One more week to go...
The Vancouver Canucks are back on the ice at Rogers Arena, practicing ahead of Monday night's tilt against the Los Angeles Kings.
Here's the rundown of the lineup so far:
Andrey Pedan continues to work up front. He got the nod over Yannick Weber as the fill-in forward on Friday in Anaheim but was limited to just seven shifts for 5:01 of ice time as Willie Desjardins was forced to juggle his lines once Higgins and Vey were injured.
Derek Dorsett isn't sure whether or not he'll be able to play on Monday:
After unexpected road wins against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks last week, it'd be quite something if the Canucks put together their first three-game winning streak of the season at this late stage, with a sweep of the Pacific Division's playoff-bound teams from California.
The Kings' last outing on Saturday didn't go as planned for Darryl Sutter's crew. L.A. was dominated in possession by the Dallas Stars—outshot 39-26 in total and 18-8 in the first period—then blew a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 on the first career game-winning goal for Jordie Benn.
Even with their sketchy goaltending and injuries to Tyler Seguin, Kris Russell and Jason Demers, the Stars are still rolling. They're 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, outplaying St. Louis and Chicago to hold on to top spot in the Central Division down the stretch. In the West, they're the team I'm most intrigued to watch in the playoffs, while I'm equally curious to see what Florida can put together in the East.
All told, the out-of-town scoreboard was very kind to the Canucks on Saturday night. Calgary's 5-0 win over Edmonton not only infuriated Oilers coach Todd McLellan, it also bumped Vancouver down one spot in the standings, to 25th place. The Canucks and Flames have one more head-to-head game to play this week, in Calgary on Thursday.
Columbus also won, so the Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets sit a single point behind Vancouver at 70. The Jets will have a chance to leapfrog the Canucks when they visit Minnesota to take on the Wild later this afternoon.
A couple of the Canucks took in the Whitecaps' scoreless draw against the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday at B.C. Place:
With four games in six nights to wrap up the Canucks season starting tomorrow, I'm going to take advantage of this brief lull to bring you up to date on the status of Vancouver's top prospects.
Thomas Drance has a thorough breakdown over on the Sportsnet website. Here are the key points:
• Defenceman Tate Olson's season is over as the Prince George Cougars were swept by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the WHL playoffs. Jim Benning told Drance of the second-last pick from the entire 2015 draft, "He’s got a chance to be an NHL player."
Olson put up nine goals and 45 points in 65 WHL games this year and added two assists in the playoffs. He won't be joining the Utica Comets now that his junior season is over. Jim Benning is advocating for a solid summer of offseason training.
• Chosen in the third round in 2015, defenceman Guillaume Brisebois' season is also complete. His Acadie-Bathurst Titans were defeated 4-1 by the Saint John Seadogs in the QMJHL playoffs. Brisebois dealt with some injury issues this season, collecting 26 points in 52 regular-season games and two assists in the playoffs.
Like Olson, the 175-pounder will be expected to concentrate on building strength in the offseason. We'll see how both blue line prospects fare during the summer rookie camp.
• 2015 fifth-rounder Carl Neill is also finished for year. His Sherbrooke Phoenix fell 4-1 to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Friday night. After picking up 50 points in 62 regular-season games, the 6'3" defenseman and Sherbrooke captain Neill tied for the team lead in postseason scoring with four goals and two assists in six games.
• Still alive in the Quebec League playoffs, fourth-rounder Dmitry Zhukenov's Chicoutimi Sagueneens face elimination in Game 6 of their first-round series against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Monday. The rookie Zhukenov, playing his first season in North America after coming over from Russia, is tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with Chicoutimi, with 1-3-4 in five games so far.
Meanwhile, in Czech Republic, Lukas Jasek's Trinec team won their U20 junior championship over Sparta with a 4-2 victory on Friday.
Jasek finished second in team scoring with a very impressive four goals and 13 points in six playoff games.
Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko will get back on the ice again for their Frozen Four semifinal games this Thursday in Tampa.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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