Blackhawks at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks finally broke out of their offensive funk - and the timing couldn't be better with the reigning Stanley Cup champions coming to town on Saturday night. Vancouver warmed up for the visit from the Chicago Blackhawks by snapping a five-game skid on Friday with a 6-2 romp over the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2, matching its goal total from the previous five games combined. The home team has won the last five meetings - with four of them decided beyond regulation.
The Blackhawks have been feast or famine during a wildly inconsistent four-game stretch, piling up 11 goals in two wins and getting torched for 12 tallies in two defeats. Chicago opened its seven-game road trip with a thud, getting routed in Colorado 5-1, but coach Joel Quenneville liked the way his team responded in a 6-3 win at Winnipeg. That game served as a homecoming of sorts for captain Jonathan Toews, who had his second four-point game of the season.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), NHLN, CBC
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (15-4-4): Marian Hossa returned from a three-game injury absence and supplied a goal and an assist against Winnipeg, prompting Quenneville to say that "he plays the right way.” Hossa is third on the Blackhawks in goals (10) and fourth in points (17) while registering a team-high plus-15. “He solidifies those top two lines, that top line especially, and allows that second line to get a better matchup,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “We all know what kind of player he is, how good he is. We’re always a better team when he’s in the lineup.”
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (12-8-4): Daniel Sedin halted a six-game point drought - his longest in 10 years - with a goal and two assists against Columbus. "Six games feels like forever," said Sedin, whose goal with 16 seconds in the opening session seemed to provide the spark for a second-period eruption. "We keep saying it's about the process, but in the end it's about scoring ... especially when there have been games we are losing 2-1, it's tight, or we are going into overtime or losing in a shootout. One goal can mean so much for this team right now and that's why it's been frustrating."
OVERTIME
1. Blackhawks leading scorer Patrick Kane had five goals and eight assists during a nine-game points streak.
2. Sedin needs one goal to reach 300 for his career.
3. It will be weakness versus weakness when Chicago's 29th-ranked penalty kills matches up with Vancouver's power play - also ranked 29th.