Gameday Preview: Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings (December 6th)

It’s a new era for the Vancouver Canucks.

After the ownership group cleaned house on Sunday night, firing head coach Travis Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner, as well as getting rid of General Manager Jim Benning and Assistant General Manager John Weisbrod, the team will now shift their focus back to their on-ice performances against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

The players hit the ice on Monday morning, going through drills and line rushes with new head coach Bruce Boudreau.

The former Minnesota bench boss, who signed a contract with the Canucks until the end of the 2022-23 season, revisited some of the team’s previous line combinations during practice, hoping that the familiarity might spark some much-needed offence.

Like we saw very often from Green, Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson remained on the top line, with sophomore Swede Nils Höglander reclaiming the winger position alongside them.

It also appears that Boudreau won’t be reuniting the Lotto Line just yet. Instead, Jason Dickinson will return to the wing, flanking J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser on the second line, while Elias Pettersson will remain as the team’s third line centre, skating with Vasily Podkolzin and Conor Garland.

The trio haven’t played much together this season, despite the countless line adjustments over the past 25 games, but did find instant chemistry during their brief time together against Chicago on November 21st. Pettersson, Garland and Podkolzin were deployed late in the middle frame, moving their feet quickly and cycling the puck intelligently en route to two glorious scoring opportunities.

Juho Lammikko also slotted back into the line-up after being a healthy scratch for five consecutive contests. Justin Dowling will be the odd man out as a result.

Boudreau’s biggest changes, however, appeared on the man advantage, with Miller and Horvat moving down to the secondary unit, and Podkolzin filling the bumper position with the primary squad.

The Canucks also welcomed back blueliner Travis Hamonic, who hasn’t played since November 21st. Hamonic did not join the team on their most recent five-game road trip due to his vaccination status, as well as his onset of non-COVID-related symptoms, and ended up playing in Abbotsford on Saturday night.

Hamonic rejoined the top-four defensive core during the practice, resuming his defensive, stay-at-home position alongside Quinn Hughes. With Hamonic back on the roster, Luke Schenn shifted back to his off side on the third pairing, despite his recent success with Hughes, but we’ll see if Boudreau sticks with these combinations on Monday night.

Thatcher Demko is expected to get the nod between the pipes.

Outside of his drills and line rushes, Boudreau also made sure to address the entire group several times throughout the practice, while also making the time to chat individually with players like Pettersson and Boeser.

So far, it sounds like the players are already buying in to what Boudreau is delivering.

The organization will also be welcoming back defenceman Alex Edler on Monday night. The 35-year-old spent his first 15 seasons with Vancouver after being drafted by them 91st overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but eventually signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles as a free agent this past offseason.

Edler currently sits atop the franchise record book in points (409) and games played (925) amongst all defencemen. The veteran also recently notched his 100th career goal, a milestone he had been chasing for 80 games dating back to February 27th, 2020.

Puck drop is set for 7:00pm PST.

What are your thoughts heading into Monday’s match-up against LA? Make sure to drop a comment below!