The big, mobile Golden Knights defence has caused the Canucks problems. Now they’re bigger, better to answer back.
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Vancouver Canucks (40-17-7) at Vegas Golden Knights (33-22-7)
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When/where: Thursday, 7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena
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TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: One player doesn’t make a team, but a healthy Carson Soucy can make a big difference.
The Canucks defenceman, who has been injured twice this season, returned Tuesday after missing 17 games with a hand injury. He was poised and proficient at moving pucks and defending during a 2-1 overtime playoff-style victory in Los Angeles.
It moved the club to 2-0-0 on a three-game road trip and bolstered the back-end play to another level with Soucy, arguably the club’s most dependable blueliner this season.
He logged 18:04 steady minutes. He denied entries by stepping up at the blueline. He transitioned the puck well and the 6-foot-5 deterrent also strengthened a vastly improved penalty kill.
Canucks Report
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“He was a calming influence,” said Tocchet. “On the bench, or when things get hectic, he makes that little subtle play to get the puck, or makes a play to somebody.
“We’ve been missing that and he’s a leader, too. It’s almost like trading for a defenceman. High hockey I.Q. He knows when to snap into somebody.
“There’s nothing better for me that when we can hold the blueline. It’s big. And that’s where he’s really big for our team.”
In the absence of the injured and towering 6-foot-8 Tyler Myers, the Canucks still have big bodies on the back end in 6-foot-6 Nikita Zadorov, 6-foot-2 Noah Juulsen and 6-foot-1 Ian Cole. The can all hit, box out and be hard to play against. It’s quite the development.
Tocchet has long lauded the big, mobile Golden Knights back end. In Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud, the club is playoff ready, but is not playing that way.
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On Wednesday, the Golden Knights placed Alec Martinez on injury reserve and also acquired UFA blueliner Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames. The rich get richer.
Still, Vegas has lost three straight on its current 2-7-1 slide. Five key injuries haven’t helped, including Mark Stone’s season-threatening lacerated spleen. If they continue to fall, Thursday could possibly be a first-round playoff preview, especially if the Canucks remain in Western Conference title contention.
The history: Second meeting of the season. The Canucks were spanked 4-1 in a Nov. 30 meeting at Rogers Arena. The Golden Knights held a 44-22 shot advantage and built a four-goal cushion before Andrei Kuzmenko scored early in the third period. It was an early failed test to measure up against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
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The hope: Another low-event, post-season-style effort — coupled with stellar goaltending from Thatcher Demko — results in victory and 3-0-0 trip. They then head home for nine dates nicely spread over 23 days to conclude month.
The fear: Beware the wounded beast. Don’t expect Vegas to go quietly into the night. Its defence will be activated to join the play and create odd-man rush situations to cause confusion and breakdowns.
The top guns: The Canucks now have a trio of 30-goal gunners with Elias Pettersson hitting the plateau Tuesday. Brock Boeser leads the club with 35 goals and J.T. Miller has 31.
The wounded: Canucks: Dakota Joshua (hand, week-to-week, IR), Tyler Myers (lower body, week-to-week). Golden Knights: Alec Martinez (undisclosed, IR), Mark Stone (lacerated spleen, IR), William Carrier (upper body, IR), Brett Howden (upper body, day-to-day), Pavel Dorofeyev (upper body, IR), Tobias Bjornfot (undisclosed, IR).
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The quote: “That was kind of a playoff style. I just like the resolve and our second period was the best of the month.” — Tocchet on Tuesday win over Kings.
The lineup:
Hoglander-Pettersson-Suter
Mikheyev-Miller-Boeser
Blueger-Lindholm-Garland
DiGiuseppe-Aman-Lafferty
Hughes-Hronek
Cole-Soucy
Zadorov-Juulsen
The prediction: The Canucks build on pair of 2-1 road victories. They defend better, transition pucks at pace through neutral zone, establish offensive zone pressure and get another strong performance from Demko for a 3-2 win.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to @provincesports and we’ll get it in a future edition.)
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