The California sun has been good to the Vancouver Canucks over the past few days and as we get gloomy, overcast days up here in British Columbia, the Canucks continue to shine down the coast and look to close out their road trip with a win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
After a pair of wins against the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, this Kings team presents the toughest challenge as they currently lead the Pacific Division with 19 points.
The Kings have not lost in regulation on home ice this season – currently holding a 3-0-1 record at Crypto.com Arena. They have also been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past three weeks with a 6-2-1 record.
As for the Canucks, they continue to play strong on the road. Their record away from Rogers Arena is 5-1-0.
A reason for their success on the road has been their defence. The Canucks rank number one in the league when it comes to limiting goals while on the road, allowing 1.99 goals against per 60 minutes.
Nils Höglander has played 83:43 on the road this season and has not been on the ice for a goal against. Höglander is joined by Vincent Desharnais (64:27), Daniel Sprong (35:40) and Aatu Räty (19:55) as the players who have not been on the ice for a goal against while on the road this season.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Kings began their season on a seven-game road trip.
- Veteran centre Anze Kopitar is the only Kings’ player who is over a point-per-game. He has five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 14 games.
- Kevin Fiala has 10 goals in his 17 career games against the Canucks. Fiala leads the Kings with four power play goals this season while no other King has more than one on the year.
- Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich have split the starts in net this year. Each goaltender has seven starts and both Kuemper and Rittich have a save percentage under .900% on the year. Kuemper holds a 4-0-3 record while Rittich is 4-3-0.
- 21-year-old Brandt Clarke is logging 18:21 per game this season and has 11 points in 14 games.
- Former Canuck Kyle Burroughs now plays for the Kings. He is averaging 13:33 over the seven games he has played in this season.
The Story: System Guys Needed
We have seen the third line of Kiefer Sherwood, Danton Heinen, and Teddy Blueger have early success this season and head coach Rick Tocchet believes it is because of how they have invested in the system that the Canucks want to play in.
“They're connected and they're supporting each other,” said Tocchet. “When I look at video, we have an overhead camera, they're successful because they're close together.”
"Sometimes they'll make a mistake, which is fine, but they are system guys. You got to have system guys on your team if you want to be successful. And they are system guys.”
Tocchet praised Sherwood and mentioned that he is one of those guys who has a chip on his shoulder in an analogous way to Conor Garland.
The Sherwood-Blueger-Heinen line has now played 61:55 together and has been on the ice for six goals scored and only two goals against. They are a line that Tocchet trusts against any opposing line and the trio is continuing to improve as they develop chemistry.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 1g-5a-6p
Brock Boeser: 2g-3a-5p
J.T. Miller: 1g-3a-4p
Conor Garland: 0g-4a-4p
Pius Suter: 3g-0a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Thursday night’s game has a bit of a later start time. Please note that the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed on Sportsnet or listened to on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
