vs. Los Angeles Kings (38-22-4) Monday, March 7th
Leading scorer: Anze Kopitar (19 goals, 55 points)
Keys to the game:
- Net-front domination
- Keep the special teams special
- An all-or-nothing emotional fight
The Los Angeles Kings will roll into town a feisty bunch after a heated loss against the Anaheim Ducks which included this. Say hello to Kevin Bieksa living his life.
The Kings are going to be hungry, and hungry for rebounds. It will be up to the Canucks to clean up the play in front of Ryan Miller or Jacob Markstrom, whoever is in the net on Monday, so that the rebounds don’t all get buried by the Kings. Also on the other end of the rink, Jonathan Quick will not give up clean goals. Get bodies on net, get rebounds, and bury some dirty goals.
If there is something to take away from the San Jose win it is that Daniel Sedin is effective as the net-front on the powerplay when his brother is not there. The special teams survived (with minor bruises) a Shark attack and now it will look to continue to impress with the youngsters now taking over.
Lastly, the Canucks should feel really good about themselves. Holding onto the lead like that against a Sharks team is not easy. Markstrom was on his head at times. Use that as the pivot point, your reference guide for the rest of the season. Breathe some confidence into the youngsters. Let’s see that inner Ryan Kesler coming out from Jared McCann on Monday night.
Predictions
Nobody has predicted a Vancouver win.
For a Los Angeles Win:
The Canucks should play well but the Kings are… the Kings. They have owned the Canucks in the most recent meetings. Unless Miller or Markstrom steals a game for the Canucks, it will be a loss for Vancouver, especially without Captain Henrik.
Janik Biechler: Tough start to a tough week. The Kings are one of the best teams in the West, the Canucks are not.
Steve Boddy: Close loss, Jake Virtanen with a multi-goal performance!
Sarah Laug: Perhaps a close call, an overtime decision in the Kings’ favour.
Next: HOME vs. Arizona