Vancouver Canucks gameday: Final showdown with Pittsburgh Penguins

The depleted Vancouver Canucks will try to pull off a second consecutive season series sweep of Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Here’s everything you need to know for tonight’s game.

Following a frustrating 4-1 road loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the banged-up Vancouver Canucks return home and will try to hand the Pittsburgh Penguins a second loss in less than two weeks.

The Canucks swept the season series last year and barely pulled off a 3-2 overtime road win on Oct. 16, without rookie Elias Pettersson. Vancouver may be playing at home this time, but it won’t be as easy beating the Penguins this time around.

Chris Tanev is injured. Alexander Edler and Sven Baertschi won’t play. The Canucks hope Brock Boeser — who has six career goals in three games vs. Pittsburgh — will be good to go against the team he simply loves playing against.

Vancouver sits at 6-5-0 on the season, barely squeezing out some close victories without their top player in Pettersson. It’s comforting to know they’ll get Sidney Crosby and the powerhouse Penguins out of the way for the season after tonight. That is, unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Final this June.

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After a sluggish start, Crosby and the Pens are rolling. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on the road last Thursday.

Crosby got the better of Connor McDavid‘s Edmonton Oilers yet again on Tuesday, scoring a highlight reel backhand goal in overtime. Two days later, the Pens crushed the Calgary Flames 9-1.

So yeah, the Canucks and the depleted defensive unit will have their hands full against a streaking offence.

But yet, the Canucks have won three straight meetings vs. Pittsburgh, so they have the complicated formula down when it comes to slowing this group down. Crosby has just two assists in his last three games against Vancouver.

For the Canucks, it’s imperative to stay out of the penalty box. The Penguins’ power play is a deadly 35.0 percent on the season, which ranks third in the NHL. Vancouver has been stellar against the penalty kill, ranking 10th at 83.7 percent. Still, it’s never a good idea to give Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel extra chances.

It’s crucial that the Canucks find a way to steal this game, because the schedule doesn’t get any easier. They’ll host the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche next week. All three are sitting at the top of the Western Conference standings.

The Canucks will need somebody other than Bo Horvat to step up offensively, if they’re too have a chance. It’s a good time for Loui Eriksson to score his first goal of the season, and for Nikolay Goldobin to bounce out of his slump.

Pittsburgh is on a roll right now, and their offensive unit is probably the toughest to stop in the NHL. Vancouver has found ways to contain it, and they’ll need to follow the same blue print tonight. And if forwards not named Horvat can supply some offence, this team will have a good chance at taking the two-game season series.

*Stats courtesy of NHL.com and Hockey Reference*