Gameday preview: Canucks vs Blackhawks (November 21)

The Vancouver Canucks are looking for two straight wins as the Chicago Blackhawks come to town.

The Canucks snapped a five-game losing streak when they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Friday night. It will be the last of a three game homestand before they go on a five-game Eastern road trip.

Like the Jets on Friday, the Blackhawks will be playing the second of a back-to-back.  They were in Edmonton Saturday night and they lost to the Oilers 5-2.  That snapped a four-game winning streak under interim head coach Derek King after Jeremy Colliton was fired on November 6.

The Canucks did hold a morning skate on Sunday morning but they did practice on Saturday.

Here is how they lined up at Saturday’s practice.

The power play units were mixed up. Vasily Podkolzin was net front on the first unit.

https://twitter.com/BatchHockey/status/1462147743757914116

Notice that Alex Chiasson was not there. It turns out he wasn’t feeling well.

This will be the second of three meetings between Vancouver and Chicago. They last met on October 21 in Chicago where the Canucks beat the Blackhawks 4-1.

In terms of injuries, Brandon Sutter and Matthew Highmore remain out.  Luke Schenn was skating during Saturday’s practice but no word on his status has come out yet.

For the Blackhawks, Calvin De Haan has a wrist injury and did not play in Edmonton. It is also unclear on whether or not he will play in Vancouver.

Thatcher Demko will get the start as confirmed by Green.

Players to Watch

Blackhawks- Alex DeBrincat- Debrincat leads the Blackhawks in goals with 11 on the season. He scored the only goal against the Canucks when these two teams last met in October.

Canucks- Conor Garland– After going 10 games without a goal, Garland now has scored in back-to-back games. He is tied for second on the Canucks in points with Quinn Hughes. Both have 14 points on the season.

Puck drop is at 5 PM. You can watch the game on Sportsnet Pacific or listen to it on Sportsnet 650.