[Hyack]

The Canucks out shot Arizona 26-24 but still lost the game 1-0. Tomorrow has the guys playing in LA.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Los Angeles

70

CANUCKS (25-35-9) at KINGS (37-26-5)

The Los Angeles Kings will try to move back into a Stanley Cup Playoff position when they play the Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center on Monday.

The Kings are fourth in the Pacific Division, one point behind the third-place Anaheim Ducks, and one behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.

The Kings matched their season-high in goals allowed in a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, falling to 3-4-0 in their past seven home games.

The Canucks are playing the second of a back-to-back set after a 1-0 loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. Vancouver is seventh in the Pacific Division, 21 points behind Colorado, and has scored three goals in its past three games (0-3-0).

Kings center Jeff Carter has six points (four goals, two assists) in seven games since Feb. 24, when he returned after missing 55 games because of surgery to repair a tendon in his leg.

Forward Brendan Leipsic has six points (two goals, four assists) in six games since he was traded to the Canucks by the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 26.

The Kings experimented with line changes Sunday, but it isn't clear if coach John Stevens will put them into action after optional skate on Monday. The biggest moves would be the breakup of "That 70s Line," with Pearson elevated to the top line with Kopitar and Brown, and Toffoli dropped to the third line.

Kopitar has four assists during a three-game point streak. … The Canucks are 3-5-0 in the second of a back to back.

Game time 7:30pm PT

[Hyack]

LA shuts out the Canucks 3-0, the Canucks have now gone 152 minutes 9 seconds without scoring. Wednesday has them playing in Anaheim.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Anaheim

71

CANUCKS (25-36-9) at DUCKS (34-24-12)

The Anaheim Ducks can pull even in points with the Los Angeles Kings for third place in in the Pacific Division with a win against the Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center on Wednesday.

The Ducks, with 80 points, are two behind the Kings but would remain fourth in the Pacific even with a win based on the Kings having a superior points percentage, the first tiebreaker. The Ducks also could tie the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, the two wild card teams, with 82 points but would remain behind them. The Ducks will have played two fewer games than the Avalanche, and they have fewer regulation/overtime wins, the second tiebreaker, than the Stars (34-30).

Vancouver has lost four straight games and has been shut out in its past two games. They are 23 points behind the Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference.

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in the past 15 games.

Ducks forward Rickard Rakell has five points (one goal, four assists) in two games against the Canucks this season.

Gudbranson was removed from the roster Wednesday and will have shoulder surgery. He was injured Nov. 22 at the Pittsburgh Penguins and missed 12 games. He returned Dec. 19 and played 31 games.

The Canucks are 12-0-2 when leading after one period; the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues are the other teams without a regulation loss when leading after the first period. ... Getzlaf has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) during a six-game point streak.

Game time 7:00pm PT

[Hyack]

The Canucks were once again shutout in a 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. This puts the Canucks' goalless streak at 212:09 minutes. Vancouver was last shut out in three straight games from March 18-22, 2016 against the Edmonton Oilers (2-0), St. Louis Blues (3-0) and Winnipeg Jets (2-0). That stretch was part of its longest scoring drought in history (234:52). The Canucks and Arizona Coyotes were eliminated from playoff contention with the Ducks' win. Saturday has them back in town for one game against the San Jose Sharks before hitting the road again for four games starting Tuesday in Las Vegas.

[Hyack]

San Jose at Vancouver

72

SHARKS (39-23-9) at CANUCKS (25-37-9)

The San Jose Sharks will try to win their fourth straight game and extend their lead for second place in the Pacific Division when they visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

The Sharks, 6-2-0 in their past eight games, are three points ahead of the third-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific. San Jose also leads the Anaheim Ducks by three points; Los Angeles has played one fewer game than Anaheim.

Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev will play for the first time since breaking his leg blocking a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 8.

Vancouver will try to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat, which would be its longest losing streak this season. The Canucks, who have been shut out in three straight games, were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff competition on Wednesday.

Sharks forward Evander Kane, who scored four goals in a 7-4 win at the Calgary Flames on Friday, has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in eight games since being acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 26.

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin has one assist in his past six games after 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his previous 10 games.

San Jose did not conduct a morning skate. … Dell is expected to start for the first time since Feb. 22 after Jones made 30 saves against Calgary in his 10th straight start.

Pavelski has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) his past eight games. … The Canucks are 17-17-4 with Tanev this season and 8-20-5 without him.

