PREVIEW | Canucks at Flyers
MATCH-UP INFO
• Tonight marks the first of two meetings between the Canucks and Flyers this season: Oct. 15 (road), Oct. 28 (home).
• Vancouver is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs Philadelphia (2-3-0 in their last 5).
• The Canucks have a 36-72-13-4 all-time record in 125 games against the Flyers. Vancouver owns a 21-40-1-2 record on the road in Philadelphia.
• Among active Canucks skaters, J.T. Miller leads the team in career points vs Philadelphia with 13 points (8-5-13) in 24 games.
• Thatcher Demko has faced the Flyers once in his career (0-1-0), owning a .941 SV% and 2.06 GAA.
• Jaroslav Halak has faced the Flyers 20 times in his career (11-6-3) and has a .915 SV% and 2.40 GAA.
LAST MEETING - NOV. 25/19: VAN 1 at PHI 2
J.T. Miller opened the scoring with his 10th goal of the season at 10:34 in the first period...Bo Horvat collected the lone assist on the play...J.T. Miller led the team in TOI (23:44)...Thatcher Demko faced 34 shots.
LAST GAME PLAYED - OCT. 13/21: VAN 2 at EDM 3 (SO)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored Vancouver's first goal of the season for his first as a Canuck, on the power play, at 12:28 in the third period...Nils Höglander and Conor Garland recorded assists on the play for Garland's first point as a Canuck...Quinn Hughes notched the game-tying goal at 17:11 in the third period...Nils Höglander registered his second assist of the game and J.T. Miller picked up the second assist...Bo Horvat scored the tying goal in the shootout...Elias Pettersson led all Canucks in shots on goal (6)...Tyler Myers led the team in hits (4) and blocked shots (3)...Quinn Hughes logged a team-high 27:02 in TOI...Thatcher Demko made 32 saves.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
• Alex Chiasson signed to a one-year contract, Oct. 12
• Zack MacEwen designated for assignment to Abbotsford, Oct. 12
• Juho Lammikko and Noah Juulsen acquired from Florida in exchange for Olli Juolevi, Oct. 10
• Justin Bailey, Madison Bowey, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Travis Hamonic designated for assignment to Abbotsford, Oct. 10
BACK IN THE USA
For the first time in 593 days, the Vancouver Canucks are in the United States for a regular season away game. Vancouver's last game played in the US was Mar. 1/20 against the Columbus Blue Jackets (5-3 L). J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson each had three points (1-2-3) in the contest.
FIRST G-OEL
Oliver Ekman-Larsson notched Vancouver's first goal of the season at 12:28 in the third period, on the power play, in the Canucks' season opener on Oct. 13 at EDM. In doing so, he became only the fourth defenceman in Canucks history to score a goal in the team's season opener while also making their Canucks debut (Wilkins, 1970; Guevremont, 1971; Lanz, 1980).
ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Canucks begin their 2021.22 season by embarking on a six-game road trip from Oct. 13-23, marking the club's longest road trip to start a season in franchise history. It is Vancouver's longest road trip to start a season since a four-game road trip to start the 2006.07 campaign (2-1-1 record).
NEW FACES IN 2021.22
Heading into the 2021.22 season, a total of 12 players on the Opening Night roster have made or are slated to make their Canucks debut.
• Kyle Burroughs signed a two-year, two-way contract as a free agent on July 28. Burroughs, 26, split the 2020.21 season playing five games with the Colorado Avalanche (0-1-1) and 11 games with the AHL Colorado Eagles (1-3-4).
• Alex Chiasson signed a PTO on September 22 before signing a one-year contract on October 12. A key power play contributor for the Oilers, Chiasson ranked fourth on the team in power play goals (5) and tied for fifth in power play points (7) last season.
• Jason Dickinson was acquired from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2021 third-round draft pick on July 17. Dickinson, 26, appeared in 51 games with the Stars in 2020.21, registering 7 goals and 8 assists (7-8-15).
• Justin Dowling signed as a free agent on July 28. Dowling, 30, played in 27 games last season for the Dallas Stars, recording five points (1-4-5). Prior to joining Dallas, Dowling was captain of the AHL's Texas Stars in 2018.19.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes alongside Conor Garland on July 23. A two-time NHL All-Star, Ekman-Larsson recorded 24 points (3-21-24) in 46 games with the Coyotes in 2020.21, his third season as team captain. In 769 career regular season games with Arizona, he has registered 388 points (128-260-388).
• Conor Garland was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson on July 23. The 25-year-old winger posted 39 points (12-27- 39) in 49 games with Arizona last season, leading the team in assists (27) and ranking third in points (39).
• Jaroslav Halák signed as a free agent on July 28. The two-time winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy (2012, 2020) appeared in 19 games for the Bruins last season, posting a 9-6-4 record to go along with a 2.53 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
• Brad Hunt signed as a free agent on July 28. A native of Maple Ridge, BC, Hunt has appeared in 191 career games with Edmonton, St. Louis, Nashville, Vegas and Minnesota, accumulating 59 points (19-40-59) and 28 penalty minutes.
• Juho Lammikko was acquired from the Florida Panthers alongside Noah Juulsen on October 10. Lammikko, 25, appeared in 44 games with the Panthers last season, collecting five points (4-1-5) and 10 penalty minutes.
• Nic Petan signed a two-way deal as a free agent on July 28. The Delta, BC native appeared in seven games with the Leafs last season, registering one point (0-1-1) and four penalty minutes and 14 games with the Marlies recording 15 points (7-8-15) and six penalty minutes.
• Vasily Podkolzin signed a three-year entry level contract on May 30. Podkolzin appeared in 35 games with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League last season, recording 11 points (5-6-11) and 15 penalty minutes. He also led the club in scoring with 11 points (6-5-11) in 16 playoff games and finished t-7th in KHL playoff scoring.
• Tucker Poolman signed a four-year deal as a free agent on July 28. Last season, Poolman averaged a career-high of 18:18 TOI, including 1:19 on the penalty kill. The 6'4", 215-pound defenceman has appeared in 120 career games, collecting 19 points (5-14-19) and 26 penalty minutes.
