After going a very mediocre 1-2-1 over the first four games of their seven game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks head out to Eastern Canada to wrap up the excursion. With games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets, these next three certainly make up the more competitive half of the trip, and after throwing away points to some very average hockey clubs, there are vital points on the line. Here is a preview of each of the final three games with a difficulty rating out of ten for each one.
Vancouver Canucks Road Trip Preview (Part 2)
Toronto Maple Leafs
After failing to capitalize against the stronger of Ontario’s two clubs, the Ottawa Senators, the Canucks have a chance to redeem themselves against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Leafs have seen some mild improvement, they still rank near the bottom of the overall league standings (27th) and don’t pose a particularly intimidating opponent.
With a 27th ranked goals-for and 24th ranked goals-against, the Canucks have a clear edge on paper, despite a middling GA at 14th (their GF is much stronger, ranking 4th overall). With points already given up to the likes of the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and the aforementioned Senators, the Canucks cannot afford to be handing out points to mid-to-lower tier hockey clubs, especially being in the uber-competitive Western Conference. They should win this game, but then again, that could have been said for any of their past four.
Difficulty Rating: 4
Montreal Canadiens
The Canucks may have taken down the Habs the first time around, but don’t go in expecting that again. After a 9-0 start, the Canadiens are still flying high, sitting atop the National Hockey League with a 13-2-1 record, and going 7-2-1 in their past ten. The Canadiens currently hold the top spot for goals-for, goal differential, the third spot in goals-against, and boast the league’s best and fourth best home and away records respectively.
There is no doubt that the Canucks, who sit at an average 14th overall, will have their hands full with a powerhouse Canadiens squad. Also of note perhaps, is that this a battle between two of league’s three highest ranked Canadian squads, something that holds over from the 2014-15 regular season. One other story to watch is if Dale Weise, newly minted sniper, will have anything extra special in the tank against a team that let him go in exchange for depth defender Raphael Diaz.
Difficulty Rating: 9
Winnipeg Jets
Since a 4-2 win over the Leafs on November 4th, the Jets have been struggling, earning just one of a possible eight points. They’re currently on a road trip of their own, have lost consecutive games to Minnesota and Dallas, and still have two tough matchups against Nashville and St. Louis before they head home to face the Canucks on November 18th.
Unlike Vancouver, which has a goal differential of +8 (fifth in the NHL), the Jets are running with a goal differential of -4 (22nd overall) and have had difficulty keeping the puck out of their own net with 52 goals against (27th). The Canucks have a real opportunity to grab some points against Winnipeg if they can take advantage of a team potentially coming off a bad road trip and put a few goals on the board early, though they’ll have to be wary of a Jets team which has scored the 8th most goals (48, just two behind Vancouver) in the league.
Difficulty: 5
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