GAME PREVIEW - CDC - Jan 31

The Vancouver Canucks roll into Dallas on a three-game winning streak and are looking to keep their momentum going as they face the Stars for the first time this season.

Defence has been the name of the game for the Canucks over their last trinity of games. They have allowed four goals over their last three and are getting solid goaltending from both Kevin Lankinen and Thatcher Demko, who have combined for a .945% save percentage over the winning streak.

Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort stand out as two players who have done an excellent job defending over the Canucks’ last three games. Blueger leads the team in limiting scoring chances against at five-on-five through the past three games and Forbort has been paired alongside Filip Hronek and only allowed six scoring chances against through 24:44 of five-on-five ice time as pairing.

Head Coach Rick Tocchet likes the way that his team is grinding away over their last few games and believes the team is doing a solid job managing the puck through their winning streak. On top of those two things, Tocchet has been impressed with both goaltenders and gave credit to Demko following their win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

“He’s a world-class goalie,” said Tocchet. “I’ve got a ton of confidence in the guy and that’s why we started him. He was awesome [on Wednesday night].”

Tocchet spoke about wanting to see the team attack more on Wednesday and thought his team was better in that regard but wants to see them do it for a full three periods.

The Stars currently sit second in the Central Division with a 32-17-1 record. The Stars come into Friday’s game on a three-game winning streak of their own and played their last game on Tuesday in Vegas.

Quick Hits on the Competition

  • Jake Oettinger has started 37 of their 50 games this season and posts an impressive 25-11-1 record to go along with a .912% save percentage and a 2.30 goals-against average.
  • Matt Duchene leads with 48 points in 50 games played. He leads the Stars with five power play goals and 15 points on the man-advantage. Duchene is centering a line with Jamie Benn and Mavrik Bourque as his wingers.
  • The Stars will be without their best defenceman on Friday as Miro Heiskanen was listed as week-to-week on Thursday morning. The 25-year-old defenceman leads the Stars in ice time – averaging 25:10 per game. He was also quarterbacking the Stars’ top power play unit.
  • It appears that Thomas Harley will take over as the lone defenceman on the Stars’ top power play unit.
  • The Stars are one of the best teams in the league on home ice and bolster an 18-7-1 record while outscoring their opposition by an 83-58 count at the American Airlines Centre.

The Story: Brock Boeser is Trending Up

With a goal and four assists in his last five games, Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser is trending in the right direction.

The 27-year-old winger leads the Canucks with 16 scoring chances and 16 shots on net over his last five games.

Boeser is fourth among forwards for ice time over the previous five games and has been finding open ice in scoring areas over his recent run of games.

We will have to see if his good offensive habits will begin to result in goals in the coming games...

Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games

Quinn Hughes: 2g-6a-8p
Brock Boeser: 1g-4a-5p
Pius Suter: 2g-2a-4p
J.T. Miller: 1g-3a-4p
Tyler Myers: 1g-2a-3p (two games played)

When and Where to Watch

Friday’s game is a 5:00 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.