Coming off an awful seven-game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks start a five-game homestand against the slumping Los Angeles Kings. Here are three keys to a Canuck victory.
The Vancouver Canucks knew their seven-game road trip to kick off the new year wouldn’t be easy — and it wasn’t. They come back home having lost five of seven on the road, which all but ended any hopes of a second-half surge to the playoffs.
At this point of the season, the Canucks are playing for pride and the chance to show case trade chips Erik Gudbranson and Thomas Vanek. But they also have the opportunity to play spoiler, and the visiting Los Angeles Kings are desperate for two points.
The Kings entered the new year with a 23-11-5 record. But they just snapped a six-game losing streak to the New York Rangers on Sunday, and need the wins if they’re to climb back in the tight Western Conference playoff race.
For the Canucks to play spoiler, they’ll have to follow these three keys if they want to defeat their division rivals.
1. Use your speed
The Canucks aren’t one of the faster teams in the NHL, but guys like Brock Boeser, Sam Gagner and Michael Del Zotto are tough to catch when they’re racing with the puck.
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L.A. has one of the oldest and slowest rosters in the league. They built a team around size and physicality, and in turn sacrificed speed.
Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik have plenty of wear-and-tear on their bodies, and these are among the many King players that cannot catch up to the likes of Boeser and Gagner.
The Canucks need to let their top skaters rush the puck through the neutral zone. They need to play keep away and force the slow Kings skaters to catch them. This is how you wear them down and use up their energy.
Vancouver was successful in this when they defeated L.A. back on Nov. 14. Just look at Sven Baertschi‘s game winning goal here:
Quick puck movement. Use the speed. It will conquer the Kings.
Take advantage of the man advantage
The Canucks power play has been on fire as of late. According to NHL.com, their 21.4 percent success rate is good for seventh in the NHL. But the Kings also boast the NHL’s top penalty kill, at 86.7 percent.
In their Nov. 14 meeting, the Canucks went two-for-three on the power play, which ultimately decided the game. But in their Dec. 30 meeting (a 4-3 win for Los Angeles), the Canucks failed to score on their only man advantage.
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In Kopitar and Drew Doughty, the Kings own two of the league’s most lethal penalty killers. The Kings use their big bodies to block all the shots and give you no space to set up. Scoring on the power play will not be easy.
But for the Canucks, getting one or two power play goals will go a long way. They need to take advantage if they want to escape with a victory here.
Tighten up defensively
Though the Canucks fell 1-0 to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, they did a better job protecting the net and breaking up scoring chances. Anders Nilsson stood on his head with 29 saves, and the Canucks will need a similar performance from their blueliners.
In case I haven’t mentioned this already, the Kings are not a fast team. But they’re great at crashing the net, wreaking havoc and scoring the “garbage goals.” This is where the Canucks have to force the Kings forwards to the boards, then knock away any pucks that come in front.
Prior to their victory on Sunday, the Kings had been held to one goal in each of their previous three games. The Canucks have to play smart in their own end if they want to hold off a team that’s once again struggling to score goals.
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This could very well be a 1-0 or 2-1 game. The winner will be the team that makes the fewest mistakes. That’s where the Canucks blueliners have to hold the fort and prevent the Kings from getting to the front and muscling their way to the puck for goals.