The Sharks roll into Rogers Arena on a four-game losing streak that has seen them struggle to score. Through their four-game slide, the Sharks have scored five goals and given up 16.
They've been outscored 87-40 at five-on-five this season. Their penalty kill is ranked 28th and their power play is 16th with a 20.9% conversion percentage.
Though the Sharks are at the bottom of the league, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has noted the strong effort that the Sharks have given in their two recent matchups.
After a slow start, the Sharks are playing .500% hockey over their last 13 games and hold a 6-6-1 record with some wins over multiple teams in playoff positions.
Quick Hits on the Competition:
- Tomas Hertl is the leading scorer and the only Sharks player with double-digit goals this season.
- 21-year-old William Eklund is third in points on the Sharks with three goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 32 games.
- Mikael Granlund leads the team in power play goals with seven.
- Defenceman Mario Ferraro leads the Sharks in average ice time. He’s currently at 22:40 a game through 33 outings.
- Former Canuck Kyle Burroughs leads the Sharks in hits with 74.
- The Sharks give up the most shots per game – averaging 35.9 shots-against per game through their 33 games this season.
The Canucks are 6-0-2 over their last eight games and have recently seen their third line be one of the most dominant bottom-six lines in the league.
Dakota Joshua, Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger have come together on a third line that is doing a great job controlling the puck in the offensive zone and is just recently starting to see their long, dangerous possessions result in goals.
As a trio, the line has a 57.6% Corsi, they’ve been on the ice for nine goals-scored and four goals-against, control 62% of on-ice expected goals, and have had 63.1% of the scoring chances while on the ice.
Ilya Mikheyev has continued to play well defensively this season and is riding a defensive heater that has goalies wanting him to play 60 minutes a night. Mikheyev has not been on the ice for a five-on-five goal-against since November 25th. It’s been 12 games since a team has scored against his line and during that time, his line has scored nine goals at even-strength.
Both Canucks goalies are rocking a .920% save percentage as we approach the final game before the holiday break. Thatcher Demko started on Thursday and we will have to wait for head coach Rick Tocchet to confirm which netminder he wants to go with on Saturday night.
Brock Boeser has seven goals over his last 10 games and is tied with Elias Pettersson for the most points in that stretch– each guy has 11 points over those 10 games.
Joshua continues to be a physical force this season and has picked up 37 hits over the last 10 games. That’s first on the team, Noah Juulsen comes in second with 25 hits over the past 10, and J.T. Miller is in third with 20.
Hottest Canucks over the Last Five:
Dakota Joshua: 4g-2a-6p
Teddy Blueger: 2g-4a-6p
Conor Garland: 1g-4a-5p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-2a-4p
J.T. Miller: 0g-4a-4p
It’s Holiday Season Celebrations night at Rogers Arena on Saturday and the game is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. You can watch along on Hockey Night in Canada or listen to the radio broadcast with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650.
