The Canucks’ playoff push continues against the Minnesota Wild
Posted February 16, 2015 12:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canucks plays Zach Parise and the red-hot Minnesota Wild this evening. Minnesota has won both meetings with Vancouver this season and the team has only one regulation loss in its last 13 games.
“Minnesota has played us hard,” says Head Coach Willie Desjardins, “They are a good team. They were injured early and that took them back a little bit, but now they are playing the way they can play. They are a good team and we know that. We have to play a really good game tonight to get a win.”
The game is a daunting task for the Canucks as injuries continue to mount on their blueline. Frank Corrado and Kevin Bieksa have been joined by Alex Edler on the injured list. The Swede was injured and left Saturday’s game against Calgary after being hit by former Vancouver Giants forward Lance Bouma. Chris Tanev will play despite crashing head first in to the post on the weekend. He says the team has to step and to replace Edler’s minutes.
“It is going to be tough to replace him. We all have to have good games tonight. He plays 25-minutes a game, so everyone else is going to have to pick up the slack.”
Adam Clendening is hoping to take advantage of the injuries. He will he quarterbacking the first unit powerplay this evening. Desjardins thinks he can give the man advantage a new look.
“He is a good passer and he see’s the ice well. I think there is some things in his game that he has to work on if he wants to be an elite powerplay defenceman at this level. I think he has some good vision in the offensive zone and he moves the puck well.”
Eddie Lack gets the start in net for Vancouver.
The Canucks recalled defenceman Alex Biega this morning. He will not play tonight. He has 15 points in 42 games with the Utica Comets this season.
The puck drops at 7 p.m.. You can watch it on Sportsnet Pacific. Listen for game updates every 10 minutes on the fives.
