Saturday March 9 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Vegas Golden Knights - 7 p.m. - CBC, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 68 GP, 28-31-9, 65 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights: 68 GP, 37-26-5, third in Pacific Division
Jake Virtanen is ready to return to action as the Vancouver Canucks look to deliver a better performance than their dud in the desert from last weekend when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in their home rink on Saturday night.
After a team day off on Friday, here's how the lines looked at Saturday's morning skate:
Jake has missed 10 games since suffering fractured ribs off that open-ice hit from Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim back on February 13. During his absence, the Canucks have gone 3-5-2.
Chris Tanev was also injured in Anaheim and also took Saturday's morning skate; he's close, but not quite ready to get back into action.
After one game off on Thursday in Edmonton, Jacob Markstrom will return to the net against Vegas—probably still having fever dreams about the 48 shots he faced at T-Mobile Arena last Sunday.
The Canucks are still looking for their first-ever home win against the Golden Knights. They went 0-1-1 last season, with a 5-2 loss and a 5-4 shootout loss, and dropped a 4-3 decision earlier this season thanks to a shorthanded game winner by William Karlsson.
On Saturday, Vancouver fans will get to see Mark Stone live for the first time in a Vegas uniform. It'll be a familiar sight going forward: the 26-year-old officially signed his new eight-year, $76 million contract with the Golden Knights on Friday. That's the $9.5 million cap hit that was expected; the deal includes $48 million in signing-bonus money over the length of the contract and also carries a full no-move clause for all eight years, according to
CapFriendly.
That's quite a haul for a guy who was originally drafted in the sixth round by the Sens!
Vegas has played just once since shutting out the Canucks last Sunday, knocking off the Flames by a score of 2-1 to extend their current winning streak to five games. Saturday's game is the first of a road back-to-back for them, with a visit to Calgary scheduled for Sunday.
Vegas hasn't had a busy schedule this week, but Marc-Andre Fleury currently leads all goalies in the league not just in wins (33) but also in starts (57) and minutes played (3,395:23). He's fourth overall in shots against, at 1,601, just behind Jacob Markstrom's 1,626 in 51 starts and 3,092:54 of action.
Nevetheless, even in the back-to-back situation, Gerard Gallant is tapping Fleury for the start again on Saturday.
Backup Malcolm Subban hasn't seen a lot of game action this season. He's 4-6-0 for the year, with a 2.95 GAA and .907 save percentage. His last appearance came in Vegas' 6-5 shootout win over Florida back on February 28.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Quinn Hughes and Will Lockwood will be playing for their lives as they look to extend their best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series starting at 2 p.m. PT. The Wolverines got out to a good start on Friday night, taking a 2-0 lead on goals from Michael Pastujov and Lockwood. But the Gophers edged their way back into the game and eventually pulled out the win in overtime.
Quinn Hughes was part of Michigan's starting lineup but finished the night with zeros all the way across his
stat line. Word is, he's questionable for Saturday's game:
If Michigan wins today, the deciding Game 3 of the series will go Sunday at 2:30 p.m. PT. If Minnesota wins, the Wolverines' season is over. Hughes-watch could move to the very top of the Canucks' list of storylines even before puck drop at Rogers Arena tonight—and his health might further complicate the discussion!
Finally—the Utica Comets' losing streak has now stretched to three games after a 4-0 shutout loss in Syracuse on Friday night. They're still holding the edge over Belleville in the North Division playoff race because the Senators also lost 4-0 on Friday, to Cleveland.
The Comets could give themselves some breathing room with a road win on Saturday over the Laval Rocket. Belleville's next game isn't until Monday, against the Toronto Marlies.
Enjoy the games!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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