Canucks look to clip the Wings

Points to ponder as the Canucks host the Red Wings to end a successful homestand at Rogers Arena.

THE BIG MATCHUP: ZETTERBERG VS. BOESER

A big thing happened Saturday: the Brock Boeser/ Bo Horvat/Sven Baertschi line ended up getting the harder matchup, facing Sidney Crosby’s line almost all night. They held their own. Boeser has proven in his young career to be a strong two-way player. Can this line keep it going against another future Hall of Famer in Henrik Zetterberg?

KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Scoring

This is going to be a rinse repeat topic this season: can the Canucks score enough? Their defence is holding up so far; they’re allowing the fewest shot attempts against in the whole league. That’s a great start. The struggle will continue to be on offence, as they’ve no true first line.

2. Virtanen-Kronwall II

You remember how this went down the last time: Jake Virtanen lowered the boom on Niklas Kronwall in Detroit last month, leaving many saying “about time.” Then again, if Brendan Gaunce gets in the lineup, most expect that would be at Virtanen’s expense.

3. Not-so-hot Wings

The Red Wings played in Edmonton Sunday, blanking the Oilers 4-0. Win or lose, it’s never easy to play the second game of a backto-back; road teams win only about 40 per cent of the time. Add that to the fact the Wings are middling at best in scoring and defence and this could be another big win for the Canucks.

4. Larkin line

The Wings’ second line, centred by Dylan Larkin with Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou on the wings, is proving to be the real danger group in Detroit. They’re controlling possession and they’re scoring too.

5. Markstrom power

All of a sudden, the Canucks’ goalie controversy is all about strength. Jacob Markstrom stonewalled the Stanley Cup champs on Saturday night. Travis Green is back to having the best dilemma: who to start in net? So far, the answer has been Markstrom as he’s started nine times, Anders Nilsson just four.