Sunday January 15 - New Jersey Devils at Vancouver Canucks - 4 p.m. - Sportsnet
Vancouver Canucks: 44 GP, 20-19-5, 45 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
New Jersey Devils: 44 GP, 17-18-9, 43 pts, seventh in Metropolitan Division
Home sweet home! After collecting just two of a possible six points in their three games on the road against Calgary, Nashville and Philadelphia, the Vancouver Canucks return to the friendly confines of Rogers Arena for a Sunday afternoon contest against the New Jersey Devils.
NHL.com lists the Canucks' home record of 15-6-2 as eighth overall in the league—a far cry from their third-worst record of 5-13-3 on the road.
Success on home ice is a good step for a team that's working to return to a level of respectability. It's a lot more fun for the fans to see wins than losses, and those wins have come in nearly two-thirds of the games at Rogers Arena this year.
I would add that the game presentation is also on an upward swing. The contests and between-period entertainment features are getting more engaging and I also find myself enjoying most of the video features that run on the big screen—which you can also see at Canucks.com or on the YouTube channel.
I thought this Troy Stecher "Mic'd Up" segment was a great peek at a young player who doesn't often venture very far from cliche territory in his interviews. It also gives us a good look at the dynamic between Canucks players during game action.
I have been enjoying going to games this year, especially seeing the growth of the new players. I hope the Canucks can keep up their strong play on home ice for the rest of the season.
The Canucks have made some adjustments in their recent practices in an effort to get Anton Rodin a little deeper into the mix.
#Canucks are skating Burrows on D with Pedan so Rodin can fit in on rushes with Horvat line. Did the same with Baertschi in Philly practice
However, Jason Botchford reports in The Province that Rodin's surgically-repaired knee is still causing him enough difficulties that Willie Desjardins doesn't feel comfortable inserting him into the lineup.
“We all want it to be 100 per cent," Desjardins told Botchford. "We all want him to play the way he can so when he goes in, we get a great evaluation. But with that, it’s hard to take guys out of the lineup to put in a guy who doesn’t feel he’s 100 per cent.
“That is a tough thing to do.”
So, we sit and wait with Rodin.
But what about Reid Boucher? What better time to get him some ice than against his former team, the Devils, especially if Rodin's not fit to play? We haven't heard a word yet about when Boucher will make his Canucks debut.
With the early 4 p.m. start, there's no game-day skate today, so we'll have to wait to see if Willie has any surprise lineup changes up his sleeve. No word yet on a starting goaltender, either. Vancouver's schedule continues to be quite spaced out over the next two weeks before the All-Star Break, with just one set of back-to-backs on the road next week in Colorado and Arizona.
Will we continue to see Ryan Miller carry the bulk of the load between now and then? Last Thursday's shootout loss to Philadelphia was the weakest performance we've seen from him in awhile.
As for the Devils, they're making their third stop on a four-game Western swing that has seen them earn three out of four points so far—in a 3-2 overtime loss in Taylor Hall's return to Edmonton on Thursday, then a 2-1 win over Calgary on Friday. After going through that uncharacteristically poor stretch of games in December, our old friend Cory Schneider seems like he has found his game again. He's 2-2-2 in his six appearances so far in January and has given up 10 goals in total through those six games.
Hands up if you had P.A. Parenteau leading the Devils in goals so far this season? As usual, New Jersey is struggling to score—they're 28th in the league with 2.18 goals per game (Vancouver is now 25th at 2.41). But it's Parenteau, a bargain-basemenet free-agent signing at $1.25 million, who leads the team with 12 goals while the pricier stars Hall, Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri each have 10.
The Devils are dealing with some key injuries. Captain Andy Greene is travelling with the team but isn't expected to play—he has been sidelined since being hit above the wrist by a puck on January 3. Forward Vern Fiddler has also been out since late December with a lower-body injury.
Both players practiced in Vancouver with the Devils on Saturday but aren't expected to play today. Sergey Kalinin is also questionable—he missed Friday's game against Calgary after being hurt by a shot-block in Edmonton on Thursday. Defenseman John Moore is sidelined indefinitely after suffering a concussion on New Year's Eve.
Before I leave you today, let's check in on Brock Boeser, who has been back on the ice for a couple of weeks in North Dakota after dealing with that wrist injury that kept him out of World Juniors.
Boeser went pointless on Saturday for the first time since his return, in North Dakota's 3-1 win over Miami. He hasn't missed a beat since getting back in action, with four goals and six points as the Fighting Hawks have gone 3-1. Though he missed six games, Boeser's currently tied with Tyson Jost for second in team scoring, with 11-11-22 in 16 games.
North Dakota currently sits third in the NCHC standings with a record of 6-5-1 in conference play.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»