Tuesday February 3 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Winnipeg Jets - 7:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 27-18-3, 57 points, fourth in Pacific Division
Winnipeg Jets: 26-18-8, 60 points, fourth in Central Division
Last night's Western Conference games didn't do the Vancouver Canucks many favours in terms of their position in the standings.
The Edmonton Oilers blew a lead (again) to allow the San Jose Sharks a single point before finally triumphing in a 13-round shootout, while the Calgary Flames trounced the Winnipeg Jets 5-2. The win moves Calgary ahead of the Canucks, into third place in the Pacific Division. That sets up a battle of the Western wild cards tonight at Rogers Arena.
Though the Winnipeg Jets have three more points than the Canucks, they have also played four more games—and have lost their mojo since the All-Star Break. Winnipeg has now lost four straight, and even though they now have a healthy defense, they've suddenly become defensively porous, giving up five goals in each of those games.
Early-season rookie saviour Michael Hutchinson has been in goal for three of those games, including last night's loss in Calgary, so the Canucks will likely see Ondrej Pavelec in net tonight.
I'd love to see Winnipeg fans rewarded with a team that makes the playoffs this season, but for tonight, I hope the Canucks can take advantage of a tired and demoralized group to boost their own confidence and pick up two much-needed points. Vancouver is just 1-2 on this six-game homestand so far. With San Jose and Pittsburgh coming to town later this week, tonight's game should be the most winnable of the bunch.
Alex Edler and Frank Corrado both missed practice yesterday, but are back in action at today's morning skate.
However, Willie Desjardins is calling Corrado "doubtful" for tonight due to illness. If he can't go, I presume Yannick Weber would draw back in.
Corrado made one fantastic play in Sunday's game against Minnesota, breaking up a three-on-one with poise and confidence. I really like what I've seen from him since this homestand began. He seems to have improved dramatically from preseason.
Zack Kassian will be scratched once again. And though Canucks.com is saying that Eddie Lack will get the start tonight, that remains unconfirmed at this point.
What About Kass?
Thomas Drance has a good summary of the last few days of Kassian's latest frustration over at
Canucks Army, highlighted by this comment to Ben Kuzma of the
Vancouver Province after he skated with the second line at practice on Monday: "I wouldn't read to much into it. I don't even know what the hell is going on."
That doesn't exactly sound like how we were led to believe that coach Willie Desjardins worked to get the best out of his players. As Drance concludes, it certainly seems like Kassian's on his way out of town.
Eklund is talking today about Ottawa possibly having some interest in the big guy, which I think is a real possibility.
Even though Kassian's value doesn't seem especially high right now, don't forget that Tyler Seguin was an underperforming young talent with loads of potential and a perceived attitude problem when he was unloaded from the Bruins—and look where he is now.
If Jim Benning can find a way to convince an opposing GM that Kassian is a similar diamond in the rough, maybe he can get a reasonable return that could help the Canucks down the stretch.
If I was Benning, I'd ask for Ottawa's rookie sensation, Mike Hoffman. It'd probably be tough to pry him away, since he's their leading goal-scorer (17 goals) and also leads the team with an impressive plus-18. He's a late bloomer—actually older than Kassian at 25, he was drafted in the fifth round in 2009. He also impressed with his speed at the Skills Competition on All-Star Weekend. There's a trait the Canucks could use!
Hoffman's on the last year of his entry-level contract, so he'll be due for a significant raise as a restricted free agent this summer. Maybe the Sens would move him if they he might not re-sign?
Alex Chiasson might be a more reasonable target. He's 24 and was part of the Jason Spezza deal, so he played for Willie's Texas Stars back in 2012-13. Chiasson has shown some offensive flash, but has just seven goals this season for Ottawa. He's also in the last year of his entry-level deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Chiasson has become a bubble boy in Ottawa, according to
this article from Chris Hofley of the
Ottawa Sun last week. It could be a situation where a change of scenery could improve both players' fortunes.
Something to keep an eye on.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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