FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1 Stopping goals Despite the coach and several players saying Tuesday’s 7-5 loss to the Habs was “better,” it’s hard to look past the truth that the Canucks struggled to play smart defensive hockey, while not getting clutch stops from the goalie.
2 The man-advantage Both teams have top-10 power-play units, but one team has a nearly leagueleading penalty-kill unit. That’s the Sharks. The Canucks’ power-play surge has been well documented — it’s been keeping them in games — but Thursday they face the league’s second-best PK unit.
3 Defensive coverage Henrik Sedin caught a lot of stick after Tuesday’s game for some of the goals-against. The Sedins did dominate the shot count — the Canucks as a whole did, as you’d expect from a team trailing for much of the night — but they were caught out of position at several key moments. The Habs suggested they’d figured out the Canucks’ system. Can the Canucks shift their plans accordingly? 4 Vanek vantage Thomas Vanek hadn’t scored in seven games before his hat trick on Tuesday. With Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi still out, the Canucks need their veteran depth to perform more than ever. They’re looking to Vanek, Loui Eriksson and Sam Gagner to produce.
5 Lost Loui Speaking of Eriksson: The $6-million man has just one assist — tallied on Tuesday — in the month of December. That’s nine games. The Swede does do a lot of things well, but the Canucks signed him to produce.