After a holiday break, the Vancouver Canucks are back in action with an afternoon matchup against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Note the 1:00 p.m. puck drop as these two Pacific Division teams battle for the first time this season. And you won’t have to wait long for the rematch as these two teams play a second game within a week – matching up in Seattle on January 2nd.
The Kraken come out of the holiday break with a 15-19-2 record and will be hungry to get back in action after dropping five consecutive games ahead of the break.
They struggled to score goals ahead of the holiday break as the Kraken were unable to score more than two goals in each of their last five games. For the season, the Kraken rank 23rd in the league; averaging 2.78 goals per game.
As for the Canucks, they went into the break following a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on December 23rd. Saturday afternoon’s game is the final game of their three-game homestand before the club heads to Calgary on New Year’s Eve and then to Seattle on January 2nd before coming home for a back-to-back game.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Kraken special teams are about mid-pack with their power play ranking 21st in the league (18.5%) and their penalty kill sits at 15th with an 80% conversion on kills this season.
- Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 27 points (12g-15a) this season. He has put up 22 of his 27 points at even-strength and the team’s goal-scoring leader on the power play is Shane Wright with four power play goals.
- Chandler Stephenson seems to be the driver on the Kraken's power play. He has 12 power play assists and with those, has assists on 60% of the Kraken’s 20 power play goals this season.
- Two Kraken players have over 100 hits this season: Tye Kartye (108) and Eeli Tolvanen (104).
- Joey Daccord has started 23 of their 36 games this season. Daccord has a 12-9-2 record with a .912% save percentage, a 2.51 goals-against average, and one shutout.
- Jordan Eberle has played 52 games against the Canucks over his NHL career. In those 52 games, Eberle has 26 goals and 19 assists. Since joining the Kraken, Eberle has 14 points (5g-9a) in 11 games against the Canucks, including two three-point games.
The Story: Break Time is Over
Following a few days away from the team, the Canucks were back on the ice Friday afternoon for their first practice following some time to relax.
Jake DeBrusk and Tyler Myers mentioned that though the break was only a few days, it felt like they had been away for a while because the group spends so much time together.
Execution and consistency are the two main focuses for the group as they return to play on Saturday afternoon.
“I thought it was a pretty good practice. You could tell some guys were anxious to get back on the ice and get started together,” said head coach Rick Tocchet following practice. “Hockey players and coach [like] schedules. When you get three days off, people get antsy.”
Tocchet is breaking down the remaining part of the season into two parts: the lead up to the 4 Nations Face-Off and games after the tournament. There are 21 games ahead of the break that begins on February 8th following a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The head coach didn’t want to call it a sprint over the next 44 days, but he did speak to the focus level needing to be high from the group as they compete of the next six weeks ahead of the break.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 1g-7a-8p
Kiefer Sherwood: 4g-1a-5p
Brock Boeser: 3g-0a-3p
Teddy Blueger: 1g-2a-3p
Danton Heinen: 1g-2a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday afternoon’s game is a 1:00 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
