PREVIEW | Canucks vs. Flames
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MATCH-UP INFO
QUICK NUMBERS
LAST MEETING - MAR. 31/23: VAN 4 vs CGY 5 (OT)
Conor Garland opened the scoring 8:30 into the contest on an unassisted breakway goal...Elias Pettersson doubled the lead 36 seconds into the second period on the power play...Quinn Hughes and Andrei Kuzmenko registered the assists...Aidan McDonough scored his first NHL goal at the 12:12 mark of the second period...Sheldon Dries and Jack Studnicka picked up the assists...Anthony Beauvillier put the Canucks up with 3:54 left in the second period...Pettersson led the team with five shots...Kyle Burroughs had seven hits...Tyler Myers blocked four shots...Thatcher Demko made 36 saves.
LAST GAME PLAYED - APR. 6/23: VAN 3 vs CHI 0
Andrei Kuzmenko netted the Canucks' first goal of the game for the 12th time this season (most on the team) at 16:16 in the first period...Elias Pettersson recorded the first assist and Akito Hirose collected the second assist for his first career NHL point in just his third game played...Vitali Kravtsov scored his first goal as a Canuck at 3:53 in the second period, assisted by Conor Garland and Hirose, who registered a two-point game (0-2-2)...J.T. Miller secured the victory with an empty net goal for his 30th of the season at 19:35 in the third period, assisted by Brock Boeser and Tyler Myers...Boeser led all Canucks in shots (5), while Myers led in blocks (4) and co-led in hits with Kravtsov (5)...Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season and third of his career.
LAST 5 vs CALGARY
TIDYING UP AT HOME
The Canucks conclude their 2022.23 home schedule tonight against the Calgary Flames, marking the ninth time in history that the club has played their final home game of the season against the Flames. In the previous eight such games against Calgary, Vancouver has posted a 5-2-1-0 record, including winning the past three games dating back to 2009.10.
In their last 14 home season finales, Vancouver has posted a 12-2-0 record. Overall, the Canucks have a 29-17-5-0 record against 13 different teams in their final home game of the regular season since 1970.71.
NEARING THE CENTURY MARK
Collecting an assist on Andrei Kuzmenko's opening goal on Apr. 6 vs CHI, Elias Pettersson tied Todd Bertuzzi for eighth-most points by a Canucks skater in a single season. With 98 points (37-61-98) this season, he now sits just two points shy of becoming the sixth player (seventh instance) in team history to reach the 100-point mark and the first since Daniel Sedin (41-63-104) in 2010.11.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Following Cole McWard's NHL debut on Apr. 6 vs CHI, a total of six players have made their NHL debuts with Vancouver this season, tied for third-most in the League (w/ NSH, NYI, OTT) behind only Chicago (7) and Columbus (7). The Canucks have now had 38 skaters appear in at least one game this season, matching the franchise record for most skaters dressed in a season (1987.88). McWard also became the 16th defenceman to play for the team, two more than the previous club record of 14 (1997.98, 2005.06, and 2018.19).
PETEY'S POINT STREAK
Scoring his 36th goal of the season on Mar. 31 vs CGY, Elias Pettersson extended his career-high point streak to 14 games (from Mar. 4 vs TOR to Mar. 31 vs CGY with 8-12-20 in those games), matching Clayton Keller (ARI) for the longest active point streak in the NHL during that time. He tied Darcy Rota (1982.83) for the third longest point streak in franchise history, only trailing Petr Nedved (1992.93) and Todd Bertuzzi (2001.02) who each had point streaks of 15 games.
ANOTHER RECORD... BUT HUGHES COUNTING?
Recording two goals and adding an assist on Mar. 28 at STL, Quinn Hughes (7-65-72 in 70 GP) became the fifth NHL defenceman in the last 30 years to record a 70-point season before the age of 24. The three-point effort (2-1-3) was the 16th such occasion of Hughes' career, tying him with Jyrki Luume for the most three-point games by a Canucks blueliner in franchise history. Hughes has been on a tear all season, recently breaking the following records:
CAN'T STOP KUZY
Scoring the game-opening goal on Apr. 6 vs CHI, Andrei Kuzmenko regained sole possession of the team lead in goals this season (38), one up on Elias Pettersson. Kuzmenko's 38 goals are also tied for the sixth-most in an NHL player's first season since 1988.89, one goal behind Sidney Crosby's 39-goal rookie campaign in 2005.06.
"SCORING ON THE PK" - A CANUCKS' SHORT
Opening the Canucks' scoring on Mar. 25 at DAL, Dakota Joshua registered the team's 14th shorthanded marker of 2022.23 to previously lead the NHL this season (now second to the Edmonton Oilers with 16) and is the most by a Canucks team since 2002.03.
MILLER'S SPECIAL SAUCE
Scoring both a shorthanded penalty shot and a power play goal on Mar. 21 vs VGK, J.T. Miller registered his fourth multi-goal game of the season, which ranks third on the team. This marked the fourth time in his career (four in 2016.17, four in 2021.22, five in 2019.20) that he has recorded at least four multi-goal games in the same season.
2022.23 CANUCKS MILESTONES
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
THREE STARS - APRIL
MARCH WINNER - Miller/Pettersson (25 pts)
FEBRUARY WINNER - Pettersson (15 pts)
JANUARY WINNER - Pettersson (20 pts)
DECEMBER WINNER - Pettersson (20 pts)
NOVEMBER WINNER - Horvat (40 pts)
OCTOBER WINNER - Horvat, Kuzmenko (10 pts)
\5 points are awarded for each Three Stars selection*
