Sunday March 25 - Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars - 4 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 75 GP, 26-40-9, 61 pts, 29th overall
Dallas Stars: 75 GP, 38-29-8, 84 pts, sixth in Central Division
The Vancouver Canucks will be hoping for a replay of their last visit to American Airlines Center when they wrap up their road trip against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Exactly six weeks ago, following a grim loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Canucks took control early with three first-period goals on their way to a 6-0 shutout of the Dallas Stars. That was Vancouver's first win in Dallas in nearly five years. Can they keep it going tonight?
One thing's the same: the team will more than likely be without Chris Tanev, who was in his fourth game back in the lineup before suffering what's believed to be a knee injury on Friday in St. Louis.
BREAKING: Chris Tanev out for the rest of his career as he maxed out the total number of injuries an NHL player can have pic.twitter.com/u9p7tEE0qc
In typical Tanev fashion, he did come back and play one more shift after this in Friday's game. Every injury is another opportunity for me to marvel at his superhuman pain threshold.
With Ben Hutton home in Vancouver nursing his infected foot, the Canucks have been travelling with the minimum six defensemen. If Tanev can't go tonight, 23-year-old Ashton Sautner will make his NHL debut.
Originally signed by the Canucks as an undrafted free agent out of the Edmonton Oil Kings organization back in 2015, Sautner has spent the last three years in Utica. He has been recalled by the Canucks twice before, but didn't see game action either time.
Sautner's emergency recall status means that the Canucks still have one more regular spot available this season, which could be used for Adam Gaudette.
Gaudette's Northeastern Huskies dropped a 3-2 decision to the Michigan Wolverines in their first game of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, so his junior season is now over.
His teammate and fellow Hobey Baker nominee Dylan Sikura—a senior—was a sixth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2014. As expected, he signed with Chicago today. Gaudette is taking a little more time.
For those asking, zero chance of Gaudette playing in Dallas today. #Canucks and Gaudette advisor will talk today. Boeser deal out of NCAA last year was done real fast, Gaudette taking his time, talking with family and advisor.
A couple of weeks ago, I projected that Gaudette could make his pro debut in Vancouver on Tuesday, against Anaheim. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that could still be the case.
I believe if Gaudette signs with the Canucks this year, he'd also be eligible to play in Utica. In 2015, Ben Hutton signed out of Maine on March 16, then played four regular-season games with the Comets. That was the year the Comets went to the Calder Cup Final; Hutton was on the playoff roster but did not see any game action.
The Canucks are also expected to be without Brendan Leipsic for a second-straight game tonight. He was injured when he was hit by Andreas Martinsen in Chicago on Thursday—the incident that led to Derrick Pouliot's first career NHL fight, when he stepped in to defend the honour of his teammate against a player who had three inches and more than 20 pounds on him.
As for the Stars: they're coming into tonight on a three-game losing streak and are a dismal 1-6-3 in their last 10 games, which has all-but-destroyed any playoff hopes. Dallas currently sits 10th in the Western Conference, five points out of the second wild-card spot, with seven games left to play.
Two of the Stars' key offseason acquisitions haven't been available to them during this stretch run. Martin Hanzal's season came to an end a month ago when he was shut down for back surgery and Ben Bishop has missed seven of the Stars' last nine games with what's believed to be a knee injury. Veteran Jason Spezza is also now likely finished for the year due to a back problem.
There are a couple of bright spots for the Stars, though. Tyler Seguin's still in the hunt for the Rocket Richard trophy—tied for fourth in the race with William Karlsson and Erik Staal with 39 goals, five behind Ovi. That's a career high for Seguin, whose previous best was two 37-goal years.
And John Klingberg will probably still be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy. He spent much of the season leading all defensemen in points but has now fallen behind Washington's John Carlson into second place with 61 points in 75 games—and a plus-six to go along with that.
One final tidbit to wrap up:
Today marks #Canucks Daniel Sedin’s 1,300th @NHL game. He joins his brother Henrik as one of just 13 players to reach that milestone with one team.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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