WHEN: 6:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Rogers Arena – Vancouver, British Columbia
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
In the most important game of the season to date, the Utah Hockey Club (29-26-11) faces the Vancouver Canucks (31-24-11) tonight at Rogers Arena while both teams jockey for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference. Utah is four points behind Vancouver in the standings but could pull within a game of the Canucks with a regulation win tonight. Utah is 5-3-2 since the 4 Nations Face-off break while Vancouver is 5-6-0 in that span.
ONE-TIMERS
- Clayton Keller is 12th in the NHL with 74 points (23G, 51A).
- Alexander Kerfoot is a Vancouver native.
- Michael Carcone spent three seasons with the Canucks’ organization.
- Utah has the 13th best power play (23.4%) and 13th best penalty kill (80.6%) in the NHL.
- Vancouver has three players named Pettersson on the roster, none of whom are related.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight’s game carries significant implications for the wild card race, with a potential four-point swing resulting from a regulation finish. The Canucks have won four of their last six games, including a 6-2 dismantling of the Chicago Blackhawks last night.
Arturs Silovs started in net last night for Vancouver, so it is likely that Utah will face the Canucks’ No. 1 goaltender, Kevin Lankinen, tonight. Lankinen is 23-12-7 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Defenseman Qiuinn Hughes will also be in the lineup for Vancouver tonight. Hughes missed the last meeting with Utah due to injury, and his presence makes the Canucks a far more dangerous team. The blueliner ranks third amongst all defensemen with 62 points (15G, 47A) despite missing 14 games to injury this season.
STANDINGS UPDATE
WC1: Minnesota Wild – 79 points
WC2: Vancouver Canucks – 73 points
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- Calgary Flames – 71 points
- St. Louis Blues – 71 points
- Utah Hockey Club – 69 points
- Anaheim Ducks – 65 points
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #82 KEVIN STENLUND – Stenlund notched his first multi-goal performance of the year with a goal and an assist on Friday in Seattle. The forward is now up to 17 points (9G, 8A) on the year, marking a new career high after he posted 15 points (11G, 4A) last season with the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
VANCOUVER: #40 ELIAS PETTERSSON – Elias Pettersson has found a scoring groove recently and now has four goals in his last five games after a tally against Chicago last night. The two-way centerman is now tied for second on the team with 15 goals this season.
LOOK BACK
Utah missed out on two points Friday night in a 4-2 regulation loss to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Utah led 2-1 in the second period after goals from Nick Schmaltz and Kevin Stenlund, but a deflection off Brandon Montour’s skate tied the game at 2-2 for Seattle late in period two.
Halfway through the third, a Utah turnover led to a Kaapo Kakko goal to give the Kraken a 3-2 edge. Eeli Tolvanen scored twice for Seattle, including the empty-netter. For Utah, Stenlund finished with a goal and an assist while John Marino provided a helper on both Utah markers.
LAST MEETING
Utah picked up a massive win after knocking off the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 at Delta Center on Feb. 23. Vancouver’s Jake DeBrusk opened the scoring in the second period, but Logan Cooley found the back of the net just 2:08 later to tie the game at 1-1. With 5:53 left in the third, