The Canucks play an early game on Sunday, scheduled for a noon start before the Super Bowl. So, today I'll look at last night's win over Buffalo and preview Sunday's game against Minnesota, then I'll pick up the regular schedule on Monday.
Let's start with the good news:
Friday January 30 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - Buffalo Sabres 2
For a game that started scary when Henrik Sedin took a stick to the throat from Torrey Mitchell, it ended happy with a 5-2 win and good contribution from a long list of players who have had trouble producing offensively of late. Here are your highlights:
With third-string goaltender Matt Hackett playing his first game since major knee surgery just nine months ago and Chris Stewart opening the scoring for the Sabres four minutes into the first period, I started to worry that we were in for a rerun of the Canucks' 1-0 loss to Joni Ortio and the Calgary Flames from January 10.
That was part of Vancouver's 195-minute goalless drought that was finally snapped when Bo Horvat went to the net and pushed a puck past Hackett to tie the game at one with 24 seconds left in the first period.
The sailing got smoother from there. Yannick Weber and Nick Bonino both tallied on the newfangled power play in the second period, and even Chris Higgins scored his first goal in 14 games to help seal the deal in the third. He also added an assist—his first two-point night since November 28.
Yes, it was only lowly Buffalo. But I was pretty surprised to see even grumpy
Tony Gallagher suggest that a win over the league's last-place team could served as a confidence booster and help get the team back on track, in
The Province:
It’s funny how sometimes a listless, easy win against a dreadful team can often be a vitamin to a team badly in need of a shot in the arm, particularly when several members of said winning team break some slumps.
As for new arrival Ronalds Kenins, he was presented with the game puck by Ryan Miller after his first NHL game—an impressive gesture from a goalie who had a pretty strong emotional investment of his own, playing against his old team.
Kenins had a solid game on a line with Bo Horvat and Zack Kassian—four shot attempts and three hits in 10:33 of ice time.
Lucas Aykroyd talked to Kenins after the game for
IIHF.com. In a wide-ranging interview that offers plenty of background on the Latvian's journey to the NHL, he admitted to some nerves but seemed satisfied with his performance on Friday.
Willie Desjardins offered high praise for Kenins, Willie-style:
I thought he was great. I thought he played a really good game. I thought that line was really good for us early, got us going. He had a big hit there that kind of sparked us. He showed that he can play. He’s got good speed, he’s heavy enough, and he’s got good hands.
With two points in the bank, the Canucks are back at practice today. Here are the lines:
Adam Clendening is the new No. 44, who's slotted into the third pairing with Luca Sbisa. He also did time on the second power-play unit.
Bad news for Yannick Weber, who played arguably his best game of the season last night, with one goal and seven shot attempts.
Jason Botchford sums up Weber's effort in last night's
Provies.
If acquiring Adam Clendening was a message, Weber at least looked like someone who received it.
He was asked about just that after the game.
“I don’t need extra motivation,” Weber said.
OK, just looked like you did, then.
So, let's look ahead to Sunday's contest...
Sunday February 1 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild - 12 noon - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 27-17-3, 57 points, third in Pacific Division
Minnesota Wild: 22-20-6, 50 points, seventh in Central Division
First off—note the earlier start time for Sunday's game. Originally scheduled as a 12:30 start, puck drop has been moved up to noon in an effort to give people a chance to get home in time for the Super Bowl kickoff.
Secondly—let's note that even though the Minnesota Wild are currently another last-place team, sitting at the bottom of the Central Division, they've made some progress since acquiring goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes on January 14. Dubnyk is 4-1 in six appearances for Minnesota, with his only stinker coming when he was pulled after giving up four goals on 10 shots to Detroit on January 20.
Minnesota's last game was a 1-0 shutout win over Calgary last Thursday, so don't expect the goals to come as freely for Vancouver on Sunday as they did against the Sabres.
Despite Ronalds Kenins' strong game on Friday, it's good to hear that Derek Dorsett could be back in the lineup against the Wild:
We should also expect to see Clendening:
He was part of the second power-play unit at practice today, as well as skating with Sbisa in the third pairing.
That sets the scene for the next 24 hours. Enjoy your weekend. Go Seahawks!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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