Canucks Conclude Longest Road Trip of Season with Clash in Columbus

The Vancouver Canucks wrap up their season-long six-game road trip on Thursday night as they make the final stop in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets.

Columbus recently made a coaching change, bringing in former Canucks assistant coach Rick Bowness. The Blue Jackets picked up a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night in Bowness’ debut behind the bench.

Following Thursday’s game, the Canucks are at home for eight consecutive games. They play every second day from January 17th to the 31st, and those eight games will be the final home games before the Olympic break.

Quick Hits on the Competition

• Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets with 17 goals and 50 points this season. He is second in the league for average ice time per game, playing 26:37 per game.

• 21-year-old forward Adam Fantilli is having another strong season after scoring 31 goals in his second year as an NHLer. Fantilli has 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 46 games.

• Dmitri Voronkov leads his team with seven power play goals. Columbus ranks 20th in the league with a 19% conversion rate on their man advantages.

• The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill ranks 29th in the league with a 74.6% kill rate.

• Jet Greaves has started between the pipes in 31 of their 46 games this season. The young netminder has a 14-12-6 record with a .908% save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average.

• Columbus is the only team in the NHL to average over 30 shots for and against per game.

• The Blue Jackets are 16-6-4 when scoring the first goal of the game.

• They are one of the stronger first-period teams in the league, winning the goal-share battle by a 42-32 count.

The Story: Top 10 Petey

With his goal on Tuesday night, Elias Pettersson moved into sole possession of 10th all-time in goals from a Canuck.

Pettersson has 198 goals in 509 games with the Canucks. Next up on the list to pass is Bo Horvat, who scored 201 in his 621 games with the franchise.

In his last 20 games, Pettersson has scored 10 goals, and eight of those goals have come at even-strength, while adding a power play and a shorthanded goal along the way.

Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games

Elias Pettersson: 3g-0a-3p
Brock Boeser: 0g-3a-3p
Linus Karlsson: 0g-3a-3p
Jake DeBrusk: 2g-0a-2p
Filip Hronek: 0g-2a-2p

When and Where to Watch

Thursday’s game is at 4:00 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.