Canucks gameday: Looking to make it three in a row vs. Ducks

The Vancouver Canucks continue their homestand on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks. Here is your gameday preview.

For the first time this season, the Vancouver Canucks will play host to the Anaheim Ducks, as the two teams continue to head in completely different directions.

Following 2013-14 realignment, the Ducks emerged as the class of the Pacific Division for five years. They won the division title every year from 2014 to 2017 (plus another playoff berth in 2018), reaching the Western Conference Final in 2015 and 2017. Anaheim also won it in 2012-13, the final season before realignment.

Aside from a playoff berth in 2014-15, the Canucks spent most of that time in retooling/rebuilding mode. The Ducks consistently dominated Vancouver during that stretch from 2013-14 to 2017-18, which probably didn’t help Ryan Kesler‘s popularity here.

Both Vancouver and Anaheim finished near the bottom of the Western Conference standings last season. While the Ducks are trying to avoid the Pacific Division basement, the Canucks are trying to retain first place.

But head coach Travis Green and company know that you can never take any team lightly, especially a division rival. The Ducks always play Vancouver tough, and things won’t be any different today.

Players to watch

Elias Pettersson: Vancouver’s superstar centre is tied with J.T. Miller for the team lead in points with 57. Pettersson was kept off the score sheet in the Nov. 1 meeting (a 2-1 win for the Ducks), however, and he didn’t register a single shot on goal that game. Something tells me that won’t be the case today.

Ryan Getzlaf: Corey Perry is long gone, but the other half of the iconic Anaheim super duo is still playing at a quality level. Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 37 points this season. That includes 21 assists at even strength.

Bo Horvat: The 24-year-old captain needs two more tallies to hit 20 goals (he’s at 18) for the fourth straight season. Horvat has two points in his last three outings, and his faceoff percentage has been at 50 percent or higher in each of the last six contests. That will come in handy against Getzlaf.

Adam Henrique: The Ducks have struggled to score goals this year, but that’s not at the fault of Henrique. The 30-year-old leads Anaheim with 19 goals, and he has four points in his last four games.

Prediction: 3-1 Canucks

It’s been very hard to pick against the Canucks at home lately, and you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t done it much at all this season. Well, it’s especially difficult to predict a loss here against a team with a porous 11-16-4 record on the road.

Anaheim has enough veterans and experience to keep this game close, but they don’t have a Petterson, Horvat or Quinn Hughes. Vancouver will build together a 3-0 lead in the second period, and they’ll hold off the flock of scoring chances (pun intended) to skate away with a third straight win.