Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames: Preview, Lineups
By Alex Hoegler
The Vancouver Canucks won their sixth straight game over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Can they reach their first seven-game win streak in three years?
Seventh Heaven just may exist, afterall. The Vancouver Canucks were written off near the tail-end of December, but they’v reeled in six-straight wins behind a red-hot Ryan Miller and the emergence of Bo Horvat.
Will the Canucks sweep the home and home and improve their playoff positioning?
Vancouver Canucks
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 20-18-3
Away Record: 5-12-1
2015-16 Record vs. Flames: 1-3-1
Goals For: 104
Goals Against: 118
Power Play: 14.4% (27th)
Penalty Kill: 80.2% (21st)
Leading Scorers: Bo Horvat (41 GP – 12– G -–16 A – 28 PTS), Henrik Sedin (41 GP –- 9 G – 17– A – 26– PTS), Daniel Sedin (41 GP – 10– G -–13 A -– 23 PTS)
Injuries: Chris Tanev (knee,day-to-day), Jannik Hansen (knee, day-to-day), Erik Gudbranson (wrist, indefinite), Derek Dorsett (neck, out for season), Philip Larsen (upper body, day-to-day)
WHO’’S ON OFFENCE:
Bo Horvat: He had an assist on Friday night, giving himself a six-game point streak. Horvat has two goals and five assists during the Canucks six-game win streak.
Henrik Sedin: Look for him to bounce back on Saturday. Hank only has two assists in his last four games, but is due for a big game against an arch rival.
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- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
WHO’’S ON DEFENCE:
Alexander Edler: With Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson banged up, all the pressure is on Edler now. He played 25:24 against the Flames on Friday and registered his first point (an assist), in three games.
WHO’’S IN NET:
Jacob Markstrom: Boy, does he ever have plenty of mountains to climb. The hot streak of Miller gives Markstrom little margin for error if he wants to become the starter down the road.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Daniel Sedin —– Henrik Sedin — Jayson Megna
Loui Eriksson —– Brandon Sutter— — Markus Granlund
Sven Baertschi —– Bo Horvat — Anton Rodin
Brendan Gaunce —– Michael Chaput — — Jack Skille
Alexander Edler –— Troy Stecher
Ben Hutton –— Nikita Tryamkin
Luca Sbisa –— Alex Biega
Jacob Markstrom
Ryan Miller
Calgary Flames
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 21-18-2
Away Record: 10-10
2015-16 Record vs. Canucks: 4-1-0
Goals For: 111
Goals Against: 116
Power Play: 20.9% (10th)
Penalty Kill: 81.3% (17th)
Leading Scorers: Mikael Backlund (41 GP –- 12 G – 15– A – 27– PTS), Johnny Gaudreau (31 GP – 10– G -–16 A – 26 PTS), Matthew Tkachuk (36 GP – 7 G -–17 A -– 24 PTS)
Injuries: Troy Brouwer (finger, week-to-week), Ladislav Smid (neck, out for season)
WHO’’S ON OFFENCE:
Mikael Backlund: With two assists on Friday night, Backlund became the Flames leading scorer. He’s on a six-game point streak with six goals and five assists.
Matthew Tkachuk: Remember when Canucks fans were baffled about passing over him and taking Olli Juolevi? Tkachuk is on an eight-game point streak, scoring nine points during that frame.
WHO’’S ON DEFENCE:
Mark Giordano: The Flames’ top-rounded blueliner has five goals and 18 points on the season with a plus-six rating. Giordano has two goals and an assist in three games vs. the Canucks this season.
Next: What Makes Nikita Tryamkin an Important Player
WHO’’S IN NET:
Chad Johnson: Calgary, we’ve got a goalie controversy. With Brian Elliot struggling to find consistency, Johnson has stepped up nicely with a 13-8-1 record and three shutouts to go with it.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Johnny Gaudreau —– Sean Monahan — — Alex Chiasson
Matthew Tkachuk—– Mikael Backlund — — Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg —– Sam Bennett — — Micheal Ferland
Lance Bouma —– Matt Stajan — —Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano –— Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie — Dennis Wideman
Jyrki Jokipakka –— Deryk Engelland
Chad Johnson
Brian Elliot