The Vancouver Canucks embark on a four-game road trip, beginning in Calgary against the Flames on Saturday night.
Saturday’s game will be the third and final matchup of the season between the two Western Canadian teams. Both teams have picked up wins, and in those wins, the victor has scored five goals. The last time these two teams met was on November 23rd, when the Flames won 5-2 at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks have 11 games remaining in the season, and they will finish with eight on the road and three at home.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Flames are playing the final game of a six-game homestand on Saturday night.
- They have picked up wins in four of their last five games and have required extra time in four of the last five.
- Calgary is 30-34-8 this season and sits 29th in the league.
- They are 10-22-3 on the road.
- Mikael Backlund leads the Flames with 39 points (16g-23a) this season. He centres the top line with Blake Coleman and Joel Farabee on the wings.
- Dustin Wolf has started 49 of their 72 games this season. He holds a 21-25-3 record with an .898% save percentage, 2.95 goals-against average, and has two shutouts.
- Matt Coronato leads the Flames with 178 shots on net this season, he has 16 goals this year and is tied with Morgan Frost for the team lead with seven power play goals.
- The Flames’ power play ranks 31st in the league with a 15.9% conversion rate,
- Their penalty kill is 11th in the league, killing off 80.8% of their penalties.
The Story: Loving the Pushback from the Young Guys
At the end of Thursday’s game, Tom Willander and Zeev Buium showed some grit and pushback, with both guys being involved in a scrum and Buium dropping the gloves with Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke.
It was the first fight of Buium’s NHL career, and veteran Canuck Brock Boeser likes to see that attitude from the young players in the room.
“It was awesome, we loved it. It just shows that they care, and they are getting in there and sticking up for each other. It’s great to see, and we need to make sure that we maintain that mindset,” said Boeser following Thursday’s game.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Marco Rossi: 1g-5a-6p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-3a-5p
Brock Boeser: 1g-4a-5p
Filip Hronek: 1g-2a-3p
Drew O’Connor: 2g-0a-2p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday’s game is at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game on Hockey Night in Canada or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
