The Vancouver Canucks will wrap up their eight-game homestand on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to town for their second matchup of the season.
We will see three matchups between the Canucks and Kings in the final dozen games of the season. The last time these two teams met was on November 29th in Los Angeles, when the Kings won 2-1 in overtime.
Elias Pettersson made history on Tuesday night when he notched a pair of assists, giving him 300 for his career. He also hit 500 career points as a Canuck in the game, making him the seventh player in franchise history to join the 500-point club. He joins Henrik Sedin (1070), Daniel Sedin (1041), Markus Näslund (756), Trevor Linden (733), Stan Smyl (673), and Thomas Gradin (550).
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Kings sit three points out of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They are 28-25-18 this season.
- They have gone to overtime in 28 of their 71 games this season. That means overtime has been required in 39% of their games this season. Three of their past four games have finished in overtime or a shootout.
- The Kings are 18-9-10 on the road this season.
- Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 26 goals and 59 points this season. He is the only Kings player with 20+ goals.
- 38-year-old Anze Kopitar is still a very effective player for the Kings and leads the team in five-on-five goal share percentage. He has been on the ice for 36 goals for and 19 against. That is good for a 65.5% control of the goal share.
- Alex Laferriere leads the Kings with 218 hits. That puts him 10th in the league for hits this season.
- Their power play ranks 25th in the league at 17.3% this year.
- Their penalty kill is 29th in the league, killing off 75.1% of their penalties.
The Story: Closing Time on the Homestand
Let’s look at some of the stats from the Canucks’ first seven games of the long homestand.
Filip Hronek has averaged 25:42 of ice time per game. He leads the team with 39 shot attempts and has two goals and three assists through the stretch.
Marco Rossi has been the leading scorer through the homestand, picking up three goals and seven assists for 10 points. Rossi has also won 59.7% of his faceoffs in the past seven games.
Rossi’s line, which has Brock Boeser and Liam Öhgren on the wings, has scored five goals and allowed four against and has a 55.8% control of the shot share.
Aatu Räty has won 52 of 80 faceoffs during the homestand, giving him a 65% win-rate in the dot. He also leads the team with 23 hits.
Tom Willander is averaging two shot blocks per game.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Marco Rossi: 2g-5a-7p
Brock Boeser: 1g-5a-6p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-3a-5p
Drew O’Connor: 2g-1a-3p
Evander Kane: 1g-2a-3p
Filip Hronek: 1g-2a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Thursday’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.
