Monday night brings an end to the Vancouver Canucks’ longest homestand of the season and they will face a tough foe in the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks come into Monday with a 15-9-5 record while the Avalanche are 18-14-0 on the year. The two teams are yet to face each other this season but will play a total of three times before the playoffs roll around.
Through five games on the current homestand, the Canucks hold a 2-2-1 record and will look to end things on a winning note. The Avs are kicking off a three-game trip out west as they play the Canucks on Monday followed by a trip down to San Jose and Anaheim on Thursday and Friday.
Canucks’ rookie Max Sasson scored his first career goal in the NHL on Saturday night and is now up to five points through 10 games played. Sasson has been on the ice for six goals scored and just three goals against in his first run at the NHL and his play has impressed head coach Rick Tocchet.
“He’s making the most of his opportunity,” said Tocchet after Saturday’s game. Sasson skated on a line with Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson at Sunday’s practice. The coach is looking for a spark and is turning to Sasson in the Canucks’ top-six. The coach wants to see him continue to move his feet and play to his identity.
The Avalanche come into Monday’s game playing some of their best hockey of the season. They have won four of their last five games and have outscored their opposition 18-9 in this recent run of games.
The Avs are also one of the better teams on the road this season. They are one of seven teams in the league with double-digit wins while away from home (10-6-0). They have scored the first goal of the game in 10 of their 16 road games and hold a 7-3-0 record when they hit the scoreboard first in those road games.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Nathan MacKinnon ranks first in the NHL with 50 points through 32 games. His linemate Mikko Rantanen is second in the league with 46 points.
- The Avs are the eighth-highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 3.31 goals per game.
- On the flip side, the Avs rank 29th in the league for defending against goals – they are averaging 3.47 goals-against per game.
- Their power play is clicking at 24% and that is led by defenceman Cale Makar’s 15 power play points. Rantanen leads the Avs with five goals on the man-advantage while Makar and Ross Colton each have four.
- Makar leads his team with an average ice time per game of 25:12. He is closely followed by Devon Toews (23:47) and MacKinnon (23:11).
- Special teams will be important in the game as the Avalanche have been outscored 70-64 at five-on-five this season.
- Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood are now the goaltending duo for the Avs after they traded Alexandar Georgiev.
The Story: Being Ready to Bounce Back
Tocchet spoke about his team’s ability to bounce back after a tough loss, like the one Saturday night against the Bruins.
“We are a team that needs everybody to play,” said Tocchet on Sunday. “And that was kind of the most disheartening thing yesterday. We had some guys that weren't ready to play.”
The head coach wants his leadership group to help with that but also puts it on himself and the individuals to understand that they must be ready to play from puck drop.
“You’ve got to have different ways of doing it, and hopefully you have a collection of players that partner with you,” said Tocchet. They understand that. So, yeah, is there frustration? Yeah, but not the frustration where we're panicking. They're not panicking. We know the way we can play our team identity.”
The coach went on to say that his team needs to make some plays during their breakouts and in the neutral zone. He is looking for crisper passes as well as players recognizing space and being willing to try to make a play when the situations present themselves.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Brock Boeser: 2g-3a-5p
Quinn Hughes: 1g-4a-5p
Jake DeBrusk: 3g-0a-3p
Pius Suter: 2g-1a-3p
Max Sasson: 1g-2a-3p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-2a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday night’s game is a 7:30 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.
