The Vancouver Canucks hit the road for a quick back-to-back beginning Wednesday with their first matchup of the season against the Utah Hockey Club.
Following Wednesday’s game, the Canucks will travel down to Vegas to face the Golden Knights on Thursday.
Monday night saw the Canucks lock down a commanding 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on the back of Kiefer Sherwood’s first career hat trick and Thatcher Demko’s first win of the season as he stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced.
Sherwood’s three goals on Monday night raised his season’s goal total to a new career high with 11 on the year. Sherwood said he is thankful for the opportunities that he is being given with the Canucks this season and will continue to work to earn those opportunities.
His second goal of the game was the Canucks’ first shorthanded goal of the season. The Canucks killed off all four penalties that they took on Monday and have now killed off nine of their last 10 penalties.
Utah has a 14-11-5 record on the season but has been playing their best hockey of the year over the past five games, posting a 4-0-1 record, and outscoring their opponents 21-13.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Two of the top three scorers for Utah are under the age of 22. Dylan Guenther (21) leads the team in goals (13) and points (29) while 20-year-old Logan Cooley has 26 points (9g-17a) through 30 games played.
- Guenther has had an impressive start to the season and has been on the ice for 24 goals and nine against at five-on-five. His most consistent linemates have been Cooley and Jack McBain. In the 165 minutes of five-on-five play, Utah’s top line has been on the ice for 13 goals scored and five against.
- First periods have been good for Utah this season. They have outscored the opposition 27-17 in first periods but have been outscored 38-28 in second periods.
- Utah’s special teams are middle-of-the-pack in the NHL. Their power play ranks 16th in the league with a 21.2% conversion rate while their penalty kill sits in 21st with a 78.5% kill rate.
- Alex Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund have scored shorthanded goals this year and Guenther leads on the man-advantage with five power play goals.
- It has been a near-equal split in net this season with Karel Vejmelka narrowly leading with 15 starts compared to Connor Ingram, who has started 13 games. Vejmelka has the more impressive numbers; he has posted a .915% save percentage along with a 2.40 goals-against average.
The Story: The Soucy-Juulsen Pairing
Head coach Rick Tocchet gave praise to the pairing of Carson Soucy and Noah Juulsen following the Canucks win on Monday night. That pairing was on the ice for 11 Canucks’ scoring chances while only giving up three to the Avalanche.
Soucy’s game totals saw him lead the Canucks’ defence in control of the shot share along with expected goals. He played 24:16 on Monday, which is the most he has ever played in an NHL game. Six of those minutes came on the penalty kill and the Canucks did an excellent job of clearing the puck on every opportunity that they gained possession while down a man.
The Soucy-Juulsen pairing has played 138 minutes together and allowed three goals against in that time. That is good enough for 1.3 goals-against per 60 minutes, which is the number one pairing on the Canucks at preventing goals of the pairs that have played a minimum of 50 minutes at five-on-five.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Kiefer Sherwood: 4g-0a-4p
Quinn Hughes: 1g-3a-4p
Max Sasson: 1g-2a-3p
Brock Boeser: 1g-2a-3p
J.T. Miller: 0g-3a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Wednesday night’s game is a 7:00 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or listen along to the radio call with the great Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
