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Canucks Game Night: Once bitter rivalry has turned into bitter struggles - The Province

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Ben Kuzma's Canucks Game Night for Oct. 21.

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Ben Kuzma
Detroit Red Wings left-winger Adam Erne, left, and Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes battle for the puck Oct. 16 in Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings left-winger Adam Erne, left, and Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes battle for the puck Oct. 16 in Detroit. Photo by Paul Sancya /AP Photo

BEN KUZMA’S CANUCKS GAME NIGHT

GAME INFO

VANCOUVER CANUCKS
 1-2-1, 4th in Pacific Division
at CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
 0-3-1, 8th in Central Division

Today, 5:30 p.m., United Center
TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650

SEASON SERIES

First meeting of the season

WHEN THEY LAST MET

Feb. 12, 2020: Chicago 0 at VANCOUVER 3

WHY WATCH

Something has to give. The Canucks and the Blackhawks are far removed from a bitter rivalry that was often must-see TV. Now it’s a horror show. They’ve been slow out of the gate and beset by an inability to generate fast starts and maintain momentum. Vancouver blew a 2-1 lead en route to a 5-2 loss in Buffalo on Tuesday in which they handled the puck like a grenade and went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Blackhawks were booed off home ice on the same night after starting strong and then falling 4-1 to the New York Islanders.

THREE THINGS

… about the Canucks

1. There’s plenty of skill, but the will went missing Tuesday and coach Travis Green went on a long post-game rant to deliver his disdain about everything missing in the team’s overall game. He also needs his best players to be better. Three-on-three battle drills were on the tough Wednesday practice menu. Discipline with and without the puck are problems. The Canucks have amassed the seventh-most penalty minutes (47) and the penalty kill is ranked 26th. Newcomers Jason Dickinson, Justin Dowling and Juho Lammikko are PK mainstays, but the club misses the veteran PK duo of Brandon Sutter (COVID-19) and Tyler Motte (surgery rehab). Quinn Hughes didn’t play Tuesday and didn’t practise Wednesday, but the club is hopeful the offensive catalyst and power-play quarterback can suit-up. He was involved in a physical slot battle Saturday in Detroit with big forward Adam Erne and they tumbled to the ice. Hughes could have tweaked a knee or groin.

… about the Blackhawks

• Chicago has established a franchise record for the longest period without holding a lead, a whopping 240:57, which says a lot about the club’s struggles to transition out of its zone and that has been the focus of the cracking-the-drills whip. The Blackhawks had three players caught behind their net and nobody in front on the Islanders’ opening goal. From an analytical perspective, they’re lowest in expected 5-of-5 goals through 60 minutes at 1.25 and 26th in expected goals-against 5-on-5 through 60 minutes at 2.53. What does this mean? It’s obviously early, but the spotlight is always going to be on Patrik Kane and Johnathan Toews. Kane has four points (1-3) and 18 shots, while Toews is pointless with just five shots as a second-line centre and first power-play winger. He has won 58.3 per cent of his draws. Right-winger Mike Hardman is out with a head laceration and may be replaced by former Canucks forward Adam Gaudette.

PROJECTED CANUCKS LINES

Left wing — Centre — Right wing

Nils Hoglander — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat— Conor Garland
Justin Dowling — J.T. Miller— Vasily Podkolzin
Juho Lammikko — Jason Dickinson — Matthew Highmore

Defensive pairings

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tucker Poolman
Brad Hunt — Tyler Myers
Jack Rathbone — Luke Schenn

Goalies

Thatcher Demko, Jaroslav Halak

PROJECTED BLACKHAWKS LINES

Left wing — Centre — Right wing

Brandon Hagel — Kirby Dach — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — Jonathan Toews — Philipp Kurashev
Alex DeBrincat — Henrik Borgstrom — Adam Gaudette
Mackenzie Entwhistle — Tyler Johnson — Jujhar Khaira

Defensive pairings

Calvin de Haan — Seth Jones
Jake McCabe — Connor Murphy
Riley Stillman — Erik Gustafsson

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury, Kevin Lankinen

SPECIAL TEAMS

Canucks: PP 20% (17th) PK 70% (26th)

Blackhawks: PP 28.6% (10th) PK 100% (1st)

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    Canucks Game Night: Once bitter rivalry has turned into bitter struggles - The Province
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