Vancouver Canucks gameday: Philadelphia Flyers come to town
By Alex Hoegler
After dominating the Los Angeles Kings 8-2 on Wednesday night, the Vancouver Canucks will look to make it two in a row against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Vancouver Canucks have to be feeling extremely confident after blowing out the Los Angeles Kings 8-2 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday, but they’re sure to face a bigger challenge tonight.
The 2-0 Philadelphia Flyers are coming to the west coast tonight, led by new head coach Alain Vigneault. You know, the greatest bench boss in Canucks history? 313 wins, six Northwest Division titles, two Presidents’ Trophies and a Stanley Cup Final appearance?
Welcome back, Alain.
Philadelphia has only allowed three goals through its first two games. Second-year goalie Carter Hart has a remarkable 1.50 goals against average to go along with a .946 save percentage. The defence is a lot more structured, too.
So far, so good under Vigneault.
The Canucks split the season series with Philadelphia last year, with both teams winning in their own barn. Alexander Edler was injured in the Feb. 4 meeting in Philly last season, and the Canucks slowly fell out of the playoff race during his absence.
After tonight, the Canucks have one game remaining on this homestand. They’ll host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night before embarking on a four-game road trip that starts on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.
Players to watch
J.T. Miller: The 26-year-old leads Vancouver in scoring through the first three games with five points. He recorded one goal and three assists against Los Angeles on Wednesday. Can Miller steer the offence once again?
Claude Giroux: Maybe he won’t lead them in scoring this year, but Giroux remains one of the game’s most dominant offensive players. He had 85 points last season, and he’s only two years removed from a career-best 102-point campaign.
Travis Konecny: He leads Philadelphia in scoring with five points through two contests. Konecny has recorded consecutive 24-goal seasons, and he figures to produce his best season yet under Vigneault. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Bo Horvat was assigned to him tonight.
Quinn Hughes: The rookie blueliner scored his first career goal on Wednesday, and he added a beautiful assist on Chris Tanev‘s goal. Let’s see what Hughes can do for an encore after the best game of his (young) career thus far.
Travis Konecny: He leads Philadelphia in scoring with five points through two contests. Konecny has recorded consecutive 24-goal seasons, and he figures to produce his best season yet under Vigneault. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Bo Horvat was assigned to him tonight.
Prediction: 4-3 Canucks
Returning home to a thunderous crowd on Wednesday was the spark that Vancouver needed after losing both games on the California road trip. After dominating the Pacific Division rival Kings, I can only see the Canucks building off of that.
Canucks: The defence already looks much better. dark. Next
The top stars on both teams take over this game. Brock Boeser will tally the game-winning goal midway through the third period. The Canucks hold on for the 4-3 win, thus moving to 2-2 on the young 2019-20 season.