NHL things to know: 5 storylines for Canucks-Islanders
The lone Canadian team in action Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks continue their five-game road trip with a visit to Long Island to play the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders.
It’s a big game for both squads with teams breathing down their neck. Vancouver is second in the Pacific with 69 points, one more than the unbeaten-in-seven Los Angeles Kings while the New York Rangers are just four points back of the Isles with three games in hand.
Here are five things to monitor:
Burrows sits again
Canucks left-winger Alex Burrows wasn’t present at the morning skate and will probably miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Burrows, who hasn’t played a full 82-game regular season since the 2009-10 campaign, is tied for fourth with Henrik Sedin in team goal-scoring this season with 12. He’s also tied with Nick Bonino for fifth in points with 25 in 52 contests.
Speaking of Bonino, he was at Sunday’s practice along with Nicklas Jensen, who could replace Burrows in the lineup after being recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Bonino (foot) is expected to play sometime during the team’s five-game road trip that ends Thursday in Buffalo after blocking a slapshot two weeks ago.
Beware of Tavares
John Tavares, who is sixth in the NHL this season with 29 goals, failed to find the net for the first time in five games in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss in Washington, so Vancouver will be hoping it’s the start of a slump for the Islanders’ star centre. On Jan. 6, Tavares was held without a shot or point in a 3-2 loss in Vancouver, but does have three goals and eight points in five games versus the Canucks in his career.
Tavares enters Sunday’s matchup third in league scoring with 62 points. Canucks twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, once a fixture in the scoring race, are 21st and 25th respectively.
Stingy goaltending
Sunday’s game could be low scoring, given the respective histories of probable starting goalies Ryan Miller of the Canucks and the Islanders’ Jaroslav Halak against their opponent. Miller, who is seventh in the NHL with 27 wins this season but shaky in recent starts, has a 2.99 goals-against average in his career against New York. Halak, with 32 wins in 44 starts this season, is even stronger against Vancouver, boasting a 2.30 GAA despite a 5-4-1 record. He can set a single-season team record with his 33rd victory.
Bo’s breakout?
Rookie centre Bo Horvat appears to be coming out of his defensive shell. Nine of his 17 points in 44 games have come in his last 12 starts. Horvat, who hails from London, Ont., had points in five straight games before that run was snapped in Friday’s 4-2 loss at New Jersey, but he still managed four shots on goal. The offensive production is a welcomed sight with forwards Alex Burrows and Nick Bonino sidelined by injury. In Vancouver’s 3-2 win over the Islanders on Jan. 6, Horvat was minus-1 with one blocked shot.
Zack and the Sedins
Like rookie Bo Horvat, Zack Kassian is another player providing some much-needed scoring for the injury ravaged Canucks. The 24-year-old right-winger notched his first two-goal game in the NHL in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at New Jersey, playing on a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. A healthy scratch eight times this season, Kassian has been the subject of rumours as the March 2 trade deadline approaches. Drafted 13th overall by Buffalo in 2009, Kassian teases with his potential, putting together a five-game points streak earlier this month after going 10 contests without a goal or assist. He might get another shot Sunday with the twins.
