Bruins will be tough in own rink
Horvat is getting tons of ice time, and taking plenty of draws, with Sutter out
THE BIG MATCHUP
Bo Horvat vs. Patrice Bergeron
In a 2-1 win over the Bruins on Oct. 20 at Rogers Arena, centre Brandon Sutter combined with Antoine Roussel and Loui Eriksson to keep the vaunted top Bruins line of Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak pointless, even though they managed nine shots. The point is with Sutter injured, Horvat must shoulder added defensive-zone faceoff responsibility and also be asked to do what Sutter did. And as much as Horvat welcomes added ice time, he logged a whopping 23:53 on Tuesday in Detroit and took a career-high 40 draws, 19 of which he won. Bergeron has won 57.5 per cent of his draws this season and Horvat 55.3.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1.
What does Pettersson do for an encore?
The Bruins get their first look at Elias Pettersson, who was in concussion protocol Oct. 20. As the only teenager in the last 30 seasons to open his career with at least 10 goals in his first 10 games, the Swedish whiz kid is adding to his repertoire. On Tuesday, he unleashed a wicked slap shot, a laser wrister and changed shooting angles. He had five shots and eight attempts and his league-leading shooting percentage is a gaudy 35.7
per cent. He also drew crowds and feathered flawless offensive-zone passes to wide-open linemates.
2.
Power play needs to have a much better day
A man-advantage marker would have made a difference Tuesday. In a 3-2 shootout loss at Detroit, the Canucks were 0-for-3 and had but two shots as the PP slipped to 19th overall. They missed the injured Brock Boeser, whose heavy and accurate one-timer gives the first unit a different dimension.
3.
Encouraging Eriksson or a mirage?
Eriksson had a memorable first period at Little Caesars Arena. He blocked a shot and had a scoring chance off a partial breakaway. He nearly deposited a backhand and then set up Pettersson’s goal. He had three shots and four attempts in the frame. And in the third, he was fed a great pass by Nikolay Goldobin but couldn’t handle it to snap a 2-2 draw. He must play the same way against his former team today.
4.
Goldobin still has keys to the car
Nikolay Goldobin had five shots and seven attempts in Detroit, and playing with Pettersson will fuel anybody’s game. But his only goal came in the season opener and only Horvat and Boeser (37) have taken more shots than Goldobin (31). The Russian’s minuscule 3.2 per cent shooting percentage must match his creative potential.
5.
Markstrom must maintain consistency
Jacob Markstrom deserved better against the Wings. An unassisted power-play goal by Justin Abdelkader could have been cleared in the slot by Tyler Motte and Chris Tanev, who took away the seam. Gustav Nyquist’s tying effort deflected in off Troy Stecher before he was stymied by a stellar Markstrom glove save in overtime.
CANUCKS’ LINES
LW–C–RW
Tim Schaller — Bo Horvat — Jake Virtanen
Nikolay Goldobin — Elias Pettersson — Loui Eriksson
Darren Archibald — Adam Gaudette — Brendan Leipsic
Antoine Roussel — Markus Granlund — Tyler Motte Defence pairings
Ben Hutton — Erik Gudbranson Derrick Pouliot — Chris Tanev Michael Del Zotto — Troy Stecher
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom, Richard Bachman
BRUINS’ LINES
LW–C–RW
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Joakim Nordstrom — David Krejci — Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen — David Backes — Anders Bjork
Chris Wagner — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari
Defence pairings
Zdeno Chara — Brandon Carlo Torey Krug — John Moore Matt Grzelcyk — Steve Kampfer Goalies
Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak
SICK BAY
Canucks: Brock Boeser ( groin, dayto-day), Brandon Sutter (separated shoulder, IR), Anders Nilsson (finger facture, day-to-day), Sven Baertschi (concussion, IR), Alex Edler (knee sprain, IR), Jay Beagle (forearm fracture, IR)
Bruins: Charlie McAvoy (undisclosed, IR), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion, IR), Kevan Miller (upper body, IR)
POWER PLAY
Canucks: 19th (19.1%) Bruins: 5th (29.6 %)
PENALTY KILL
Canucks: 12th (81%) Bruins: 17th (79.5%)