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Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - January 4 - 7:00 pm - CBC, Fox Sports West
Vancouver Canucks 23-12-7 53 points fourth in Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings 25-13-4 54 points third in Pacific Division
After throwing away three points in home games earlier this week against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, the Vancouver Canucks will spend much of the rest of January facing Western Conference rivals, starting off with the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Staples Center.
The Canucks are 0-2 against the Kings so far this season, with a 5-1 loss on November 9 followed by a 3-2 overtime collapse on November 25 at Rogers Arena.
After a great run in December, the Canucks cannot afford to go cold and still hope to contend for a playoff position. They face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday—who remain the hottest team in the league—so a win against the Kings on Saturday is critical.
John Tortorella's affinity for days off means the Canucks are getting lots of rest, but it doesn't provide much opportunity to work on the holes in the team's game. The Canucks enjoyed a lively practice on Friday, where Elliott Pap of the
Vancouver Sun reports a new look for the first power-play unit. At last, Dan Hamhuis has been moved off the point! Ryan Kesler has stepped back to take his spot, with Chris Higgins now set up in front of the net.
I'm happy to see change—any change—and I don't mind getting Kesler out of the line of fire, where injuries can happen. I wonder if he'll get a chance to set up in that spot by the left circle where he used to score so many goals? I think that's Steven Stamkos' favourite spot with the man-advantage as well.
No changes are expected among the Canuck skaters on Saturday. Roberto Luongo is ready to go—he hasn't officially been announced as the starter against L.A., but I'm expecting to see him in net.
Is it good or bad that the Canucks are facing an ice-cold Kings team that is on a five-game losing streak? On the one hand, their fortunes are even worse than Vancouver's mini-slump. But they could also be ready to break out. L.A. always seems to get up for games against the Canucks; expect to see them at their most surly tonight.
Grading the Forwards:
Yesterday, Makita was asking if my player grades are based on the Canucks against each other, or if I take other players in the league into consideration. I do try to take a big-picture approach, comparing our players with others throughout the NHL but I also try to keep the grades reasonably fluid, reflecting improvements or declines in performance from month-to-month.
I don't spend much time studying advanced stats; my preference is still to judge players more on their overall body of work.
With that said, here are my grades for the forwards for December. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Henrik Sedin: 9-26-35 plus-9
Henrik posted just seven points in the month, which is below the point-a-game that's expected of him. He did tighten up defensively, raising his plus/minus by six points. The Canucks got good results in December but for the most part, the twins were passengers rather than drivers last month. I expect more.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: B-
Daniel Sedin: 13-22-35 plus-10
Daniel was a little hotter than Henrik in December, with three goals and six assists for nine points, while his plus-minus went up by one point more. The twins' play still goes hand-in-hand with each other, but since Daniel rarely outplays his brother, I'll give him the edge in grade for today.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: B
Ryan Kesler: 15-12-27 plus-1
Ryan Kesler remains second in ice time among all NHL forwards, though his average dropped slightly in December to 22:03 per game. He had some great games in December, but after all the talk of his line with Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins being Vancouver's top unit, he scored just five points in the month and has only one point in his last seven games. Kesler got his Olympic roster spot, but I worry that he might once again be nursing an injury he won't tell us about.
Previous Grade: A New Grade: B
Mike Santorelli: 9-18-27 plus-10
I keep thinking that Mike Santorelli can't keep up he pace he established at the beginning of the year, but he's showing no signs of slowing down. With another nine points in December, he's now tied with Kesler in team scoring and continues to contribute in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill. Santorelli has the same number of points as Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek of Philadelphia. It's looking more and more like he *is* the top-six foward that Vancouver will use for the rest of the year.
Previous Grade: A New Grade: A
Chris Higgins: 11-12-23 plus-1
Like his linemate Santorelli, Higgins put up another nine points this month. He's tracking for his best year yet as a Canuck and getting close to the career highs of 27 goals and 52 points that he tallied with Montreal back in 2007-08. After putting up just 15 points last season, Higgins' offense has been a much-needed boost. Let's see if his new power-play time will spike his numbers even further. His grade improves for the second straight month.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: B+
Brad Richardson: 8-8-16 plus-3
Another steady month for Richardson, who has delivered as promised since signing as a free agent with Vancouver this summer. He has been an anchor for an improved third line and seems to be a stabilizing infuence on David Booth and Zack Kassian—no small feat.
Richardson's grade is definitely more reflective of his success in his role than his position within the league as a whole. But he's playing well and staying consistent: I can't knock him down.
Previous Grade: A- New Grade: A-
Jannik Hansen: 8-4-12 plus-2
Canucks.com names Jannik Hansen as the team's third star in December. That's worrisome. He scored five goals—primarily thanks to first-line ice time with the Sedins—but he flubbed as many chances as he converted and the chemistry didn't seem to be there.
The group has looked better in recent days, and Hansen is contributing more than he did early in the season, but he isn't getting a star rating from me.
Previous Grade: C New Grade: C+
David Booth: 5-5-10 plus-4
David Booth showed some promise in December. His best moment was his dazzling goal against Boston after Torts' fiery timeout. He also seems to have found his skating stride again and is moving well around the ice.
He's still not worth $4.25 million, but he's not a liability anymore either.
Previous Grade: C New Grade: C+
Dale Weise: 3-7-10 minus-1
After peaking in November, Dale Weise has regressed back towards a more typical level of play in December. He's back to fourth-line duty, playing anywhere from three to seven minutes a game, and while he's been a part of Tom Sestito's newfound offensive game, the team remains at risk defensively any time this group is on the ice.
Previous Grade: B New Grade: C
Zack Kassian: 7-2-9 minus-4
An up-and-down month for Kassian. Not as bad as November, when Torts pulled him right out of the lineup, but the coach still doesn't trust him enough to give him quality ice time.
Kassian's plus-minus stayed even in December, so that's a start. A small improvement, but Kassian continues to tease us with his unrealized potential.
Previous Grade: D New Grade: C
Tom Sestito: 3-1-4 minus-6
Tom Sestito is currently the hottest scorer on the Vancouver Canucks, riding a two-game goal streak. He continues to evolve in his role, and even Torts admits that while he thought Sestito was a "clown" when his Rangers played against him in Philadelphia, he is warming up to the big guy. He has a long way to go to reach Gino Odjick-like levels of adulation but he's settling in nicely.
Previous Grade: C New Grade: C
Zac Dalpe: 1-2-3 minus-2
Zac Dalpe's turning point seems to have come from his performance alongside Sarah McLachlan at the Dice and Ice fundraising event. We found out he can sing—and that he loves Sarah—but he has also been a steady presence in the lineup since that night while his trade-mate Jeremy Welsh has been sent back down to Utica.
Dalpe scored his first goal as a Canuck against Tampa Bay and has been putting up about seven minutes of ice time on a fairly consistent basis. He took a small step forward in December.
Previous Grade: C- New Grade: C
Alex Burrows: 0-3-3 minus-7
Burrows was sidelined for all of December with his broken jaw, so he won't be graded for this period.
Previous Grade: C- New Grade: Incomplete
Jeremy Welsh: 1-0-1 minus-1
Jeremy Welsh appeared in just three games in December, and has now been assigned to the farm team in Utica. He lost his spot to Dalpe and won't see the big club again this year unless the forwards are hit with another rash of injuries.
Previous Grade: C- New Grade: D
Quick Hit:
- I missed this nugget from @strombone1 from earlier in the week. I guess we can assume that Roberto is a lover, not a fighter?
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