Sunday March 11 - Arizona Coyotes 1 - Vancouver Canucks 0
With Antti Raanta still not well enough to play, Darcy Kuemper made his second-straight start for the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday—after taking a 5-2 loss in Denver one day earlier.
Defying everything we know about the risks of starting goalies in back-to-back games, Kuemper made 27 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the year in Arizona's 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
I won't embed the highlights because, well, there really weren't any. Despite an easy night, credit Kuemper for keeping his focus right till the final buzzer.
Credit Jacob Markstrom, too—for a solid outing and for once again not holding back when assessing the play of the team in front of him.
Remember back a month ago in Carolina, when Markstrom called out his teammates? Last night, he was at it again.
"I don’t know how many times I’ve said this," Markstrom told
Ben Kuzma of
The Province after the game. "It seems to be a pattern. A slow start then a great push. We can’t be happy with that. We have to play with urgency. We’re playing for jobs.
"It’s not like the season is over and let’s meet up in September. That’s not how it’s going to be. I can promise you we’re not going to have the same guys here in September. You’ve got to earn your spots and it starts right now."
Speaking of playing for jobs, I was a little surprised to see 23-year-old Tyler Motte scratched last night while 34-year-old Jussi Jokinen and 27-year-old Nic Dowd were in the lineup. But that decision wasn't an indictment of Motte's play since joining the Canucks—it's a waiver-eligibility issue.
This is not just for next season. Batchelor says that if Motte exceeds his waiver exemption this year, he'd also need to clear before he could play for Utica in the AHL playoffs.
But Reid Boucher's fine, apparently?
Though Boucher is an AHL All-Star this season, his offense hasn't translated to the NHL level. Boucher's shooting percentage with the Canucks is exactly the same as last season—9.1 percent—but that has translated to just two goals in 11 NHL games this year. Both came in that 6-0 shutout win over Dallas last month.
Yes, the Canucks' offense has dried up since Brock Boeser's injury last week, but the team has also stopped generating power-play chances. The Canucks haven't scored with the man advantage for the last four games—but they've had just one power play in each of those games. In the six games before that, between Feb 20 and March 2, Vancouver went 6-for-20 with the man advantage, averaging a goal a game with a 30 percent efficiency rating.
Horvat's on a four-game goalless streak but does have two assists in those four games. Now without both Boeser and Sven Baertschi, he did lead the Canucks with five shots on Sunday in the desert, playing on a line with Brendan Leipsic and Jake Virtanen.
Monday March 12 - Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - 7:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 69 GP, 25-35-9, 59 pts, 28th overall
Los Angeles Kings: 68 GP, 36-27-5, 79 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
The battle continues tonight at Staples Centre, as the Canucks continue their road trip against the Los Angeles Kings.
Here's what that means in terms of tonight's lineup:
Chris Tanev is still a few days away from returning to game action.
Tonight's game is huge for the Kings, who are currently sitting one point out of a playoff spot. A win tonight would definitely get them back into wild-card position, since the Colorado Avalanche (80 points) are idle. They could move as high as second place in the Pacific by the end of the night, depending on what happens with the Sharks (currently in second with 81 points, hosting the Red Wings) and the Ducks (currently in third with 80 points, hosting the Blues).
There are still 11 teams in the hunt for those eight playoff spots in the West. Looks like the race will go down to the wire.
Since Jeff Carter returned to the lineup seven games ago, L.A. is 4-3-0, but the Kings were crushed 7-2 at home by St. Louis in their last game on Saturday. They're starting a back-to-back tonight that will see them play the Coyotes in Glendale on Tuesday, so lineup details for tonight are murky on the Kings side after an optional morning skate.
The Canucks are 2-1-0 against the Kings this year, with Markstrom and Nilsson each earning one "W." Tonight will be our first chance to see Dion Phaneuf in a Kings uniform. He's a pretty solid 3-3-6 and a plus-two in 12 games since his trade from Ottawa, averaging just under 20 minutes a game on a second pairing with Alec Martinez.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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