| KINGS |
|
CANUCKS | |||
 |
AT |
 |
|||
| Time |
Mon. 7:00 PM PST |
TV | TSN |
| Season Series | 2-1 Kings |
Last Meeting |
3-2 Kings Jan.17/12 |
| The Enemy | Jewels From The Crown | Scoring Leaders |
H. Sedin: 13-60-73 Kopitar: 24-41-65 |
| Kings |
Category | Canucks |
| 37-26-12 | Season Record | 45-21-9 |
| 8th |
Conference Position | 2nd |
| Lost 1 |
Streak | Won 2 |
| 16-12-8 |
< Road Record / Home Record > |
21-10-4 |
| 7-3-0 |
Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
| +11 |
Goals For / Against +/- | +42 |
| 2.25 (29) |
Goals Per Game Average |
2.96 (7) - |
| 2.09 (2) |
Goals Against Per Game Average |
2.40 (4) |
| 0.95 (20) |
5 On 5 GF/GA | 1.16 (6) |
| 15.8 (22) |
Power Play % |
20.9 (3) |
| 87.6 (4) |
Penalty Kill % |
85.7 (6) |
| 51.4 (8) |
Faceoffs % | 51.9 (4) - |
| 2118 (2) |
Hits |
1670 (18) |
| 889 (29) |
Blocked Shots |
925 (27) |
| 11.1 (16) |
PIM's Per Game Average |
13.3 (27) - |
| NHL.com |
Well, I think I have had about enough of regular season games. Is it much farther to the playoffs? Thankfully no. The trend of Canuck inconsistency during games, minus once again the goaltending, is getting old. I loved the 2nd half of the Canucks-Avs game because the Canucks finally decided to skate with their opposition, or at least match their pace. It was a hell of a comeback, make no doubt. But even CBC's color man Darryl Reough wonders if the Canucks are just coasting and will "flick the switch" come playoff time. It seems like that is the case.
Despite the strange efforts and "cutting it close" so often the Canucks are still getting points. This past week they played 4 road games and got 5 of a possible 8 points. Suddenly the Blues are very catch-able for top spot in the West.
And here comes another opponent who is scratching and clawing at a playoff spot. The Kings will play rugged hockey so expect more rough stuff out there. They have allowed the second-least goals against in the NHL this season, so you know what's coming....most likely..... another super-stingy defensive opponent. F*** 'em, we have Chris Higgins. They have also had a tough time scoring goals this season generally. Not so much lately. They have won 6 of their last 7 and have scored 24 goals in the process.
**Let's hear your thoughts on Kassian. Impressed? Not? I wonder if the door should almost be closed on this experiment. He's all over the roster lately as AV tries to get him going. The guy is so young. Send him down and get Mike Duco up instead. Just my 2 pennies.
COLD CANUCKS
-David Booth: 0 points in his last 4 games.
-Alexandre Burrows: 0 points in his last 5 games.
-Alex Edler: 0 points in his last 3.
-Zack Kassian: 0 points in his last 9.
-Ryan Kesler: 0 points in his last 5.
-Dale Weise: 0 points in his last 8.
-Manny Malhotra: 0 points in his last 12 games.
-Maxim Lapierre: 0 points in his last 13 games.
SMOKIN' CANUCKS
-Mason Raymond: 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 games.
-Henrik Sedin: 3 assists in his last 2 games.
-Chris Higgins: 2 goals last game
-Kevin Bieksa: 2 assists last game.
PROJECTED ROSTERS
CANUCKS
Zack Kassian - Hank Sedin - Mason Raymond
David Booth - KesLORD - Alexandre Burrows
Jannik Hansen - Sammy Pahlsson -Chris Higgins
Manny Malhotra - Maxim Lapierre - Dale Weise
Kevin Bieksa - Alex Edler
Dan Hamhuis - Chris Tanev
Sami Salo - Marc-Andre Gragnani
KINGS
Jonathan Quick
#32 / Goalie / Los Angeles Kings
6-1
212
Jan 21, 1986
Can this guy get a better SBN profile pic?
Brown - Kopitar - Williams
Dwight King - Richards - Carter
Penner - Stoll - Lewis
Jordan Nolan - Fraser - Clifford
Scuderi - Doughty
Mitchell - Voynov
Martinez - Greene
How is a lineup like that in 8th place?
TEAM STATS
INJURIES
Via TSN: The Kings have been without Scott Parse since November and Simon Gagne since late December. Imagine if the Kings can make the playoffs and Gagne can return from his concussion....
The Canucks are without Daniel Sedin and Keith Ballard due to concussions. Aaron Rome (sprained knee, damn it) is out for 1-2 weeks.
TRENDS
- Kings are 6-0 in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.
- Kings are 6-1 in their last 7 overall.
- Kings are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.
- Kings are 4-1 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Kings are 5-2 in their last 7 Monday games.
- Kings are 3-7 in their last 10 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Kings are 1-4 in their last 5 vs. Northwest.
- Canucks are 10-3 in their last 13 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
- Canucks are 13-5 in their last 18 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation.
- Canucks are 1-4 in their last 5 vs. Pacific.
- Canucks are 1-4 in their last 5 games following a win.
- More at Covers.com.
VIDEO
The last meeting between these two teams:
A sweet video montage of the 2010 Canucks-Kings first round series:
The title of this post has been brought to you by Papa Smurf: