Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, the Vancouver Canucks (20-11-3, 43 points) and San Jose Sharks (19-12-5, 43 points) face-off for the second of five meetings this season live from the SAP Center in San Jose. The game can be live streamed here. Vancouver fans can hear all of the action on TEAM 1040 while San Jose fans can do the same on KFOX 98.5.
Vancouver has won two of its last three and skates in the final match of a two-game road trip through California while San Jose has lost two straight contests entering tonight. The Canucks overcame the Sharks 3-2 the first time these teams met this season on Nov. 6.
Vancouver currently sits in second place in the Pacific Division while San Jose is nipping at its heals in third.
The Canucks are coming off of a 2-1 loss to the division-leading Anaheim Ducks on Sunday that saw Yannick Weber notch the lone goal for his side in an effort that didn't please the Vancouver coach.
"Not good enough," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said per NHL.com. "If we want to win in this league, we've got to take the puck to the net. We can't rely on our goaltender. If we're just going to sit back, rely and hope we get points, we're not going to get points. As a group we know we have to get better."
The Sedin twins have paced the Canucks this season as Daniel Sedin has a team-best 30 goals off of eight goals and 22 assists while Henrik Sedin has six tallies and 23 helpers to sit second on the team with 29 points. Radim Vrbata has lit the lamp a team-best 13 times and has 25 points.
The Sharks are coming off of a 3-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings on Saturday that saw Joe Pavelski score the only goal for San Jose while L.A. took advantage of the power play.
"It's such a fine line sometimes with the power play," Pavelski told NHL.com "We had a few looks and we didn't score. They had a few looks and they scored, so we have to get back to the basics and get pucks out, be in a [passing] lane, and be a little tighter. When we were a little aggressive it was probably not the right time."
Pavelski is second on the team with 30 points off of 17 goals and 13 assists while Joe Thornton paces the team with 31 points off of eight markers and 23 helpers. Logan Couture has lit the lamp 13 times and added 16 assists for 29 points.
In net, San Jose is slated to turn to Antti Niemi and he is 14-8-4 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
The Canucks are likely to counter with Ryan Miller in the crease and he is 18-7-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
It's a big Pacific Division matchup when the lights come up on the Canucks and Sharks tonight at the SAP Center in San Jose.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.