The Vancouver Canucks will finish their season with three home games at Rogers Arena, beginning on Saturday night when the Minnesota Wild come to town.
Jake DeBrusk scored his 26th goal of the season in Thursday’s victory over the Colorado Avalanche. DeBrusk’s career-high for goals in a season is 27, and he will have a chance to match or surpass that mark in the season’s final three games.
Kiefer Sherwood has already set a new career-high in goals this season and has a chance to have his first 20-goal season if he can find the back of the net in the final three games. The 30-year-old forward has 19 goals on the season and is up to 40 points. He continues to add to his hit record, which now stands at 446.
Head Coach Rick Tocchet wants his group to continue to play well and gain momentum into the offseason. Players like DeBrusk, Sherwood, and even Dakota Joshua, who is looking like he is playing his best hockey of the season, have a lot to play for.
Tocchet knows this is a big offseason for Joshua, who missed the beginning of the season while recovering from surgery late last summer.
“This is big for Dakota,” said Tocchet when speaking about Joshua and his line being consistent in recent games. “If he could have some strong games down the stretch, [it will] give him some confidence going into the summer.”
Saturday night looks like it will be the final start of Marc-Andre Fleury’s incredible NHL career. The Wild confirmed that Filip Gustavsson will start on Friday night in Calgary, which sets up the 40-year-old Fleury to play the final game of his 21-year career on Saturday.
Fleury has played in 1049 games, won three Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold medal, and was a Vezina Trophy winner in 2021.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov is back in their lineup and is continuing to build on his impressive points-per-game this season. Though the skilled forward has only played in 38 games this season, he has 25 goals and 55 points.
- 24-year-old Matt Boldy is having a career year for the Wild. He has 26 goals and 45 assists for a team-leading 71 points this season.
- Boldy has picked up six points (1g-5a) in his last four games.
- The Wild are holding onto a wild-card spot and could clinch a playoff spot if they beat the Calgary Flames in any fashion on Friday.
- Minnesota is coming off an 8-7 overtime thriller against the Sharks on Wednesday. Saturday will be the second game of a back-to-back after they play in Calgary on Friday.
- Their power play ranks 18th in the league and is scoring on 21.5% of their power play opportunities this year.
- Marco Rossi leads the Wild with seven power play goals.
- They rank 30th on the penalty kill and have killed off 72.7% of their penalties this season.
- Yakov Trenin has two shorthanded goals.
- Brock Faber ranks fourth in the NHL for average ice time per game, playing 25:21 per game this season.
The Story: Finishing Up Strong
Kevin Lankinen called these final three games a chance to grow, and multiple players in the lineup are demonstrating that.
Defenceman Elias Pettersson continues to show well in his first NHL stint. The 20-year-old defenceman is showing his grit and toughness on a nightly basis and has impressed his head coach with his style of play.
Aatu Räty is showing well as he plays centre on a line with Dakota Joshua and Kiefer Sherwood. The 22-year-old Räty will return to Abbotsford after the NHL season and be a big part of the AHL team’s run toward a Calder Cup. Räty has five goals and two assists since he was called up nine games ago.
Linus Karlsson and Victor Mancini are two other young players with little NHL experience. For them, these games are massive in terms of showing the organization what they can do while also setting the stage for what they need to focus on improving in the offseason.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Pius Suter: 3g-1a-4p
Conor Garland: 1g-3a-4p
Filip Hronek: 1g-3a-4p
Quinn Hughes: 0g-4a-4p
Aatu Räty: 2g-1a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday’s game starts at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch it on Hockey Night in Canada or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.