czechs' best player of the game in the loss to the Americans.
Earlier on Thursday, Vasily Podkolzin played 20:23 — more than any other Russian forward — but was once again held off the scoresheet as the Russians dispatched Switzerland by a score of 3-1. Canada got Alexis Lafreniere back in the lineup and built off a strong performance from captain Barrett Hayton as they advanced to the semifinal with a 6-1 win over the Slovaks. And after beating Team USA for the gold medal in Vancouver one year ago, the Finns dished out another dose of pain to the Americans on Thursday, sending them packing with a 1-0 win. Canucks prospect Toni Utunen was Finland's quarterfinal hero last year, eliminating Canada with his overtime goal. This year, he played a more low-key role but was still pretty active by his standards, with three shots on goal in 13:36 of ice time.
Before I sign off for today, a quick note on the Utica Comets, who continue to mirror their parent club. The Comets finished out their 2019 schedule on Tuesday with a 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans, giving them a 5-0-1 record over their last six games.
They start 2020 tied with Rochester for first place in the AHL's North Division with 44 points — although they have played two more games than the Americans. Their 124 goals in 34 games leads the entire AHL and their 24.1 percent power play is third in the league.
Reid Boucher's 20 goals lead the league, and his 40 points in 29 games have him tied with Drake Batherson for first place in that category. Meanwhile, Brogan Rafferty is tied with center Lucas Elvenes for the rookie scoring lead, with 30 points, and has the best rookie plus-minus, at plus-17. His 30 points also lead all AHL defensemen, and his plus-minus is second among defensemen and tied for third overall.
Michael DiPietro also ranks second in goals-against among rookie goalies, at 2.70. He has a 9-4-1 record with the Comets, and a .905 save percentage for the year to date.
With that, you're up to date. Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»