Vancouver Canucks gameday: Going for sweep vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Following a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks will look to pull off a rare season series sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here’s our preview for the big game at Rogers Arena.

A healthy Brock Boeser has made a huge difference for the Vancouver Canucks, who have gone 5-0-1 over their last six games after winning just three games in the month of November.

Over that six-game point streak, Boeser scored six goals and three assists, looking everything like last season’s Calder Trophy runner-up. Throw in the continued dominance from Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat, and the Canucks suddenly find themselves right back in the playoff race.

Entering play on Tuesday, the 16-16-4 Canucks are just three points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, though Connor McDavid and co. have two games in hand. Vancouver is also just four points behind the seventh-seeded Vegas Golden Knights.

But the Canucks will face one of their biggest tests of the season when the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning come into town. With a 25-7-2 record and 56 points, the Bolts have cemented themselves as the class of the NHL. Right now, there’s no doubting who the team to beat is come playoff time.

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The Canucks came into Tampa Bay on Oct. 11 and left with a surprising 4-1 victory, but it’s not going to be easy this time around. The Lightning have won five of their last six visits at Rogers Arena, so we can’t really play the “home ice advantage” card here.

Nikita Kucherov (48 points), Brayden Point (43 points), and Steven Stamkos (35 points), lead the NHL’s best offence (131 goals on the season). Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde have 14 and 10 goals, respectively.

So yeah, the Vancouver blue line will have quite the task in slowing down the NHL’s most potent scoring unit.

The Lightning have a trio of superstars at forward, and they roll out four effective lines. And we may as well mention that Victor Hedman is your reigning Norris Trophy winner.

Per NHL.com, the Lightning also have the league’s second-best power play (30.5 percent), and the fourth-best penalty kill (85.6 percent).  So yes, this is one very balanced team that has all the makings to win the Stanley Cup in June.

But the Canucks have been playing their best hockey of the season over these last two weeks. During the 5-0-1 run, they’ve defeated top teams like the Nashville Predators and surging Edmonton Oilers.

The Canucks haven’t backed down from any of their opponents this season. Let’s not forget a season series sweep of the Boston Bruins, that aforementioned road win vs. Tampa, and the home win against Nashville two weeks ago.

Boeser-Pettersson-Horvat vs. Point-Kucherov-Stamkos should be quite the show between a pair of “big threes.” The Lightning are the NHL’s best team, but the Canucks have been one of the hottest in the last two weeks.

A season series sweep of the NHL’s best team would bring a significant boost to their already surging confidence. We’ll see if Vancouver’s young stars can get the best of Tampa Bay.