The Vancouver Canucks wrap up a two-game homestand on Tuesday night when the Vegas Golden Knights come to town for a Pacific Division matchup.
Tuesday’s game will be the second-last home game of the season for the Canucks. They have not played against the Golden Knights at Rogers Arena this season.
Linus Karlsson scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season on Saturday against the Utah Mammoth. He has 18 assists to go along with his 15 goals this season, ranking him fifth on the team with 33 points.
Filip Hronek picked up a pair of assists against the Mammoth and is now up to 46 points this season. He is averaging 24:50 of ice time and is one of the three Canucks who have played in all 76 games this season (Drew O’Connor & Marcus Pettersson).
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Golden Knights sit third in the Pacific Division with a 35-26-16 record.
- John Tortorella took over as the Golden Knights’ head coach three games ago, and they are coming into Tuesday’s game riding a three-game winning streak, where they are scoring an average of five goals per game.
- Tuesday’s game will be the second stop of a four-game road trip for the Knights. They are 17-14-7 on the road this year.
- 24 of their 77 games have required overtime.
- Jack Eichel leads Vegas with 82 points (25g-57a). He is playing on Vegas’ top line with Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev.
- Their power play ranks seventh in the league, converting on 24.4% of their chances.
- Their shorthanded unit ranks sixth in the league, killing off 81.9% of their penalties.
The Story: Power Plays from Jake
Jake DeBrusk is up to a career-high 16 power play goals this season, and the Canucks have had one of the hottest power plays over the past month. They have scored on 14 of their last 41 opportunities, and DeBrusk credits the power play for gelling and for having a shooting mentality.
On top of the chemistry development and shooting mentality, DeBrusk likes the way that he and Brock Boeser are improving at reading off each other in the net-front and bumper positions.
“Before, I was mostly in that net-front person, but now I move around. Me and Brock just talk to each other out there. And I think it changes up [with] certain looks, certain ways,” said DeBrusk.
“When Marco has it, we kind of want me to be more in the middle. When Petey has it, we want Brock in the middle. So sometimes, just how it goes, you have to switch around, but it sometimes gives you different looks.”
The team has 11 power play goals over their last 10 games and is looking to keep up the strong momentum with the final few outings of the season.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Brock Boeser: 4g-3a-7p
Jake DeBrusk: 4g-1a-5p
Filip Hronek: 0g-5a-5p
Elias Pettersson: 0g-5a-5p
Teddy Blueger: 2g-2a-4p
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday’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.
