The Need to Knows
- Time: 7:00 PM PT
- Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
- Watch: ROOT-Northwest, NESN, ESPN+/SportsNet+
- Listen: KJR 93.3 FM
How Did We Get Here?
For the past decade or so, there were certain ideas we all knew were true: water is wet, Keanu Reeves is a nice guy, and the Canucks are a mediocre hockey team. That last item, however, is no longer the case. This season, Vancouver proves to be a formidable opponent and carrying some serious Cup clout. They’re currently ranked first in the West. The have four players on the list of the top 25 point leaders in the league. They’re looking beastly.
For all their well-earned bravado, there are cracks in their game. They’re coming off a three-game losing streak. On Tuesday, they lost in Colorado, partially because of the seemingly unstoppable force of Nathan MacKinnon who’s working on the seventh-longest home-point streak in league history. On Monday, they lost to the Wild in a staggeringly high-scoring game, 7-10, where Minnesota scored five goals in five minutes. And on Saturday, they lost to Winnipeg 2-4.
The Stats
Vancouver is great at scoring goals but statistically has a worse PK than the Kraken and their power play is good but not great. This may give the Kraken the opportunity to strike if the iron is hot.
The Kraken played the Canucks twice this season for a 1 and 1 record.
Injuries
The Kraken don’t have injuries to report.
The Canucks have these notable injuries:
- Dakota Joshua (C) is potentially out for an upper body injury.
- Former Kraken Carson Soucy (D) is on IR and expected to be out until at least March.
- Guillaume Brisebois (D) is on long-term IR for an undisclosed injury.
Key Players
The jewel in Vancouver’s talent crown is goal scoring. Their top three goal scorers are all on the list of top goal scorers in the league: Brock Boeser is 9th, Elias Petterson is 13th, and J.T. Miller is 16th.
Vancouver also shines in point leadership and have four players on the list of top point earners in the league: J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser.
In goaltending, the matchup is close with Thatcher Demko is seventh in the league in his goals-against average, but Joey Daccord is fourth, with their save percentages being nearly identical as well.
Finally, this may be a game where penalties matter, so here are your top penalty minutes earners:
Love to See It
Diversity in hockey is reason for celebration. Vancouver’s Arshdeep Bains of Surrey, B.C. made his NHL debut, the fourth Punjabi player ever to play in the NHL. His first game was during the Canucks’ last game against Colorado.
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