Vancouver Canucks game preview: Boeser hits the Jackpot

Keys to Victory

Vancouver Canucks

1. Get to Ferguson early. The young goaltender will be nervous for this game, so take advantage of that. A couple early goals will test his mental strength and if he is not up to the task, a win will be a breeze.
2. Shots, shots, shots. The Canucks need to pepper this goaltender. I know this isn’t Jonathan Quick we are up against, but the team is more likely to beat the inexperienced netminder with a tsunami of shots.
3. Special teams. The Canucks punished the Kings with the power play and held down the fort on the penalty kill. The power play has a brand-new look to it, so let’s see it put the pressure on. The Golden Knights have the 15^th best power play, but also have the sixth worst penalty kill. Use this to your advantage.

Vegas Golden Knights

1. Shut down the Horvat line. The Canucks rely heavily on this line for offence at even strength. The Sedins looked good in the game against LA, but your primary focus should be on Horvat, Boeser and Baertschi.
2. Put the Edmonton game behind you. It was an ugly game. Forget about it. Focus on disrupting the Canuck’s game. Team defence is important. The Canucks are not a flawless team.
3. Stay out of the penalty box. The Canucks power play isn’t among the best in the league, but the Golden Knights have a poor penalty kill. A parade to the sin bin will result in a long night for Dylan Ferguson. Don’t hang your goalie out to dry.

Predictions

Scott Rosenhek

The Canucks are going to pepper Dylan Ferguson tonight. I think 40 shots may be a conservative estimate. The new power play will show they are the real deal and obliterate the Golden Knights penalty kill. Brock Boeser will score two goals while Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi get a goal each. James Neal will have a pair of goals, but it won’t be enough. Tommy Gun pots in an empty netter to ice the game.

Harman Dayal

The Canucks capitalize on an inexperienced Dylan Ferguson with Lagace out. The Sedins and Eriksson have another solid night together with sustained offensive zone time.

Alex Hoegler

They regained their form in LA, and now face a beaten up Vegas team. Boeser scores twice.

Drew Nazareth

The Canucks feast upon a 19 year old junior goalie making his NHL debut in his hometown. Look for Dorsett to score, though analytics will tell you that he got lucky for the eight time this year.

Isha Jahromi

My fellow Vancouver Islander will stand on his head and the Canucks will break twitter by coming up short against a team they must win against. The B53 line will get a point or two but The Golden Knights will be eager to pounce on the Canucks mistakes, which were easily exposed in the LA game.

Next: Vancouver Canucks are dropping in power rankings

Tyler Shipley

Hard to fault Vegas when they’ve got the grocery boy playing goal. The real question is how do we only score four goals?