Canucks back home to face the Blackhawks
Posted November 21, 2015 1:48 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver Canucks return home tonight to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. (7pm, CBC)
The home team is trying to right the ship after a road trip that saw just one victory in seven games. The Canucks should be the more rested group though, as Chicago is on the back end of a back to back – Johnny Gaudreau scored in overtime to lead the Flames past the Hawks on Frdiay night in Calgary.
Canucks/Blackhawks may not have the same cache it once did, but it still means something for the older pieces of the Vancouver core.
“It’s always fun to play Chicago. They seem to bring out the best in all of us.” Henrik Sedin said today following an optional morning skate at Rogers Arena.
“Especially for us older players, we’ve been through a lot of battles with those guys. (Chicago) is a great team. They’ve got some tremendous players over there.” Henrik added.
One of those players is winger Patrick Kane, who enters Saturday’s play as the NHL’s leading scorer with 31 points.
The Canucks are also hoping a little home cooking will get them back on track. They currently sit fourth in the Pacific division behind the third-place Arizona Coyotes.
“It’s nice to be back home here.” Jake Virtanen said earlier Saturday.
“It’s going to be fun for us, but we’re looking forward to just getting a win here, and getting started right away.”
This is the first of a two game weekend homestand for Vancouver. Corey Schneider and the New Jersey Devils make an appearance on Sunday evening.
The Canucks will be missing some bodies for the game. Defenseman Ben Hutton will sit out, as well as centreman Brandon Sutter. Luca Sbisa and Brandon Prust will play, while Radim Vrbata is a game time decision, though he did skate with the team Saturday morning.
