Canucks/Stars Game Recap:
It was a dreadful night in Big D as the Canucks dropped a big one to the Stars 4-1. I correctly predicted the outcome/final score of this game. This was a trap game all the way through for the Canucks.
One could argue that the game was over in the first five minutes of the contest. A bad line change with a late Kevin Bieksa arrival led to the Stars first goal of the night scored by Jamie Benn. When it rains it pours... fifteen seconds later, another Stars goal by Colton Sceviour. This happened because Canucks defensemen Yannick Weber got caught up the ice which led to an odd man rush for the Stars. About three minutes after the two goal debacle, the Canucks would get one back from Chris Higgins on an odd man rush the other way. The Canucks were not completely out of it at this point.
The second period was a strong period for the Canucks. They controlled play and outshot the Stars 14-5. The Canucks did everything right except score a tying goal. The Stars dagger came from Erik Cole with about three minutes left to go in the second period. Cole shot a weak little wrist shot at Luongo coming down the wing which was defended pretty well by Yannick Weber. Luongo would like to have this one back as it just squeaked through his pads.
The Stars would open up the third period and get a quick goal from rookie Valeri Nichushkin. This was all she wrote for this contest. A lot of weaknesses of the Canucks were exposed in this contest. The Jannik Hansen experiment on the first line is simply not cutting it. The defense got outworked and botched assignments most of the night. Luongo was not sharp, especially on the third Stars goal. This game was all set up for disaster.
Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen had another impressive performance against the Canucks as he made 27 of 28 stops. Canucks defensemen Dan Hamhuis ate a lot of minutes on the blueline as he registered 27:55 ice time.
Here Come the Hawks...
Vancouver is going to close out the three game Central Division road swing tonight as they face the defending Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks are the best team in the NHL to date as they show no signs of a cup hangover. This is the Canucks first and only trip to United Center this season. Chicago defeated Vancouver 2-1 on November 23 at Rogers Arena (2 goals in 9 seconds for the Blackhawks).
Chicago Blackhawks: 37 GP: 25-7-5; 55 pts
Vancouver Canucks: 37 GP: 20-11-6; 46 pts
The Canucks have lost two straight games after winning their previous seven in a row. Vancouver is ranked fourth in the Pacific Division and seventh in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have won two straight and are 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Chicago is ranked first in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference, first in the NHL.
This game can be viewed on NHLN-US, TSN, RDS2, CSN-Chicago at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.
Here are the projected lineups:
Canucks (the good guys)
Forwards:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Jannik Hansen
Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Mike Santorelli
David Booth - Brad Richardson - Zack Kassian
Tom Sestito - Zac Dalpe - Dale Weise
Defensemen:
Andrew Alberts - Kevin Bieksa
Dan Hamhuis - Christopher Tanev
Yannick Weber - Jason Garrison
Goaltenders:
Eddie Lack (starter)
Roberto Luongo
Blackhawks (the bad guys)
Forwards:
Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Kris Versteeg - Michal Handzus - Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Brandon Saad
Brandon Bollig - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith
Defensemen:
Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Johnny Oduya - Niklas Hjalmarsson
Nick Leddy - Michal Rozsival
Goaltenders:
Antti Raanta (starter)
Jason LaBarbera
Things to watch for - Canucks:
Eddie Lack - for the seventh time this season, he will be starting in between the pipes for the Canucks. The 25 year old Swede has a 2.00 GAA and .928 SV% on the season in nine total appearances. He has solidified himself as the backup behind Roberto Luongo. His last win came against Carolina on December 9 as he shutout the Hurricanes with a 31 save performance.
Ryan Kesler - he took a big slapshot from teammate Jason Garrison last night. He was hobbling around most of the game against Dallas. Hopefully it was just a stinger and nothing is broken. Kesler will be instrumental in trying to beat the Blackhawks. He will be in charge of shutting down the powerful Toews/Kane duo.
Things to watch for - Blackhawks:
Antti Raanta - the 24 year old Finnish goaltender signed as a free agent with Chicago back in June. He has been lights out for the Blackhawks while Corey Crawford has been out with an ailment. He has won 7 out of 10 games played and has a very good 2.26 GAA and .920 SV%.
Patrick Kane - the 25 year old Buffalo native is second in the NHL in points. His 20 goals and 46 points in 37 games have helped propel the Blackhawks to number one in the standings. Greasy mullet in its glory, he has burned the Canucks before in many contests. He has two cups under his belt and a Conn Smythe Trophy to boot.
Prediction:
5-2 Blackhawks (Kane GWG)
Until next time, stay classy! -George
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