Hank’s Night?
Everything is coming up Canucks right now, as the team is red hot and settling into a groove that should have the Northwest division locked up pretty much already.
All eyes, meanwhile, are on captain Henrik Sedin, whose next point will be the one that places him on top of the franchise all-time list.
It is, as always, a great time to be a Canuck fan.
Matchup: Vancouver Canucks (7 – 2 – 2) v Minnesota Wild (6 – 5– 1)
Venue: Roger’s Arena
Time: 7:00 pm
TV/Radio: Sportsnet, Team 1040
Game Notes
It’s the first meeting of the year between the Stars and the Canucks, who will rematch in Dallas next week.
The Canucks have won six straight while Dallas had managed four in a row before losing to Calgary.
What to watch: Dallas
The Stars are coming off a wild 7-4 loss in Calgary Wednesday as they continued their road woes.
Dallas Stars. Canucks Preview & Prediction – Vancouver, NHL Game Previews, game notes
Dallas is 3-1-1 at home but just 4-5-0 away from the American Airlines Center.
The ageless Jaromir Jagr leads the Stars in scoring with 11 points.
It will also be the first trip back to Rogers Arena for Aaron Rome since he signed with Dallas last summer. No word if he flew in Vancouver a night early to have a Valentine’s dinner with Alain Vigneault.
Line-up
Brenden Morrow-Jamie Benn-Jaromir Jagr
Loui Eriksson-Derek Roy-Michael Ryder
Antoine Roussel-Cody Eakin-Reilly Smith
Eric Nystrom-Vernon Fiddler-Ryan Garbutt
Stephane Robidas-Brenden Dillion
Trevor Daley-Aaron Rome
Philip Larsen-Alex Goligoski
Kari Lehtonen
What to watch: Vancouver
The glory of Vancouver took an emotional turn yesterday however with the placement of Manny Malhotra on injured reserve for the year.
With concerns about his eye, and let’s face it his $2.5 million cap hit, the era of Malhotra as a player is over. He’ll continue to be with the team this year as an unofficial coach and spend some time mentoring the young players in Chicago as well.
Coaching is definitely the next phase of Manny’s life.
In happier news, Ryan Kesler has been medically cleared to play hockey and could return to the lineup tonight. (!!!!)
With Manny gone, they’ll need Kesler’s faceoff prowess back fast. Also check out those sexy lines below.
Meanwhile in goaltending, Cory Schneider will get between the pipes tonight.
Line-up
- Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Alexandre Burrows
- Chris Higgins-Ryan Kesler-Zack Kassian
- Mason Raymond-Jordan Schroeder-Jannik Hansen
- Aaron Volpatti-Maxim Lapierre-Dale Weise
- Dan Hamhuis-Kevin Bieksa
- Jason Garrison-Alex Edler
- Keith Ballard-Chris Tanev
- Cory Schneider
Injuries
For Dallas, Ray Whitey is out until mid-March with a foot injury.
For Vancouver, David Booth is close to returning from his pre-season groin injury, probably sometime next week. It’s good, because he and Kesler seem have to been very bored with no hockey.
Prediction
It’s a perfect storm of emotion at Rogers Arena tonight. Hank is poised to set a record; Manny Malhotra is being shutdown; and Kessier is being inserted in a lineup in danger of becoming stale and set to take to strange new places.
It’ll be a game to remember, 4-1 Vancouver as a pair of assists vaults Hank over Nazzy.
Game Day Tweets
The #Canucks host the #Stars tonight in Van City. Matchup/Stats insight nwsb.co/dc7co + #NWSB Gameday Preview nwsb.co/9gsxz
— Q Smith (@NWSBQ) February 15, 2013
ICYMI Dallas Stars vs. #Canucks betting odds and handicapping preview nwsportsbeat.com/canucks/dallas… via @nwsbdaveb
— Q Smith (@NWSBQ) February 15, 2013
RT @sportsnetmurph: AV on Kesler “He’s been medically cleared to play, all indications are he’s ready to go.” #canucks
— Sportsnet Pacific (@SNETPacific) February 14, 2013
Canucks respond to the news of Manny Malhotra. v.canucks.com/YujDfD
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) February 15, 2013
Gillis says the door is closed on Malhotra returning to the #canucks this season.
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) February 14, 2013
Aaron Rome re-writes the Canucks record books (with a Sharpie and some hockey tape). instagr.am/p/VulqN5NOLL/
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) February 14, 2013
ICYMI #Canucks Gameday: What the Canucks need to do to beat the Stars nwsportsbeat.com/canucks/gameda… via @mitchemdee
— Q Smith (@NWSBQ) February 15, 2013
Kesler – “It’s another step. Still no timeline”. #Canucks instagr.am/p/VuZhSmNOJc/
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) February 14, 2013
CLICK HERE CHECK OUT THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS CLUBHOUSE TODAY ON NWSB!
About Richard Hodges
