STARS		CANUCKS
	AT

It's just a matter of time before the Canucks' power play gets going again. It has not clicked since a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets, 7 games ago. When it does click again it should become a force. The same can be said about the slumping top 6 forwards. It says a lot about the defensive play and especially the goaltending when the team has won 2 straight games by a 1-0 score. Goals by Higgins and Malhotra.

The Blues lost in a shootout to the Blackhawks on Thursday night and now only have a 3 point lead on the Canucks for first in the West. This Canucks game is the game in hand that they have over St. Louis. A win here is mandatory to catch them.

The Pacific Division is f****d. If Dallas loses this one in regulation they could fall from 3rd to as far as 8th, if I am seeing that correctly. You know they are going to bring it and this game will resemble a playoff matchup. But the Canucks are quite successful at playing the spoiler role lately. Van has won 4 games in a row.

Good lord, look at Michael Ryder's game-by-game stats. This guy has been rolling for a long time now.

COLD CANUCKS

-David Booth: 0 points in his last 6 games.

-Alexandre Burrows: 0 points in his last 7 games.

-Zack Kassian: 0 points in his last 11.

-Ryan Kesler: 0 points in his last 7.

-Dale Weise: 0 points in his last 10.

COOKIN' CANUCKS

-Chris Higgins: 3 goals in his last 3.

TEAM STATS

[STANDINGS] [GOALS FOR] [GOALS AGAINST] [5 ON 5] [POWER PLAY] [PK] [FACEOFFS] [HITS] [BLOCKED SHOTS] [GIVEAWAYS] [TAKEAWAYS] [AVG PENALTY MIN / GAME]

PROJECTED ROSTERS / LINES

Luongo vs Lehtonen.

-Canucks

-Stars

INJURIES

-For both teams

TRENDS

• Stars are 10-2 in their last 12 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
• Stars are 10-2 in their last 12 vs. Northwest.
• Stars are 12-3 in their last 15 vs. Western Conference.
• Stars are 7-2 in their last 9 road games.
• Stars are 10-3 in their last 13 games playing on 1 days rest.
• Stars are 3-7 in their last 10 Friday games.
• Canucks are 4-0 in their last 4 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
• Canucks are 4-0 in their last 4 overall.
• Canucks are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.
• Canucks are 12-5 in their last 17 Friday games.
• More at Covers.com.

VIDEO

Highlights from the last time these teams met:

The title of this post is brought to you by Entombed:

GO CANUCKS GO! BE THE SPOILER! Catch The Bastard Blues!