Saturday March 4 - Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - 7 p.m. - CBC
Vancouver Canucks: 63 GP, 26-30-7, 59 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings: 64 GP, 31-27-6, 68 pts, fifth in Pacific Division
For the second straight game, the Vancouver Canucks will welcome a new face to their lineup as they continue their California road trip with a visit to Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Kings.
Nikolay Goldobin has joined the team and will suit up tonight for his 12th career NHL game.
Word is, the new guy will slot in tonight on the third line with Brandon Sutter and Jayson Megna.
Last game, Willie Desjardins started Brendan Gaunce on the third line with Sutter and Megna, while Joseph Cramarossa, Michael Chaput and Reid Boucher made up the fourth line that coach said wasn't physical enough.
Tonight, it looks like Boucher will sit as Gaunce drops down to make room for Goldobin.
Chris Tanev wore an "A" on Thursday against San Jose, in his first game back in the lineup after missing two with the mumps. It wasn't a great return for him.
I wonder if the virus is still messing with him, or if there's something more? There is some chatter that—like usual at this time of year—he's playing through a bunch of lingering injuries that have accumulated over the course of the season.
Here's what he said going into Thursday's game in San Jose:
At this point, it sounds like Tanev was just given some time off this morning.
If it turns out that Tanev can't go tonight, Alex Biega will draw in. He was scratched on Thursday in San Jose.
The injured list has shortened a little bit from the 10 bodies that were listed last Saturday as the Canucks came out of their five day break, but is still pretty lengthy. We've got Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Tryamkin missing from the blue line and Jacob Markstrom now on I.R. after his injury at SuperSkills.
Up front, Jack Skille has been out for four games with a groin injury, while Derek Dorsett and Anton Rodin are lost for the season.
One other quick note about the blue line—the draft pick Jim Benning dealt to the Oilers last year to obtain the rights to Philip Larsen was a conditional fifth-rounder in this year's draft. Per
CapFriendly, here's the condition:
2017 5th round pick*
(*Conditional- becomes 4th round pick if Larsen maintains a 0.3Pts/Gm avg in 2016-17 (min of 42 gms)
Larsen has appeared in 23 games so far this season, so his six points put him at a pace of 0.26 points per game. The Canucks have 19 games remaining, so if he appears in every game *and* picks up his scoring pace just a touch, he can trigger the condition that would elevate his cost from a fifth-rounder to a fourth-rounder.
As for the Kings, they're finally back in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference after a 2-1 shootout win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday. The Calgary Flames' current six-game winning streak has moved them just two points behind Anaheim and Edmonton, so their playoff spot is now looking all-but-assured.
I've figured all along that the Kings would be able to make their push once Jonathan Quick returned—and now they're delivering a truly formidable one-two punch in net.
The Canucks will face their opponents' backup goalie again tonight—but it's not another 27-year-old journeyman like Aaron Dell from San Jose.
Assuming Ben Bishop does get the start tonight, it'll be his second game since being acquired by the Kings last Sunday. On Tuesday, he dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Flames in Calgary.
We'll also get a chance to marvel at the sight of Jarome Iginla in an L.A. uniform—wearing No. 88, no less!
There's actually a good story behind his reasoning for choosing his new number. He said there was no way he'd ask Marian Gaborik to give up No. 12.
To wrap up today, the Canucks announced a new player signing on Friday.
Zack MacEwen is a big 20-year-old centre, currently second in scoring on the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL with 27-38-65 in 60 games this year. A native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, MacEwen's a bit of a late bloomer. Now listed at 6'4" and 212 pounds, he went undrafted and didn't become a full-time player at Major Junior until the 2015-16 season, when he was 19.
According to
Pension Plan Puppets, an erroneous report surfaced a couple of weeks ago that MacEwen had signed an entry-level deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Elliotte Friedman also talked about him in his February 14 edition of
30 Thoughts.
There isn’t as much action on CHL kids because most get drafted before free agency is reality. One who has captured attention if Zack MacEwen of QMJHL Gatineau. Ottawa, Tampa, Toronto and Vancouver are all believed to be among those interested. He was invited to Anaheim’s camp last September.
Sounds like MacEwen had some options when he chose to ink with the Canucks...
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