The Vancouver Canucks take the ice for a Monday night matchup with the New York Islanders as they continue their longest homestand of the season.
Head Coach Adam Foote spoke about his young players and netminder learning lessons from Saturday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
“I see all these young guys can play, and it’s just a lot at once. It’s not all on them; it’s nothing we can do about it,” said Foote when discussing how the game got away from the team in the second period on Saturday.
In terms of breaking the streak, Foote wants his players to keep coming in and working their way out of it. He wants to see them grow from the lessons they can take away from their recent stretch of games.
“There’s going to be another battle tomorrow, and it’s a practice, and learning, and growing from this. It stings, but it helps you grow the fastest,” said Foote.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Islanders sit second in the Metropolitan Division with a 26-17-5 record.
- Mat Barzal leads his team with 38 points (11g-27a) in 47 games played.
- Former Canuck Bo Horvat leads the team with 21 goals, but as reported by the New York Post, Horvat is currently back in New York rehabbing an injury.
- Monday’s game in Vancouver is game six of a seven-game road trip for the Islanders.
- This is the second seven-game road trip of the season for the Islanders. On their first trip, they went 6-1-0, and they are 2-2-1 on their current trip.
- They have only scored one power play goal in their past seven games, and their power play ranks 29th in the league, clicking at 15.6%.
- The Islanders are the third-best defensive team in the league, currently allowing 2.69 goals per game.
- Netminder Ilya Sorokin has been strong between the pipes this season. Though his record is 15-11-2, he has five shutouts along with a 0.915% save percentage and 2.47 goals-against average.
The Story: Chytil and Blueger are Close...
Centres Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger both met with the media on Sunday following their practice at Rogers Arena.
“I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in a long time. It’s good to be out there with the guys; it’s been a long progression. Been a bit difficult, but yeah, feeling as good as I have in a while, so it’s been good,” said Blueger.
“It’s been around three months, and a lot of hard work behind me. Now, I need some more practices with my teammates. And whenever I’ll be ready, I’m going to be back. And yeah, I can’t wait for that day,” said Chytil.
The timeline for the two centres’ returns is still not certain, but Foote gave a bit of an update.
“There’s probably an outside chance tomorrow (Monday) for Teddy, and hopefully, Chytil is soon. Both of them looked good on the ice today,” said Foote.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Elias Pettersson: 2g-1a-3p
Linus Karlsson: 0g-2a-2p
Brock Boeser: 1g-0a-1p
Evander Kane: 1g-0a-1p
Max Sasson: 1g-0a-1p
When and Where to Watch
Monday’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.
