Canucks at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings snapped a pair of winless streaks in their last outing while the Vancouver Canucks ended a pronounced nine-game skid en route to winning their first road contest of the season. The teams will look to build a positive streak on Thursday as they attempt to win two in a row at the other's expense when they meet at Joe Louis Arena.
Andreas Athanasiou ended Detroit's five-game skid (0-4-1) on Tuesday and a near-20-year run of futility in Philadelphia (0-11-1) by scoring midway through the third period and netting the lone goal of the shootout of a 3-2 win over the Flyers. "It's amazing what he does with the minutes he gets," captain Henrik Zetterberg said of the speedy 22-year-old, who is tied for the team lead with four goals despite averaging only 12:38 of ice time. Veteran Alexandre Burrows is averaging even less ice time (11:51), but the 35-year-old scored his first two goals of the season on Tuesday to help the Canucks end an 0-8-1 skid with a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers. The outburst was a welcome one for Vancouver, which owns the league's lowest-scoring offense (1.9 goals per game) on the heels of being outscored 28-9 with four shutouts in eight contests prior to Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Vancouver), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (5-8-1): Veteran Ryan Miller has yielded 10 goals over his last two outings to see his winless skid extend to six games. The 36-year-old Michigan native hasn't tasted victory since a 2-1 shootout win over Calgary in the season opener on Oct. 15 and owns a less-than-desirable 4-10-3 career mark and 3.20 goals-against average in 17 meetings with Detroit. Disappointing offseason acquisition Loui Eriksson, who ended a seven-game point drought with his first goal of the season on Tuesday, has fared well versus the Red Wings with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 39 encounters.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (7-6-1): Athanasiou has been shuffled from line to line throughout the season and even found himself paired with Tyler Bertuzzi, who was making his NHL debut on Tuesday. "It's a plus when you get to play with him," said the 21-year-old Bertuzzi, who is the nephew of former Red Wing Todd Bertuzzi. "You've just got to give him the puck and you know he'll create offense. You've just got to go to the net and hope for a rebound." Bertuzzi, who logged 9:57 of ice time and had a plus-1 rating on Tuesday, is no stranger to Athanasiou as the two have been paired on a line in Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver LW Daniel Sedin has two goals and an assist during his three-game point streak and 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 51 career encounters with Detroit.
2. Red Wings LW Drew Miller, who is the younger brother of Ryan, has been held off the scoresheet in eight straight contests.
3. Canucks F Jake Virtanen was demoted to Utica of the AHL on Wednesday after mustering just one assist and two penalty minutes in 10 games this season.