Thursday October 29 - Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars - 5:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Vancouver, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 4-2-3, 11 points, second in Pacific Division
Dallas Stars: 7-2-0, 14 points, second in Central Division
If the Vancouver Canucks played up to the level of their opponents when they beat the league-leading Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, that should bode well for tonight's matchup—another tough one against the Dallas Stars.
The Canucks have struggled against the Stars for years and are currently on a seven game winless streak where they're 0-6-1. This year's edition looks like the strongest Dallas team since the end of the Mike Modano era.
Like last season, the Stars are offensively explosive, but they have also tightened up on the back end. Victoria native Jamie Benn is proving that last year's Art Ross Trophy win was no fluke: he's back at the top of the scoring race with a torrid eight goals and 15 points in his first nine games, while his linemate Tyler Seguin is third with 13 points.
Sophomore offensive defenseman John Klingberg also continues to bring the heat. He's two points off the NHL lead in scoring by blueliners with eight points.
The Stars are playing the third game of a four-game homestand. In their last game on Tuesday night, they came back from a 3-0 first-period deficit against the struggling Anaheim Ducks to earn a 4-3 regulation win.
Defenseman Jason Demers will return to the Dallas lineup tonight after sitting out a two-game suspension for elbowing Nick Bonino last week. On the injured list: Travis Moen, Curtis McKenzie and Patrick Eaves.
I'm hopeful that the Canucks can stretch their perfect road record to 4-0-0 but I'm also looking forward to getting a good look at this year's Stars team and seeing how new additions Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya have fit into the mix. Another player to watch for will be 22-year-old Swedish rookie Mattias Janmark, who has five points in his first nine NHL games.
Here's how the lines are expected to look tonight:
Coach Lindy Ruff has mixed up his lines at this morning's skate, but that appears to be because they're working on special-teams drills. Dallas already boasts the NHL's second-best power play, with an astronomical conversion rate of 30 percent. They're ranked fourth on the penalty kill.
By comparison, the Canucks sit sixth on the PK and have moved up to 16th on the power play with a 17.2 percent success rate after going 1-for-2 against Montreal and 2-for-4 against Detroit.
Expect to see Antti Niemi get the start in net for Dallas. He has played a bit more than Kari Lehtonen in the early going and has the better numbers with a 2.49 goals-against average and .919 save percentage, but each goaltender has been responsible for one Stars loss.
As for the Canucks, rookie Brendan Gaunce will make his NHL debut tonight.
The 21-year-old first-rounder was called up by Vancouver on Thursday, along with defenseman Alex Biega.
Brandon Prust and Dan Hamhuis aren't on the road trip due to injury issues. It sounds like Willie Desjardins will be sticking with the same defense pairs that he used against the Canadiens with Hamhuis out on Tuesday, while Gaunce will slot into Prust's spot on the left side of the fourth line.
Swapping a 31-year-old for a 21-year-old means the already rookie-laden Canucks just got younger still.
Willie's taking things one game at a time in net.
Tonight's game will be No. 8 for Jared McCann and No. 7 for Jake Virtanen. I take a close look at what the nine-game threshold means and why the Canucks should absorb the risk and keep the kids for the entire season in my new piece for Canucks Army.
Click here to take a look.
I'll wrap up today by seeing if I can convince you to check out the new season of Hockey Wives. Last night's episode focused on events around the time of the late stages of last year's playoffs, and featured tons of Canucks and B.C. content.
There was a visit with Ryan Miller, wife Noureen and baby Bodhi at their offseason home in Los Angeles. Lots of footage of Brandon Prust and Maripier Morin soaking up the Mediterranean sunshine on Italy's Amalfi coast. Even a teaser of David Booth and his wife Ashley, where I believe they said they decided not to be intimate before they were married—that part went by quickly!
B.C. natives Carey Price and his wife Angela also got plenty of attention, much of which was shot at their offseason home base in Kelowna.
Last season, episodes were available to stream about a day after they were broadcast, but I'm not seeing last night's premiere up on the W Network website just yet. It looks like the next run on TV will be Friday morning at 9 a.m.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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