The Vancouver Canucks (10–13–3) will face one of their most daunting tasks tomorrow as they prepare to take on the league-leading Colorado Avalanche (18–1–6). Vancouver recently wrapped up their three-game stint in California with a record of 1–1–1, picking up a single point in their 2–1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. The Avalanche are coming off a 7–2 win against the Montréal Canadiens on Saturday.
Tonight will not be Vancouver’s first game against the Avalanche this season, as they actually took Colorado to overtime back on November 9 and lost by a score of 5–4. This was Vancouver’s first overtime loss of the season as well as Colorado’s first win past regulation. Handing the Avalanche a loss will be an extremely difficult task, as Colorado has yet to lose in regulation on home-ice this season.
One of the biggest talking points in Vancouver and Colorado’s last match was both teams’ power plays. Colorado scored twice on theirs, while Vancouver’s scored once to send the game to overtime. The Canucks’ power play has struggled greatly as of late, failing to convert on any of their 11 opportunities throughout the past two games. The Avalanche have gone 1/5 in their past two games but currently hold an overall power play percentage of 16.3% on the season — nearly 5% less than Vancouver’s 20.9%. With Colorado’s PK clicking at a success rate of 86.8%, Vancouver will have a tough task ahead of them if they want to get their power play back on the board.
Players To Watch:
Kiefer Sherwood
Since joining the Canucks in 2024, Sherwood has five goals and one assist when playing against the Avalanche. As well, he scored his 10th goal of the season in their last matchup. Sherwood has been slightly snakebitten throughout the past few games, as his last point came against the Dallas Stars on November 20. With Conor Garland absent from the lineup on Saturday due to injury, Sherwood ended up taking his place on the second line alongside Brock Boeser and David Kämpf. Garland will not be available for tonight’s game, so Sherwood may reprise his role alongside them.
Nathan MacKinnon
The last time these two teams met, MacKinnon was a huge part in the wrecking crew that ultimately took the Canucks down. He factored into every goal that the Avalanche scored while potting two of his own to give Colorado an early 2–0 lead. As it stands, he’s operating at a ridiculous pace of 1.76 points per game while riding a three-game point streak that has seen him score three goals and four assists. It’ll be extremely hard for the Canucks to keep MacKinnon pointless when they face him tonight, but it’s not an impossible task — the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Utah Mammoth, and Columbus Blue Jackets have all done-so this season.
Vancouver Canucks (10–13–3):
Points:
Elias Pettersson: 8–14–22
Quinn Hughes: 2–20–22
Kiefer Sherwood: 12–4–16
Brock Boeser: 9–7–16
Filip Hronek: 2–14–16
Goaltenders:
Thatcher Demko: 5–4–0
Kevin Lankinen: 4–7–3
Nikita Tolopilo: 1–1–0
Jiří Patera: 0–1–0
Colorado Avalanche (18–1–6):
Points:
Nathan MacKinnon: 20–24–44
Martin Nečas: 13–20–33
Cale Makar: 9–23–32
Artturi Lehkonen: 9–15–24
Brock Nelson: 8–8–16
Goaltenders:
Scott Wedgewood: 13–1–3
Mackenzie Blackwood: 5–0–1
Trent Miner: 0–0–2
Game Information:
Start time: 6:00 pm PT
Venue: Ball Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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