The Vancouver Canucks head to California for a pair of games against Pacific Division foes, starting in Anaheim with a Tuesday night game against the Ducks.
This will be the first matchup of the season between the Canucks and Ducks. The Canucks are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games against the Ducks. Elias Pettersson has 23 points in 24 career games against the Ducks, while Brock Boeser has scored nine goals against them.
Jake DeBrusk leads the Canucks with 23 shots on goal in 11 games. Linus Karlsson is right behind DeBrusk with 22. On the flip side, Filip Hronek leads the NHL in shots blocked with 34.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Ducks enter Tuesday’s game with a 5-6-0 record and snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday night with a win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
- Leo Carlsson leads the Ducks with 13 points (3g-10a) through 11 games.
- Carlsson is playing on the Ducks’ top line with Cutter Gauthier and Judd Caulfield.
- Their top pairing consists of Jackson LaCombe and Noah Warren. That duo has played 87:10 at five-on-five and is controlling 34.2% of the expected goal share.
- Lukas Dostal has started eight of the Ducks’ 11 games this season. He holds a 4-4-0 record with an .880% save percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average.
- 20-year-old Beckett Sennecke leads the Ducks with six goals. Three of those goals have come on the power play.
- Despite playing only 14 career games before the season, Tristan Luneau signed a six-year, $43.2 million contract. Luneau is averaging 20:52 through 11 games this season. He has one goal and four assists.
- The Ducks are 4-2-0 when they score first.
The Story: Staying Simple for Consistency
Head Coach Manny Malhotra liked his team’s start on Sunday night but saw the opposition come alive.
“We really liked the way we started. Just the way we played [in] the period, we were much more aggressive. We were physical. We were more assertive with the puck, and it led to some quality o-zone time,” said Malhotra.
“The moment you come off of that pressure, and you allow teams to stay alive and get up the ice in transition, the tide turns.”
Malhotra and his players have been talking about finding consistency, and the coach said finding consistency is about understanding what you do well and staying with it. He believes that every time the Canucks have controlled play, it’s because they’ve kept their game simple.
“We get pucks to the bottom. We do a good job of forechecking. We stay connected as a group of five. Our defence are able to stay a part of our offence. And when you do that, good things happen,” said Malhotra.
Canucks' Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Jonathan Lekkerimäki: 2g-2a-4p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-2a-4p
Brock Boeser: 1g-3a-4p
Linus Karlsson: 2g-1a-3p
Jake DeBrusk: 0g-3a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday’s game starts at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on KiSS West Coast.
