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With 4 players on Covid list, Boudreau's Canucks hit the road for 1st time |
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Thursday December 16 - Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks - 7:30 p.m. PT
After an impressive come-from-behind win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, the Vancouver Canucks will play their first road game under new coach Bruce Boudreau in San Jose on Thursday.
It's the first of two for the Canucks at the Shark Tank before Christmas. After returning home for back-to-backs against Toronto on Saturday and Arizona on Sunday, they'll visit the Sharks again next Tuesday before finishing out their pre-holiday schedule against the sizzling Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 23.
With four players now in Covid protocol, the Canucks had to wait for their latest round of test results on Wednesday, before leaving Canadian airspace. Assistant coach Jason King was added to the Covid list, but all the player tests came back negative.
Luke Schenn, Brad Hunt, Tucker Poolman and Juho Lammikko are in protocol. And even with Oliver Ekman-Larsson back after missing three games, that totals just five healthy defensemen. So, no surprise to hear that Guillaume Brisebois has been recalled from Abbotsford on an emergency basis to round out the group.
And the Baby Canucks are already Stateside. Spencer Martin got the shutout as Abbotsford beat San Diego 4-0 on Wednesday, and the club is headed to Vegas for a pair of games this weekend against the Henderson Silver Knights.
I haven't seen any listings of the lines from the morning skate, so I think we're going to have to wait for game time. Of course, there's also still a chance of more positive test results. Keep your fingers crossed that none of the players gets placed in isolation during this trip and won't be able to come home to spend Christmas with his family!
Lots of bodies on the ice for the skate, at least...
As for the Sharks, they survived their own Covid challenges quite successfully earlier in the season, when they had as many as eight players in protocol. Now with a record of 15-13-1, they've climbed out of the league basement but are currently just outside the wild-card picture in the West with 31 points.
Vancouver has 28 — although with one more game played. So this is a true four-pointer, where a regulation win for either side will have a big impact on the margin between the two clubs.
For San Jose, Thursday's game will be the fifth of a seven-game homestand. Then they get the weekend off while Vancouver comes home to play two games — the Sharks' next game is next Tuesday's rematch against the Canucks.
San Jose is 2-2 on this homestand so far, with wins against Calgary and Dallas and losses to Minnesota and Seattle.
A good part of San Jose's success this season has come on the defensive side of the puck. They're sixth-worst in scoring, averaging 2.62 goals per game — just ahead of Vancouver (2.43). But at 2.72 goals allowed per game, they're 13th in the league. Vancouver now sits 18th at 2.90 — which is a big improvement since the Boudreau era began. That's what happens when a team gives up eight goals in five games (1.6 per game).
After Jaro Halak finally got his first win of the year against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Thatcher Demko should step back between the pipes for the Canucks. James Reimer has been excellent this year with a 1.99 GAA and .936 save percentage, but he and Adin Hill have pretty much split duties, and Hill gets the nod against Vancouver. His numbers aren't as gaudy, but are all right — 6-8-0 with a 2.82 goals-against and .903 save percentage.
Here's how the Sharks' lines are expected to roll:
Jonah Gadjovich has been a fairly regular fourth-line fixture for the Sharks with one assist, 31 penalty minutes and a minus-8 in 17 games. He recently missed a couple of games with an ankle issue, but it sounds like his scratch tonight in favour of Lane Pederson is coach Bob Boughner's decision.
But Thursday will be our first chance to get a look at Jonathan Dahlen playing against his old organization. Acquired in exchange for Alex Burrows at the 2017 trade deadline, he was subsequently dealt to the Sharks two years later, with forward Linus Karlsson coming back in return.
Karlsson, 21, is having a good year with Skelleftea in the Swedish Hockey League, with 10 goals and 21 points in 27 games.
Dahlen, 23, has eight goals and 14 points in 25 games as a Sharks rookie, which ranks him seventh on the team in points. He has been streaky, though — starting the season with five points in six games, then going through a recent stretch where he picked up four points in three games. But he's pointless in the last two.
Timo Meier has been San Jose's most reliable point producer, with 28 points in 24 games. And Tomas Hertl continues to score goals, leading his team with 14.
Finally — as promised, Jim Rutherford hired his first staffer on Wednesday, bringing in Derek Clancey as his new assistant general manager.
"We are building a front office with people with a variety of backgrounds," said Rutherford in a statement on Wednesday. "Derek has excellent experience and has played an important role on three Stanley Cup winning teams. He will be a key member of our leadership team as we create a progressive, collaborative hockey operations group that can support our team and players at all levels."
A Newfoundland native, Clancey started his career transition as a player-coach in the ECHL before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as a pro scout in the 2007-08 season. He eventually moved up to director of professional scouting, then director of player personnel, under Rutherford, in 2019. He left the organization when Rutherford did, in 2021, and was working as a scout for the Calgary Flames this season.
According to the release, Clancey is set to "oversee the Canucks professional and amateur scouting staffs." It'll be interesting to see if there are more changes to the scouting staffs. Currently, Brett Henning is listed as the Director of Professional Scouting, while Todd Harvey is the Director of Amateur Scouting.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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