Monday, Nov. 7: Canucks @ New York Islanders
The New York Islanders can’t seem to get any momentum going.
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Like the Canucks, the team expected to compete this season. Right now, though, they are second last in the Eastern conference, with only 10 points.
The similarities to the Canucks don’t end there. They also signed a big-ticket free agent winger in the offseason. Andrew Ladd‘s first month with the his new team is going even worse than Loui Eriksson’s. Ladd has only one assist through twelve games.
On paper, the Isles are the better team. But they’ve lost three straight games. Perhaps the Canucks can take advantage of them.
Predictions:
Alex Hoegler:
The Canucks have won three out of their last four matchups against the Islanders. Both teams have been colossal disasters for several weeks, however. But the Canucks can’t score. The Isles have John Tavares, Ryan Strome, Andrew Ladd and Brock Nelson. That’s the difference in a 4-1 Islanders victory.
Gerald Morton:
My hockey pools need Tavares to be excellent this year. My heart, and pools, need the Sedins to be, at least, good again. So far, meh. This game will turn around the fortunes of each club. The Isles will win. But the Canucks will finally break out of their scoring slump, at least for a night. And Tavares will score 4 goals to remind everyone he is really, really good.
Jeff Godley:
I’m going all-in on this one. The Isles are struggling. But Vancouver has also played some awful road games against the Islanders in recent years.
But I think the loss in Toronto may have lit a spark in this team. They squeezed out three goals. Every Canuck seemed to get involved in a scrum. They may have found the emotional lift they need to steal a game. This is it.