Game time 7:00pm PT

[Hyack]

The San Jose Sharks strengthened their hold on second place in the Pacific Division with a 5-3 win against the Canucks. Nikolay Goldobin scored a power-play goal in the first period for the Canucks who have lost six straight for the first time this season. Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler also scored on the power play. Goldobin made it 1-0 with a screened wrist shot at 10:48 of the first period. It was the Canucks' first goal in 222:57, short of their record of 234:52 set in March 2016. Next game is Tuesday when they visit Las Vegas.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Las Vegas

73

CANUCKS (25-38-9) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (46-21-5)

The Vegas Golden Knights have a chance to stretch their lead in the Pacific Division when they play the Vancouver Canucks at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights are eight points in front of the second-place San Jose Sharks, who face the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and trail the Nashville Predators by nine points for first place in the Western Conference. Vegas ended a four-game losing streak with a victory against the Calgary Flames on Sunday and is 5-5-1 in its past 11 games.

The Canucks are on a season-high six-game losing streak and have been shut out in three of their past four games. A seventh straight loss would be their longest losing streak since an eight-game skid from March 26 to April 9, 2017.

Canucks forward Brendan Leipsic will play his first game against the Golden Knights since being traded from Vegas for defenseman Philip Holm on Feb. 26. He has six points (two goals, four assists) in nine games.

Golden Knights forward William Karlsson is one goal away from 40 this season. He has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in his past 13 games.

Hutton will not travel with the Canucks on their road trip. … Smith will miss his seventh straight game and it is uncertain if he will travel on Vegas' upcoming two-game trip.

Daniel Sedin has two assists in his past seven games after scoring 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his previous 10. … Fleury is one win from passing Chris Osgood for 12th all-time with 402. … Haula has four goals in his past five games.

Game time 7:00pm PT

[Hyack]

The Canucks outshot Vegas 29-28 and held them scoreless on their 3 PPs while Vancouver went 0/1 on their only PP. Vegas scored 3 times in the 1st period and once in the 2nd. The Canucks scored their lone goal with Sutter scoring at 8:27 of the 3rd, his 7th, assists to Pouliot and Biega to break the shutout and bring the final score to 4-1 Vegas. The Canucks next play in Chicago on Thursday followed by a game in St Louis on Friday.

[Strutz]

Yeah. *sigh*

At least we've put the puck in the net in the last couple games.

[Hyack]

Strutz Strutz:

Yeah. *sigh*

At least we've put the puck in the net in the last couple games.

Yeah, well at least we should be in for a good draft pick this year....

[N_Fiddledog]

Because we're 2nd to last with 9 games left right?

One wouldn't expect us to draft any worse than 6th in the first and high in the second round.

Can't go wrong there this year. Not even the lottery can hurt us that bad.

http://www.mynhldraft.com/2018-nhl-draft/mock-draft/

Wouldn't think so anyway.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Chicago

74

CANUCKS (25-39-9) at BLACKHAWKS (30-35-9)

Center Jonathan Toews will not play because of an upper-body injury when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Vancouver Canucks at United Center on Thursday.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Toews will miss a few games after being injured during a 5-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. The defeat, which extended the Blackhawks' losing streak to four games (0-3-1), eliminated Chicago from Stanley Cup Playoff contention for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

The Canucks look to avoid their eighth straight loss (0-7-0), which would mark their longest losing streak since they lost the final eight games of last season (0-8-0, March 26-April 9, 2017). Vancouver was eliminated from playoff contention on March 14.

Canucks forward Sam Gagner has 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) in 34 games against the Blackhawks, including three game-winning goals.

Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in his past 12 games.

Highmore skated and is expected to return to the lineup after missing one game.

The Canucks have been shut out in three of their past five games. ... The Blackhawks have been outscored 21-10 during their losing streak.

Game time 5:30pm PT

[N_Fiddledog]

I imagine Hyack will be giving the stats soon but there's this thing I'm noticing.

Chicago may have had 14 more shots on goal than Vancouver and recieved 3 more penalty opportunities from Team Zebra but the Canucks outplayed them on the greasy stuff like 23 hits to the Hawks 19 and the Canucks blocked 4 more shots than the chihawks did.

In the end it's 5-2 Vancouver.

That's how the Canucks have to play to win I guess.

[Strutz]

I was floored by Edler scoring 2 goals