Canucks-Kings Preview

I'm not even sure if I am going to be able to see this game, as I am entering a poker tournament tonight. But I get this feeling that the Canucks are going to "snap out of it" tonight. "It" being their current mini-slump in which they have lost 2 straight games. Hell, the Kings have beat us 4-2 twice this season already. In both games, the Kings scored 3 unanswered goals in the middle of the game.
The Canucks have lost 4 of their last 5.
The Kings have won 3 of their last 5.
"Every point is critical now so we'll have to be ready Saturday," Hank Sedin said today. No shit. We are slowly tumbling down the standings.

Mattias Ohlund will make his return tonight after an extended absence because of a concussion. His physical presence has been missed. His dumb penalties haven't.


The Kings will still be without Mike Cammalleri, who has a rib contusion.

My call? So many of the Canucks' recent games have been decided by 1 goal. I say tonight they don't underestimate a lousy Kings team and bury them 5-2.

NUMBERS from Canucks.com:

2 - Wins on the Canucks this season when trailing after the first period (2-11-3).

3 - Shootout wins for the Canucks this season (3-5). The Canucks had their three-game win streak in shootouts end on Thursday when they fell to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout loss. The Canucks have an all-time record of 12-13 in shootouts since its inception in the 2005-06 season.

3 - Wins and five losses (3-5-0) for the Los Angeles Kings in the second half of back-to-back games on consecutive nights.

4 - Game point streak for Henrik Sedin entering tonight’s game (2-4-6).

5 - Wins this season for the Canucks when appearing on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada (5-0-2). The Canucks make their first appearance on HNIC since December 27th when they scored a 5-3 victory on home ice over the Calgary Flames. Tonight will be their eighth of 14 total appearances on HNIC this season.

5 - Wins for the Canucks when tied after two periods (5-2-4).

12 - Wins for the Canucks in one-goal games this season (12-5-5).

Love that CBC stat.

Game Time: 7:00 PST
TV: CBC High Def

T Tags: Canucks Kings Preview Ohlund+returns CBC