The Vancouver Canucks are in Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Friday night in the first game of a short, two-game road trip.
Friday’s game will be the third and final matchup of the season between the Canucks and Blackhawks. Both teams have picked up a win against each other this season, but the two teams have not played since early November.
The Canucks will play back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, before returning home for an eight-game homestand. They play in Winnipeg, against the Jets on Saturday night.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Blackhawks come into Friday’s game with a 23-28-10 record. They sit seventh in the Central Division.
- They are 2-6-3 in their last 11 games.
- Connor Bedard leads the team with 57 points (25g-32a) through 48 games played.
- Tyler Bertuzzi has a team-leading 26 goals this season, and also leads the Hawks with10 power play goals.
- Alex Vlasic is the leading man on defence. He has two goals and 13 assists this season while averaging 21:11 of ice time per game.
- Spencer Knight has started 42 games this season, and posts a .908% save percentage, 2.62 goals-against average, and has three shutouts. Only eight goaltender have three or more shutouts this season.
- The Blackhawks’ power play ranks 18th in the league, clicking at 19.7%.
- Their penalty kill is number one in the league, killing off 85.9% of their penalties.
The Story: Höglander is Finding his Game
Nils Höglander has been buzzing around the ice in the past few games and found the back of the net for the first time on Wednesday night.
He has four scoring chances in his last two games, and skated on a line with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland on Wednesday.
“It felt good, it feels like I’ve been waiting for that a little bit now, [it] was nice to score,” said Höglander after Wednesday’s game.
He wants to build off of his line’s strong play on Wednesday and enjoys the opportunity to skate up the lineup on Pettersson’s line.
Though the first three-quarters of the season has not gone his way, he is looking forward toi having a good showing in the final 21 games of the year.
“I feel like, just forget the first half and just look forward. We're at 21 more games and [I’m] just looking forward to those,” he said.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Filip Hronek: 1g-2a-3p
Elias Pettersson: 0g-3a-3p
Evander Kane: 2g-0a-2p
P.O. Joseph, Dew O’Connor, Brock Boeser, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren: 1g-1a-2p
When and Where to Watch
Wednesday’s game is at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
