Game 72: Canucks At Wild Preview: Land Of Confusion

CANUCKS		WILD
	AT

Time	Mon. 5:00 PM PST	TV	Sportsnet Pac.
Season Series	4-1 Canucks	Last Meeting	5-2 Canucks Feb.09/12
The Enemy	Hockey Wilderness	Scoring Leaders	H. Sedin: 13-57-70 Heatley: 20-26-46-47

Canucks	Category	Wild
43-20-8	Season Record	29-32-10
2nd	Conference Position	13th
Won 1	Streak	Lost 3
21-10-4	< Road Record / Home Record >	15-15-4
4-4-2	Last 10	2-7-1
+43	Goals For / Against +/-	-46
3.04 (4)	Goals Per Game Average	2.06 (30)
2.44 (5)	Goals Against Per Game Average	2.69 (17)
1.14 (5)	5 On 5 GF/GA	0.76 (28)
21.6 (1) +	Power Play %	14.8 (26)
85.9 (6)	Penalty Kill %	82.8 (13)
52.2 (3)	Faceoffs %	51.8 (5)
1563 (19)	Hits	1583 (18)
865 (28)	Blocked Shots	1185 (3)
12.9 (26) +	PIM's Per Game Average	12.1 (23)
NHL.com

UPDATE: Mason Raymond is a healthy scratch for this one. Malhotra draws in. Also, Salo out, Gragnani in.

"It's been kind of a trend the last two weeks or so where our defensive game hasn't been where we want it to be," forward Chris Higgins nodded Sunday. "Certainly the shot total in the third period against Columbus was an indication of that. I think, as I said before, we just have to gain that trust back in each other, that we're making the right reads and backing each other up.

"We like our defencemen to be actively involved in the play but they can only do so when they're working with the forwards, and I think our timing is a little off right now. Giving up 24 goals in our last six games, that's way too high."

Watch the quality of chances against when the Sedins are on the ice. Just watch it. Infuriating.

If Kelly Hrudey is right, and

the Canucks are tired, then we'll see a disaster this week, as the Canucks play 4 road games in 6 nights. I tend to agree with PJ Stock's assessment about the team's focus because basically they know they kick ass and they are playing a shitty team that makes it hard for them to "get up for".

COLD CANUCKS

-Mason Raymond: 0 points in his last 8 games.

-Maxim Lapierre: 0 points in his last 11 games.

CANUCKS HEATING UP

-Daniel Sedin: 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 games.

-Henrik Sedin: 4 assists in his last 2 games.

-Kevin Bieksa: 6 assists in his last 7 games.

-Ryan Kesler: 3 goals in his last 4 games.

-David Booth: 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 3 games.

-Chris Higgins had 1 goal and 5 assists in his last 5 games.

PROJECTED ROSTERS

CANUCKS

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Cory Schneider	26	1438	15	6		50	2.09	740	690	.932	2

Dank Sedin - Hank Sedin - Alexandre Burrows

David Booth - KesLORD - Chris Higgins

Jannik Hansen - Sammy Pahlsson -Manny Malhotra

Zack Kassian - Maxim Lapierre - Dale Weise

Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Bieksa

Alex Edler - Chris Tanev

Aaron Rome- Marc-Andre Gragnani

WILD

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Niklas Backstrom	42	2340	17	17		95	2.44	1191	1096	.920	4

MAYBE Backstrom. See Injury section below.

Nick Johnson - Kyle Brodziak - Dany Heatley

Darroll Powe - Matt Cullen - Cal Clutterbuck

Devin Setoguchi - Erik Christensen - Nick Palmieri

Stephane Veilleux - Warren Peters - Jed Ortmeyer

Marco Scandella - Jared Spurgeon

Nate Prosser - Steve Kampfer

Clayton Stoner - Tom Gilbert

INJURIES

Via TSN: The Wild are plagued. No Latendresse, Koivu, Bouchard (big facking surprise), or Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom (groin / leg) is a possibility against the Canucks. Manny Malhotra is ready to go.

TRENDS

Wild are 9-32 in their last 41 overall.
Wild are 7-25 in their last 32 vs. Western Conference.
Wild are 7-26 in their last 33 games as an underdog.
Wild are 4-17 in their last 21 games playing on 1 days rest.
Wild are 1-6 in their last 7 Monday games.
Wild are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. Northwest.
Wild are 0-5 in their last 5 games as a home underdog.
Wild are 0-5 in their last 5 home games.
Canucks are 3-7 in their last 10 games as a favorite.
Canucks are 1-4 in their last 5 games following a win.
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