The Vancouver Canucks continue their road trip with a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, playing their first game of a back-to-back against the Florida teams.
Note the 2:00 p.m. PT start time.
This will be the first matchup of the season between the Canucks and Lightning. The Canucks began their three-game road trip with an overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, but they will learn a lot from that game.
Head Coach Adam Foote said Friday’s game in Raleigh will be the closest the Canucks have seen to a playoff game this season so far, and that is a good thing as the season continues along.
Elias Pettersson scored a shorthanded goal on Friday night, and that vaulted him past Tony Tanti for eighth in franchise history for points. The goal also helped him pass Todd Bertuzzi for 12th in goals.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Lightning are playing against their in-state rival, the Florida Panthers, on Saturday night. Sunday will be their fourth back-to-back of the season. They are 1-1-1 so far this season on second nights of back-to-backs.
- Jake Guentzel, Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, and Brandon Hagel all have a tie for the team lead with seven goals on the season.
- Victor Hedman leads the club with 22:36 of average ice time per game. He has 12 assists through 15 games played this season.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy has started 12 of their 16 games this season and is expected to start Saturday night against the Panthers. Jonas Johansson has made four starts this season and has a 3-1-0 record with a .913% save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average.
- Tampa has the 24th-ranked power play, converting at a 17% clip this season. Kucherov and Cirelli have two power play goals apiece.
- On the penalty kill, the Lightning rank third in the league with an 88.2% kill rate.
The Story: Pettersson’s Play
Elias Pettersson picked up his 72nd career game with at least a goal and an assist. It was his second consecutive two-point game after picking up a pair of assists against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
Pettersson has blocked more shots than any other forward in the league this season. He has 41 on the season, and the closest to him is Auston Matthews, who has 31 blocked shots.
Pettersson likes the way his team is playing right now, but notes there are some minor things the team can work on.
“I like our fight. I like our compete. I think overall, our game is good, but there are just some small details that we can work on,” said Pettersson following Friday’s game.
Pettersson is up to 15 points in 19 games this season and has seven points in his last six games, while winning 51.7% of his faceoffs in that six-game stretch.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 0g-6a-6p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-4a-5p
Brock Boeser: 2g-2a-4p
Jake DeBrusk: 3g-0a-3p
Drew O’Connor: 2g-1a-3p
Kiefer Sherwood: 2g-1a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Sunday’s game is at 2:00 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.
