Wild at Canucks
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks boast the NHL's best
power play, but haven't shown it as of late. The Canucks are just
2-for-17 with the man advantage in their last seven games - including a
failed 5-on-3 effort for 69 seconds in the third period of an eventual
3-2 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday. So, is it time to
sound the alarm, or is this just a blip on the screen? "I think at times
we need more movement from more guys but I think it’s coming and it’s
going to be fine,” captain Henrik Sedin told the Vancouver Province.
“We’ve hit a bit of a blip and we haven’t been getting shots from the
right areas. They’re easy things to correct and we’re starting to do
that now.” Wednesday would be an opportune time to find the remedy as
the Canucks will look to stop a modest two-game slide against the
visiting Minnesota Wild. Vancouver, which owns a three-point lead over
Minnesota in the Northwest Division standings, has defeated the Wild in
two out of three contests this season. Minnesota enters Wednesday's
contest trying to put its 1-6-3 mark in December in its rearview mirror.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSNO, RSNP
ABOUT THE WILD (21-13-6): Beginning in British
Columbia, Minnesota plays seven of its next 10 games on the road. Rogers
Arena has been a house of horrors for the Wild, who are 0-7-2 in their
last nine in Vancouver. G Niklas Backstrom has been in net for both
losses to the Canucks this season. His career mark stands at 11-11-6
versus Wednesday's foe, but has dropped his last five meetings in
Vancouver.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-13-3): RW Jannik Hansen netted
his career-high 12th goal of the season and C Cody Hodgson also tallied,
but Vancouver was unable to tie the Chicago Blackhawks atop the Western
Conference following Monday's loss. D Kevin Bieksa extended his points
streak to seven games with an assist, but has not dented the scoresheet
in his encounters versus the Wild this season. LW Chris Higgins returned
from a three-game absence with a hand infection, but failed to secure a
point.
OVERTIME:
1. Wild RW Devin Setoguchi was activated from injured reserve after
missing his team's previous 12 games with a lower body injury.
2. Canucks LW David Booth has returned to skating after injuring his
knee on Dec. 6. The 27-year-old Booth could rejoin the team as early as
Saturday for Vancouver's Stanley Cup rematch with the Boston Bruins, but
will most likely return against his former team - the Florida Panthers - on Monday.