The Vancouver Canucks wrap up their four-game homestand on Tuesday, with the Montreal Canadiens coming to town for their only visit of the season to Rogers Arena.
Montreal is currently on a four-game road trip out west and will wrap up the Canadian portion on Tuesday night before heading to Seattle to face the Kraken on Wednesday. The Canadiens are 0-2-0 on the trip, with losses to Calgary and Edmonton.
Vancouver is 2-1-0 on their current homestand. On Wednesday, they will travel to Calgary for the second game of a back-to-back.
The team is now 13-11-7 on home ice this season and has won four of their last five games at Rogers Arena.
Brock Boeser (12), Elias Pettersson (10), and Kiefer Sherwood (10) lead the team in goals on home ice this year. Pettersson leads the team with 83 scoring chances through 29 games at Rogers Arena.
Through the first three games of the homestand, Filip Chytil leads the team with nine shots on net, while Dakota Joshua leads the club with 11 scoring chances.
First periods have been a struggle for the Canadiens this season, and a strong start would be important for the Canucks on Tuesday night. Montreal has been outscored 38-20 in first periods on the road this year. The Canadiens are 7-3-0 on the road when scoring first and 7-12-2 when the opposition scores the game’s first goal.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Montreal is three points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are 30-27-6 on the season and 14-15-2 on the road.
- They have 11 players with double-digit goals this season.
- Cole Caufield leads the Canadiens with 31 goals. He has scored 21 at even strength and 10 on the power play.
- They are 17th in the league with a power play that is clicking at 21.5% on the season. Patrik Laine leads the Canadiens with 11 power play goals in just 34 games.
- Rookie defenceman Lane Hutson leads with 20 power play assists. The 20-year-old defenceman has four goals and 45 assists for 49 points this season.
- The Canadiens have five players with 100+ hits this season – Juraj Slafkovsky leads the way with 155, while Arber Xhekaj is right behind him at 154.
- Montreal is 8-0-0 when leading after two periods on the road.
- Mike Matheson leads the Canadiens with 24:53 of average ice time per game. He has five goals and 23 assists for 28 points this season.
- In net, Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes are both options for the Canadiens as they also play back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Montembeault has started 45 games this season and holds a 22-21-4 record with a 2.89 goals-against average, a .900% save percentage, and four shutouts. Dobes has a 6-3-1 record with a 2.49 goals-against average, a .913% save percentage, and has one shutout.
The Story: Power on Penalty Kill
Since February 1st, the Vancouver Canucks rank first in the league on the penalty kill.
They have killed off 28 of 30 penalties and have had strong performances from each penalty killer over their last dozen games.
Pius Suter and Derek Forbort have played over 30 minutes of shorthanded times without allowing a goal – Teddy Blueger is not far behind, with 29:33 without a goal since February.
Through 62 games, the Blueger-Suter combo has been the forward duo that starts most penalty kills. They have only been on the ice for seven goals against through 116:37 of shorthanded ice time. Their 3.6 goals-against per 60 minutes is 1.9 GA/60 lower than the best team in the league, the Dallas Stars (5.5 GA/60).
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Filip Hronek: 0g-4a-4p
Pius Suter: 2g-1a-3p
Tyler Myers: 1g-2a-3p
Brock Boeser: 0g-3a-3p
Teddy Blueger: 2g-0a-2p
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday’s game is a 7:00 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.
