Vancouver Canucks Week 18 Preview: 6-Game Road Trip, Must Win 3
The Vancouver Canucks dropped two games in a row at home, They now try to claw back into the playoff race on the road, where they have just six wins.
Two weeks ago, the Vancouver Canucks went on a road trip which took them into the All-Star break.
In the preview for that week, I wrote:
Their road record is one of the main things keeping the Canucks below the playoff bar. With three road games this week, there’s a chance they could start fixing it.
At the time, they were coming off their fifth win in six home games for the month of January. They went on the road trip and lost two of three.
The situation is even more dire heading into this road trip. Vancouver is now coming off two straight home losses. Almost all of the Canucks’ wins have come at home. If they cease to win at Rogers Arena, they could be done for.
What I said for the last road trip is true for this one, only now it’s more urgent. It will not just be their road record as a whole that makes or breaks their season; it will be their record on this road trip.
If the Canucks cannot find at least three wins on the road, they might just dig themselves a hole too deep to get out of. March won’t be meaningful unless they can fight through February.
Jan 17, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Henrik Sedin (33) moves the puck against -Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (35) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Tuesday, Feb. 7: Canucks at Nashville Predators
First off, Vancouver will meet the Nashville Predators for the third time in less than a month.
More from The Canuck Way
History is on the side of the visitors here. The Canucks took three of four points in their two previous games against the Preds. Even better, both of those games were low-scoring affairs — teams combined for just four total goals in 125 minutes of playing time.
Keeping the game and the score under control will be key to getting the win for Vancouver.
Despite a slow start, Nashville has taken advantage of the struggles of other Central Division teams. They hold down the third playoff spot in their division, while the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets are on the outside, looking in.
The Preds have also started their trade deadline moves early. Yesterday, they traded for Vernon Fiddler from the New Jersey Devils. The name Fiddler might be familar to Canucks fans from this incident a few years back:
Predictions
Alex Hoegler:
VancouverCanucks3
4-3 Predators in overtime, as Mike Fisher scores a short-handed breakaway goal in the final seconds. Didn’t something like that happen once?
Janik Beichler:
VancouverCanucks2
The Canucks are on another losing streak and the Preds don’t mind extending it. It’s a tight game, but the Canucks fall in OT.
Jeff Godley:
VancouverCanucks3
Jacob Markstrom starts and, just to fan the flames of another goalie controversy, steals a road game against the Preds.
Jan 18, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and forward Ryan Kesler (17) talk to the Calgary Flames defenseman Shane O’Brien (55) and forward Lance Bouma (17) and Calgary Flames forward Jiri Hudler (24) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Thursday, Feb. 9: Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets
Next, it’s off to Ohio to face the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Surprising” because Columbus has scored 170 goals (near the league lead) while surrending only 127 (also near the league lead). And they’ve done it while being coached by John Tortorella.
Opinions on Torts tend to be divided. Except in Vancouver, where he coached for one season, and the Canucks missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Was Tortorella the reason for that awful season? Or was Vancouver’s decline inevitable?
It depends on whom you ask. But whether or not a person blames Torts for how the team fared in 2013-14, he will still be associated with one of the worst Canucks’ seasons in recent memory.
The association is all it takes to sour fans’ opinions of Tortorella.
However, here’s one thing which could improve his standing in Vancouver, if only a little. The Blue Jackets owe the Canucks a second-round pick for hiring Torts before his contract with Vancouver had expired.
Once they hired their new coach, Columbus had three years (2016-18) to cough up that pick. Since the Blue Jackets are near the top of the standings, and thus will get a low pick, that pick will almost certainly come in 2017.
So, in a way, Torts was a great coach, right?
Predictions
Alex:
VancouverCanucks2
They’re arguably the NHL’s best team, and they’re much more balanced up front, on defence and in net.
Janik:
VancouverCanucks0
The Blue Jackets are everything the Canucks wish they were. Four scoring forward lines, solid defence, and a Vezina-caliber goalie. A sad game for Vancouver.
Jeff:
VancouverCanucks2
What Janik said, except the Canucks will put two goals past the Vezina-caliber goaltender. The Jackets’ power play is lethal, while the Canucks special teams are… not.
Saturday, Feb. 11: Canucks at Boston Bruins
Finally, the Canucks head to Boston for an early game against the Bruins.
Let’s stop for just a moment so we can all enjoy a two minutes hate for Boston
…OK, good. Let’s continue.
More from The Canuck Way
This is the first meeting of the season for the 2011 Stanley Cup rivals. They split their season series last season, with the road team winning each game.
Boston is in a precarious position right now. They hold down the third spot in the Atlantic Division. However, they have played more games than any other team in that division. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers are one win away from knocking the Bruins out of that playoff spot. And they each have multiple games in hand (five for Toronto, three for Florida), to try to do just that.
Just like Willie Desjardins, Bruins coach Claude Julien comes under fire every time his team goes through a rough stretch.
Right now, his saving grace appears to be the lack of better options. And just like his counterpart in Vancouver, it’s not clear whether the problem is the coach, or the team he was given to work with.
Predictions
Alex:
VancouverCanucks3
Vancouver seems to love Boston, with wins there in four of the last five meetings. They keep the unexplained momentum going in Beantown.
Janik:
VancouverCanucks3
The Canucks bounce back with a shutout by Ryan Miller. Goals scored by Troy Stecher and Jannik Hansen, and an empty-netter by Sven Baertschi. (Because goal scoring is totally random in Vancouver.)
Jeff:
VancouverCanucks3
Daniel Sedin needs a breakout game, and I think he gets it against the Bruins. But, it won’t be quite enough, as his team will fall in a shootout.
