Canucks at Devils
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks put an end to the Detroit Red Wings' historic 23-game home winning streak on Thursday. Twenty-four hours later, Alain Vigneault's club will travel to the Garden State looking to cool down the sizzling New Jersey Devils. With a victory on Friday, the Canucks will move past the Red Wings in their bid to repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSPNP, MSG+2
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (38-16-6): Vancouver has collected 24 of 26 possible points (11-1-2) in its last 14 games to build a 17-point lead over second-place Calgary in the Northwest Division. Credit the Canucks' willingness to go the extra mile, as they have gone to overtime or the shootout in 11 of their past 17 contests. Highlighting the recent four-game stretch are the Sedin twins - both Daniel and captain Henrik have collected eight points. Both Swedes have scored two goals in 10 career meetings with the Devils.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (35-20-4): New Jersey won its fourth in a row and improved to 9-1-1 since the All-Star break by posting a 4-3 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. RW Ilya Kovalchuk, who has failed to score in his last three games, has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) during the 11-game stretch. He is not alone, as the Devils have tallied 39 times during that span.
OVERTIME:
1. Vancouver doesn't just do its winning in British Columbia. The Canucks have won a league-high 21 games on the road this season.
2. Devils rookie D Adam Larsson may return to the ice on Friday after a nine-game absence with a lower back injury.
3. New Jersey will honor Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick on Friday. Emrick resigned last season after serving as the team's longtime broadcaster. He works only network games now.