Friday November 27 - Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars - 5:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 23 GP, 9-8-6, 24 points, third in Pacific Division
Dallas Stars: 22 GP, 17-5-0, 34 points, first in Central Division
It has been four weeks since the Vancouver last rolled into Dallas, got bombarded by Nickelback songs in the second period, gave up a 3-1 lead in the third then got torched by Jamie Benn in overtime.
Considering Dallas has been one of the hottest teams in the league this season, the Canucks did well to hang with them but will be looking for a better result tonight as they attempt to string some points together and solidify their place in the standings.
Here's the gang at today's optional morning skate:
After saying yesterday that Jake Virtanen would be rotated back out of the lineup in favour of Sven Baertschi, coach Willie Desjardins wasn't willing to confirm that move on Friday morning:
Willie hasn't been shy about tinkering with his lineup this season, but maybe he's thinking now that he should stick with the group that earned the win on Wednesday in Minnesota? I guess we'll find out at game time.
If you missed it, there was some good discussion in the comments yesterday about the merits of keeping Virtanen up with the Canucks vs. sending him back to junior and/or lending him to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship.
Virtanen's 1-3-4 in his first 18 NHL games. He's now averaging 10:16 of ice time after hitting double digits in his last three appearances.
We know Virtanen can bring it in the hitting department, and his increased ice time suggests that Willie Desjardins is starting to trust him more defensively—and late in games. Four shifts for 1:49 in the third against Minnesota isn't world-beating, but considering the Canucks were defending a lead, it's not half bad. Baby steps.
The question now—is Virtanen getting so consumed with the physical side of his role as a power forward that he's neglecting his development as a scorer? He wasn't chosen sixth overall purely for his ability to hit and he put up some good point totals in junior:
2014-15: 50 GP, 21-31-52
2013-14: 71 GP, 45-26-71
2012-13: 62 GP, 16-38-34
The Canucks are currently ranked seventh in the NHL offensively, so they're not starving for goals. I don't think Virtanen is a liability when he's on the ice, but if Alex Grenier could perform every night like he did during his one-game call-up against Winnipeg last week, that wouldn't be a major downgrade for the team, either.
Would it help Virtanen to spend a bit more time as a big fish and regain some offensive confidence at the junior level? Maybe.
Where do you weigh in?
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Here's a bird's-eye view of one of the advantages that Virtanen (and Jared McCann) get from being with the Canucks—a little personal time with two of the NHL's best players:
Canucks.com is also offering up a trip down the centre aisle of the team plane, hosted by Brandon Prust:
It's interesting to see how the seating arrangements break down and interesting that, unlike on commercial flights, the most important players sit right at the back—more like the school bus.
Yannick Weber seems to feel that its in his best interest to stick with Dan Hamhuis at all times, close to the leadership group. Seems to be working out for him.
Virtanen was kind of on his own. I wonder if that "babysitter" seat is Prust's? He didn't really tell us where he sits.
I was a little surprised to see Ryan Miller sitting with Jared McCann. An intriguing pair, those two. Horvat and Dorsett, I think, have been pretty-much inseparable since last season.
As mentioned above, Miller will get the start tonight. Here are a couple of sobering statistics:
The Stars had won five straight games before that loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. They haven't been as bad defensively as many projected this season but when they are bad, it's nasty—they've allowed six or more goals in three of their five losses.
Dallas will also be forced to lean on Antti Niemi for the next week or so. Kari Lehtonen has had the better numbers as the two Finnish starters have been sharing duties, but Lehtonen was injured during Tuesday's game after a collision with upstart Norris Trophy candidate John Klingberg, so the Canucks will see Niemi tonight.
Of course, the Stars top line is continuing to produce. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin currently sit 2-3 in league scoring behind Patrick Kane. Benn has 32 points in 22 games and Seguin has 21, putting them comfortably ahead of fourth-place Daniel Sedin, who was 25 points.
We could be in store for a bit of a goal-fest tonight—not great news for the coaches but it could be very entertaining for us fans.
Before I go today, let me direct you to my latest Canucks Army piece, which can be
found here.
I look a little more closely at what it means for the Canucks to be in a playoff position as of American Thanksgiving, and how the rest of the season could shake out.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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