How often will the term “must win” be applied to the Vancouver Canucks during their upcoming games? A lot, and it very likely begins with Thursday night’s match against the Anaheim Ducks.
Without a victory the Vancouver Canucks will face some very restless natives, among other things. Like a deep hole that will be difficult to climb out of … Vancouver sits in the basement of the Pacific Division with a grand total of six points, already 12 points behind division leading Vegas.
New Guys
Acclimating to a new club can be difficult, especially when joining one that’s struggling. Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Bruce Boudreau felt that new right-shot centre Jack Studnicka looked a little nervous in his Canucks debut against the Devils on Tuesday, but empathized with the player for being put into a tough situation with little time to prepare. Studnicka played just 9:01 centreing the 4th line.
New right-shot defenceman Ethan Bear played a little more than 18-minutes on Tuesday and finished with a shot on goal and two hits. All things considered it was a steady performance. He probably picked up a little more ice time than expected with Luke Schenn sitting out for 15 minutes with a fight and a misconduct.
Lefty D-man Riley Stillman, acquired on October 7th from the Chicago Blackhawks, returned to play 18-minutes after missing four games due to injury.
Happier Times
It’s Kevin Bieksa night at Rogers Arena. The crowd will be able to celebrate the former Vancouver Canucks defenceman’s time spent working hard for the club over ten seasons ending in 2015 when he was traded to the Ducks. The former 5th-round pick in 2001 was a key cog on the blueline in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 and is now a popular analyst on “Hockey Night in Canada”.
