Columnist image

| Archive

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks (26-27-8) play their final game before the 2019 National Hockey League trade deadline tonight when they host the New York Islanders (35-18-7) at Rogers Arena.

The Canucks return to action following a 3-2 overtime loss to Arizona on Thursday night. Bo Horvat and Adam Gaudette scored the Vancouver goals, while Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves in goal. Markstrom has started 11 of the last 12 games and 17 of the team’s last 19. He has faced 35 or more shots in four of his last six starts.

Gaudette has scored in two of the team’s last three games and has goals in four of his last eight outings. Antoine Roussel had the primary assist on both Canucks goals against the Coyotes and now has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 10 games since the All-Star break. Over that span, the veteran winger trails only Elias Pettersson who has nine points (three goals, six assists) to lead the team. Roussel now sits fourth on the team in scoring this season with 27 – just two points shy of matching his career-high established in 2013-14 in his second season in Dallas and matched two seasons later.

Due to illness, Roussel opted out of the Canucks morning skate and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game. If he can’t play, Zack MacEwen will draw back into the line-up. Alex Edler and Thatcher Demko both skated on their own prior to the skate and then stayed out with the main group for the first time since getting injured in Philadelphia on Feb. 4. Neither will play tonight.

Nikolay Goldobin, a healthy scratch in two of the past four games including Thursday against Arizona, will draw back into the line-up tonight and is expected to see power play time on the second unit. Goldobin has missed nine games since Dec. 4 as a coach’s decision.

The Canucks are 2-5-2 in their last nine games and find themselves four points back of Minnesota in the chase for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Their last three losses and six of their last seven have all been by one goal. One of the biggest issues facing the team these days is a power play that is now 4/53 (7.5%) over the past 18 games. A huge part of the struggle is the fact the Canucks are 1/26 (3.8%) in their past 10 home games and have also given up a short-handed goal in that time. Brandon Sutter is the only Canuck to score a power play goal at home since Christmas.

It was on March 5 last season in the final minute of a visit from the Islanders that Brock Boeser’s season came to an abrupt end when he attempted to hit Cal Clutterbuck in front of the Canucks bench. Boeser bounced off the Islanders forward, crashed awkwardly into the open gate and suffered a non-displaced fracture of the transverse process in his lower back.

The Isles arrive in town after an overtime loss of their own on Thursday. Connor McDavid scored the winner as Edmonton beat New York 4-3 at Rogers Place. After falling behind 2-0 early, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee and Cal Clutterbuck had staked the Islanders to a late 3-2 lead. However, they were unable to make it stand up and had to settle for a single point. Robin Lehner made 37 saves in defeat.

New York enters action today atop the Metropolitan Division two points ahead of the Washington Capitals. Following a 3-2 home ice loss to Vegas on December 12th, the Islanders were 14-12-4. In the 30 games since then, they are 21-6-3 collecting 45 points in the standings. Only league-leading Tampa Bay (with 49) has more points since then.

Coquitlam’s Mathew Barzal leads the team in scoring with 50 (17 goals, 33 assists) while Anders Lee leads the club in goals with 21 on the season. Lee has scored in three straight games.

In his first year behind the Islanders bench, Barry Trotz has employed an effective goaltending tandem with Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss splitting the net almost evenly. Lehner has started 33 games and posted 18 wins while Greiss has started 31 games and has 17 victories. Remarkably, the two have matching 92.8% save percentages. Although they have alternated starts over the past nine games, it appears as though Lehner will get a second straight start tonight.

As a team the Islanders have surrendered the fewest goals in the league by a considerable margin. They have allowed 141 while Boston is second at 155.

The Isles defense includes Abbotsford native Devon Toews who has four goals and seven assists for 11 points in his first 26 NHL games. Toews, who turned 25 on Thursday, spent two seasons with the BCHL’s South Surrey Eagles before playing three years at Quinnipiac University. Toews rides a four-game point streak into action tonight.The Islanders broke a close game wide open in the third period and defeated the Canucks 5-2 in Brooklyn in their first meeting of the season on November 13th. Tom Kuhnhackl scored twice that night in a game played before an announced crowd of 8806.

​

POSSIBLE CANUCKS LINE-UP

Goldobin-Horvat-Leivo

Spooner-Pettersson-Boeser

Granlund-Gaudette-Roussel (MacEwen)

Eriksson-Beagle-Motte

 

Hutton-Stecher

Pouliot-Biega

Sautner-Gudbranson

 

Markstrom

 

POSSIBLE ISLANDERS LINE-UP

Lee-Nelson-Eberle

Kuhnhackl-Barzal-Komarov

Beauvillier-Filppula-Bailey

Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

 

Leddy-Boychuk

Pelech-Pulock

Toews-Mayfield

 

Lehner