Friday November 14 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Arizona Coyotes - 7:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks - 12-5-0 second in Pacific Division
Arizona Coyotes - 6-9-1 seventh in Pacific Division
When the Arizona Coyotes cruised to a 4-2 preseason win at Rogers Arena back on September 29th, the game sounded serious alarm bells among the Canucks faithful. Did it mean that Vancouver wasn't going to be able to ice a competitive squad among some of the league's better teams?
So far, the answer to that question is "no." The Canucks are surviving against tough competition, while the Coyotes are mired in last place in the Pacific Division. They're currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and dropped a 5-3 decision to Calgary last night at the Saddledome, so they'll be on the second half of a back-to-back.
Normally renowned for their defensive prowess, the Coyotes have been giving up goals this season. They're ranked 28th overall at 3.44 goals-against per game, ahead only of Buffalo and Columbus.
A big part of that has been sub-par play from Mike Smith, whose numbers are well below normal with a .889 save percentage and 3.43 goals-against.
Smith took the loss last night in Calgary, so the Canucks could see backup Devan Dubnyk tonight. Despite at .879 save percentage and 3.30 goals-against average, Dubnyk is actually unbeaten in regulation so far this year: 2-0-1 in four appearances.
The numbers make the Coyotes look beatable, but they always seem to be tough competition for Vancouver. Last season, the Canucks went 2-2-1 against the then-Phoenix team, with each game decided by a single goal. The most memorable contest was likely the 1-0 loss on January 16, when one-man wrecking machine Martin Hanzal knocked Henrik Sedin, Mike Santorelli and David Booth out of the lineup with injuries—and was only penalized for the high stick on Booth.
As far as current injuries, the Canucks were looking a little healthier at practice on Thursday with Zack Kassian, Derek Dorsett and Radim Vrbata back on the ice. Canucks.com
suggests that "the latter two (are) the more likely to make their respective returns tonight," meaning that Vrbata could see his first regular-season action against his old team.
Luca Sbisa's injury is now being identified as "lower-body." He remains out of action. Kevin Bieksa also missed practice on Thursday.
That being said, the Canucks announced on Thursday afternoon that they've called up defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti from Utica. After tonight, the Canucks don't play again until next Wednesday, so it must be a bit of an insurance move just in case Bieksa can't go. Without him, the team has just five healthy blueliners: Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, Weber and Ryan Stanton.
The
roster page on Canucks.com is a bit of a mess right now. Not only is there no mention of Bo Horvat or Nicklas Jensen among the forwards, but Frank Corrado is still listed among the defensemen. Corrado was re-assigned to Utica back on October 30.
Before his call-up, Sanguinetti posted two goals and five assists in 14 games with the Comets this season—and both his goals were game-winners. In case you forgot, Sanguinetti was an under-the-radar free-agent signing by the Canucks over the summer. The 26-year-old played 13 games in the KHL last season. A former first-round pick by the New York Rangers back in 2006, he's a good-sized body at 6'3" and 190 pounds. He has
45 games of NHL experience, mostly with the Carolina Hurricanes.
A New Jersey native who played his junior hockey in the OHL, he has no apparent connection to the Medicine Hat Tigers or Texas Stars.
Friday morning update—Bieksa is at Rogers Arena:
As the Canucks travel around the Western Conference, it's been fascinating to see the great career numbers that Ryan Miller has amassed in his limited exposure to Western teams. The Coyotes are another group that he has dominated: he's 7-0-0 against them all-time.
Miller is expected to get his 14th start of the season tonight.
One place where the Coyotes are out-statting the Canucks: faceoffs. The Coyotes are ranking second in the league at 53.2 percent, while Vancouver remains 27th at 47.6 percent. Hanzal's the ace in that department—third in the league at 61 percent, while Antoine Vermette's also impressive at 54.2 percent.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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