Canucks at Red Wings
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks can tie the Detroit Red Wings atop the NHL with 84 points with a win on Thursday in Hockeytown. The Canucks also have a game in hand. The task won’t be easy as the Wings have an NHL-record 23 straight home wins. Detroit has also won two of the first three meetings between the two clubs this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NHLN-US (HD), SNET-Pacific (HD), FS-Detroit
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (38-16-6): Vancouver may have the right formula to earn a win in Detroit. Most importantly, they can score - The Canucks have seven goals in their previous two meetings with Detroit, though both of those contests were in Vancouver and the Canucks were shut out in October in their first visit to the Motor City. Vancouver leads the NHL with 66 first-period goals. The Canucks have also strung together win streaks this season – having a four-game streak snapped in their last outing against the Predators in Nashville.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (41-18-2): Even more impressive than Detroit’s home winning streak are some of the numbers within the runs. In the 23 wins, the Wings have combined for 89 goals - an average of 3.87 per game - and have scored three or more goals in 19 games. Defensively, they have allowed just 34 goals-against for an average of 1.48 per game. Detroit has also held its opponents to 30 or fewer shots in 17 contests, while generating 30 or more shots in all but seven of the 23 outings.
OVERTIME:
1. The Red Wings are 0-2-0 when Pavel Datsyuk is out of the lineup this season.
2. Vancouver is 0-for-5 and Detroit 0-for-15 on the power play in the season series.
3. The Canucks are 7-3-1 against Original Six teams in 2011-12.