The struggling Canucks face the woeful Anaheim Ducks in a Sunday matinee.
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Vancouver Canucks (38-17-7) vs. Anaheim Ducks (21-35-3)
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When and where: Sunday, 5 p.m., Honda Center
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TV: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: The Canucks had a terrible February. The Ducks’ February was just as poor. NHL Action, it’s fantastic!
Seriously, though, Vancouver rolls into Orange County looking to right their ship. They need to get back on a winning foot and playing a team as weak as Anaheim looks like the perfect tonic. The Ducks bleed goals against and struggle to score, while the Canucks have been the opposite for most of the season.
The history: Vancouver handled Anaheim easily in their first meeting of the season, a 3-1 win in November at Rogers Arena.
The hope: The Canucks get back to the form they’ve shown for so much of the season, especially against weaker teams.
Canucks Report
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The fear: The Canucks’ current funk continues. They made some brutal defensive gaffes Thursday against Los Angeles; they probably have more room for error versus Anaheim, but the Ducks still are NHL shooters, so you mustn’t give them too much.
The top guns: Brock Boeser is back on form and now has 35 goals on the season. J.T. Miller is a going force as well and has 82 points. Quinn Hughes hit 70 points this week as well, though he’s struggling to produce — he hasn’t scored a goal in more than a month — as is Elias Pettersson, who has just two goals since the All Star break and has been struggling defensively.
The wounded: Canucks: Dakota Joshua (hand injury, one to two weeks), Carson Soucy (broken hand, one to two weeks), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion, indefinite), Tyler Myers (lower-body, week to week). Ducks: Troy Terry (upper body, day to day), Cam Fowler (face, day to day), Trevor Zegras (ankle, injured reserve), Tristan Luneau (knee infection, out for season), Brock McGinn (upper body, injured reserve).
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The quote: “It’s maybe simple, but it’s just frustrating right now,” Pettersson on his team’s lack of success of late.
The lineup:
Forwards
Mikheyev-Miller-Boeser
Höglander-Pettersson-Suter
DiGiuseppe-Lindholm-Garland
Åman-Blueger-Lafferty
Defence
Hughes-Hronek
Cole-Juulsen
Zadorov-Friedman
Goalie
Casey DeSmith
The prediction: The Canucks really should win this handily on talent alone: look for a 4-2 to start the road trip.
(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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