The defence-first Canucks appear finally to be sorting out their offensive game. But the Canucks will be without Quinn Hughes, their offensive talisman, on Thursday.
Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks
When/where: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., SAP Center
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: Quick: Which team this season do you think has attempted more shots at the opposition goal, the Vancouver Canucks or the San Jose Sharks? If you said Sharks, you’re right. These are two teams that have struggled to generate consistent offence this year. The difference? Defensive play. No team in the NHL has given up more attempts on their own goal than the Sharks. The Canucks, on the other hand, have yielded the fifth-fewest. The defence-first Canucks appear finally to be sorting out their offensive game. But the Canucks will be without Quinn Hughes, their offensive talisman, on Thursday. They did alright on Tuesday against Colorado, and you would think they’ll be alright against a much weaker Sharks squad …
The history: Despite the Sharks’ mediocrity this season, the Canucks haven’t exactly blown them out of the water. Vancouver won in November 3-2 on a late Pius Suter goal, and 4-3 two days before Christmas in a game that Quinn Hughes probably shouldn’t have played.
The hope: The breakouts and overall revitalized attack the Canucks have shown over the past two weeks are real. There are clues that the Canucks are poised to break out, and not just because of the new players — the overall trend for the Canucks in recent weeks has been control possession, limit opposition scoring chances, and create a mountain of their own. They’ve just struggled to finish.
The fear: The same old rot remains in their game. And they don’t have Hughes leading the way.
The top guns: With no Hughes in the lineup, Conor Garland and Brock Boeser lead the way with 34 points. That’s not what you expected coming into the season. Macklin Celebrini is the only thing going for the Sharks at this point, although William Eklund is tied with him at 38 points.
The wounded: Canucks: Quinn Hughes (lower body, day to day). Sharks: Jan Rutta (lower body, week to week), Klim Kostin (lower body, week to week), Nico Sturm (lower body, week to week), Nikolai Kovalenko (upper body, week to week), Ty Dellandrea (upper body, day to day), Alex Wennberg (upper body, day to day)
The quote: “Taking the puck to the net, attacking the interior (of the ice) — that’s the next level for us. But I do like our breakouts, because we’re spending less time in our end.” — Rick Tocchet on what his team needs to keep working on.
The latest: The Canucks made a minor roster swap Wednesday, sending Linus Karlsson back to AHL Abbotsford and recalling Nils Åman. The defence-first Åman had just two assists in five NHL games earlier this season, but has 28 points in 32 AHL games.
The projected lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Garland
O’Connor-Chytil-Boeser
Joshua-Suter-Sherwood
Höglander-Blueger-Åman
Forbort-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
E. Pettersson-Soucy
Demko
The prediction: The Canucks look like they may be about to get on a roll. They’ll crunch the hapless Sharks 4-1.