Canucks Game Preview

GAME DAY PREVIEW: Canucks @ Penguins

Another one of those 'style points' wins against the Capitals on Tuesday for the Canucks, as they enjoyed a PP revival, going 3 for 4 with the man advantage en route to a 4-3 win over the Caps. Tonight, another test as they take on the high-powered offense of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

By Kent Basky Dec 4, 2014, 8:37am PST

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Time	Thursday 4:00 PM PST	TV	Sportsnet 360
Season Series	0-0	Last Meeting	5-4 SO Penguins Jan 7/14
The Enemy	PensBurgh	Scoring Leaders	H. Sedin: 6-18-24 S. Crosby 9-24-33

Canucks	CATEGORY	Penguins
17-7-1	SEASON RECORD	17-5-2
35	Points	36
2nd	Conference Position	2nd
Won 1	Streak	Won 2
3.08 (4)	Goals For Per 60 (GF60)	3.33 (3)
2.72 (18)	Goals Against Per 60 (GA60)	2.25 (6)
21.2 (11)	Power Play %	30.8 (1)
84.3 (9)	Penalty Kill %	85.6 (6)
48.5 (22)	Faceoff Win %	50.2 (16)
10.2 (16)	PIM / GP	14.6 (30)
50.6 (13)	Corsi For %	49.7 (18)
100.2 (12)	PDO	103.3 (1)

The Canucks look for a chance to do something they haven't done in some time tonight as they look to come out of Pittsburgh with 2 points. They haven't beaten the Penguins in 4 years, and it's been over 6 since they did it on the road. And that last loss? Ugh. Up 4-2 at home late in the 3rd, they give up two goals in 16 seconds to the Penguins with Marc-Andre Fleury on the bench, on their way to losing another shootout to the Pens.

So looking at the standings, these two teams are pretty evenly matched up, but the Canucks are going to want to make sure they don't give the Penguins opportunities on the PP or this game is over. The Canucks PK is one of the better ones in the NHL, but this Penguins PP is so good it's scary. Add in a very good PK, and the Canucks will likely have to win this one at 5 on 5. It should be noted that the Penguins are the most penalized team in the league right now, so if the Canucks PP stays hot, that's certainly not going to hurt their chances.

The Penguins have a couple pretty big pieces on injured reserve right now, with Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis out long term, but that certainly hasn't slowed the Penguins down. And it's not just us they've been playing well against of late. Their record against Canadian teams over the last 14 games is 11-0-3. And though he takes a lot of flak, you have to give credit to Marc-Andre Fleury for being a big part of the Pens' success so far this year. He's already notched 5 shutouts for them. But it will be both teams' backups getting the nod tonight, as Eddie Lack gets the start for the Canucks, and Thomas Greiss for the Penguins.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

A little kickass Brazillian thrash for you today from VIOLATOR off their 'Scenarios Of Brutality' album that came out last year: 'Respect Existence Or Expect Resistence'