Saturday night will bring another all-Canadian matchup as the Vancouver Canucks (44-18-8) host the Calgary Flames (33-30-5) at Rogers Arena on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Canucks worked for a pair of wins earlier in the week with a 3-2 decision over the Buffalo Sabres and a 4-1 showing against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canucks are now 6-1-1 over their last eight games and have only allowed 12 goals through those eight. The team has allowed one or zero goals in five of those games and only allowed more than two goals once.
We have seen the Canucks and Flames matchup twice this season on the road and each squad has a win and a loss on their record. The Flames took round one on November 16th, but the Canucks bounced back in December with a win of their own.
These Pacific division foes have two games left against each other this season. Saturday’s game is the first time this season when the Flames will visit Vancouver and we will see the Flames be back in town on April 16th to close out the season on Fan Appreciation Night.
It has been an up-and-down month for the Flames, who are on the outside looking in to make the playoffs. They will need to go nearly undefeated over their final 14 games to have a chance at the postseason. They currently sit 10 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild-card spot and have the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild ahead of them in the standings.
The Flames’ last baker’s dozen games have been a roller coaster ride. They reeled off five wins in a row, then lost four of five and have most recently won two of their last three, including a big win over the Golden Knights last Friday night.
Andrei Kuzmenko will make his return to Rogers Arena for the first time since being traded at the All-Star break as part of the package that brought in Elias Lindholm.
Most recently, Kuzmenko has been playing alongside Dryden Hunt and Yegor Sharangovich on the Flames’ third line. Kuzmenko has five goals and three assists through 15 games with the Flames, but he is not the story of that line.
Sharangovich, the 25-year-old centre has been the best Flame over the past few weeks. He’s picked up eight goals over his last 10 games and has held 61.1% control of the goal share at five-on-five in those games (11GF-7GA).
Flames goaltender and former Canuck Jacob Markstrom was back at practice on Thursday and is on track to be available for Saturday’s game. Backup goalie Dan Vladar is undergoing season-ending hip surgery. With the roster movement, youngster Dustin Wolf and Markstrom seem to be the duo that we will see on Saturday, but a starter has not yet been named.
Quick Hits on the Competition:
- The Flames have had an exceptionally long break ahead of Saturday’s game. The Flames’ last game was on Monday in Calgary when they lost 5-2 to the Washington Capitals. The Flames will certainly be fresh for Saturday’s tilt.
- Nazem Kadri is the leading scorer for the Flames this season. He has scored 23 goals and added 36 assists for 59 points in 68 games played.
- The Flames have a two-way tie for the goals lead. The aforementioned Sharangovich and Blake Coleman each have 28 goals on the year. These two players have combined for seven shorthanded goals, so they are two penalty killers to keep an eye on.
- Rasmus Andersson is the big minute-eater for the Flames on the backend. He is averaging 23:52 this season and has chipped in with some offence – picking up seven goals and 25 assists.
- 21-year-old Matt Coronato has been sliding into the Flames’ lineup recently. The 2021 first-round pick has had a strong rookie season in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers and has played 22 NHL games this year.
Saturday’s game will be number six of the nine-game homestand. The Canucks have had a nice start with a 3-1-1 record so far, but they want to continue to build as the final stretch to the playoffs is upon us.
There are only 12 games left in the season and the focus is on finding the fifth gear and being able to consistently play at that level.
Casey DeSmith has played great since he took over the starting job from a recovering Thatcher Demko. DeSmith has a .912% save percentage since taking over for Demko and has allowed two goals or less in each of his last three starts.
Defencemen like Nikita Zadorov and Quinn Hughes have recently talked about how the forwards are doing a lot to assist in the Canucks’ breakout while head coach Rick Tocchet has also been impressed with the team’s forecheck.
Sticking to their systems and structure has been the key all season long and the build-up has led this team to being first place in the Pacific Division with a dozen games left on the schedule.
Canucks’ Top Performers over Last Five:
Elias Pettersson: 3g-2a-5p
J.T. Miller: 2g-3a-5p
Quinn Hughes: 0g-5a-5p
Nikita Zadorov: 3g-1a-4p
Conor Garland: 2g-2a-4p
Saturday night’s game is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. It can be viewed on Hockey Night in Canada and is sure to feature an electric atmosphere in Rogers Arena for this all-Canadian matchup. If you are looking for the radio broadcast, Brendan Batchelor is your man and Sportsnet 650 is your destination.
