GAME PREVIEW - CDC - Feb 4

The Vancouver Canucks close out their two-game homestand on Tuesday night with their second matchup of the season against the Colorado Avalanche.

Filip Chytil, Drew O’Connor, and Marcus Pettersson made their debuts for the Canucks on Sunday and are each looking to continue building chemistry with their new teammates.

Chytil found the scoresheet in his first game as a Canuck and played on a line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua. The 25-year-old centre is up to 12 goals on the season and his speed and willingness to take the puck to high-danger areas impressed his coach and teammates.

Pettersson played a season-high 25:57 on Sunday and displayed his puck-moving ability along with his good reach and physicality in the defensive zone. Pettersson played on a pairing with Tyler Myers and was tasked with being the shutdown pairing against the opposition’s top line on Sunday.

The Canucks and Avalanche played on December 16th, and the Canucks were victorious on a night where Kiefer Sherwood scored a natural hat trick.

Colorado begins a five-game road trip on Tuesday and are on a two-game winning streak in which they have not allowed a goal against while scoring seven. Mackenzie Blackwood has been the goalie of record for the back-to-back shutouts and has impressive numbers through 18 starts this season.

Blackwood has a 12-5-2 record with a .925% save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average; his two-game shutout streak are his only blank sheets of the season.

The Avs executed one of the biggest trades of the millennium a week and a half ago when they moved on from Mikko Rantanen and brought in Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and a pair of mid-round picks.

Quick Hits on the Competition

  • Drury has two goals while Necas has a goal and four assists since joining the Avs five games ago.
  • Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 80 points through 54 games played. He has scored 20 goals and put up 60 assists so far this season.
  • With the departure of Rantanen, the Avs’ leading goal-scorer is now Artturi Lehkonen, who has 21 goals.
  • Lehkonen, MacKinnon, and Necas are playing on the Avs’ top line and have scored two goals while not being on the ice for a goal against in their first 31:19 as a line.
  • Cale Makar leads the Avs on the backend and is second in points from a defenceman to Quinn Hughes. Makar has 19 goals and 39 assists for 58 points. He is averaging 25:39 of ice time per game.
  • Parker Kelly is the only Avs player to have reached the century mark for hits this season – Kelly sits with exactly 100 hits through 54 games played.

The Story: What each of the new guys brought in their debut

Canucks’ head coach Rick Tocchet spoke about what each of his three new players brought to the lineup after Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.

‘[Chytil] was really good,” said Tocchet. “[He was] controlling the play and wanted the puck. He's a guy that can make some plays off the rush. Obviously, a big goal for us. Good debut for him.”

Tocchet later spoke about Marcus Pettersson’s debut.

“I thought he was terrific, it’s a nice trade for us,” said Tocchet. “He could really stabilize our defence."

The head coach liked how O’Connor fit with Kiefer Sherwood in the game and spoke on the duo.

“I like it, there's a lot of speed, a lot of good forechecking,” said Tocchet of the winger duo. “Drew O'Connor is a guy that there's a lot to work with. I know he hasn't scored a lot this year, but with that kind of speed, and his willingness to take the puck the interior, he'll get his goals. He's just got to stick with it.”

The three players now have their first game out of the way and can look to build chemistry as they get into the swing of being Canucks.

Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games

Quinn Hughes: 2g-5a-7p
Pius Suter: 3g-1a-4p
Conor Garland: 3g-0a-3p
Nils Höglander: 1g-2a-3p
Tyler Myers: 1g-2a-3p

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.