After a few days to rest, spend time with family and friends, and be merry, the Vancouver Canucks are back in action on Saturday night as they welcome the San Jose Sharks to Rogers Arena.
Saturday’s game will be the second of four games this season between the two Pacific Division clubs. The Sharks were victorious in their matchup at the end of November, picking up a 3-2 win on the back of two power play goals.
The Canucks went into the break with a lot of momentum. Though they lost their final game before the break, they went on an Eastern Conference road trip and picked up wins in four of their five games.
“It was a good trip. I mean, especially with all the movement and what happened,” said Head Coach Adam Foote following the team’s most recent game on Monday.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Sharks went into the break just outside of a playoff spot with a 17-17-3 record.
- They were on a three-game losing streak before the break, but before those three losses, the Sharks picked up three consecutive wins.
- North Vancouver’s Macklin Celebrini has been off to a stellar start this season. The 19-year-old is third in league scoring with 55 points (19g-36a) in 37 games played.
- Celebrini’s most consistent linemate this season has been Will Smith. When those two are on the ice, they have outscored the opposition by a 23-11 count.
- Yaroslav Askarov has taken over the starter’s role in San Jose this season. He has a 12-10-1 record with a 0.897% save percentage and a 3.37 goals-against average.
- Their power play ranks 20th in the league, while their penalty kill ranks 22nd.
- The Sharks are 12-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
- They are 5-0 in overtime on the road this season.
The Story: 5 Games in for Rossi, Buium, and Öhgren
Each of the new Canucks has played in five games since they were acquired from Minnesota.
Liam Öhgren has two goals and an assist, Zeev Buium has a goal and two assists, and Marco Rossi has one assist.
Buium leads the three in ice time, with 103:01 in all situations. At five-on-five, the Canucks have outscored their opposition 5-2 during Buium’s 81:19 of ice time.
Öhgren also scored the game-winning goal in the Canucks’ shootout win over the Boston Bruins on December 20th.
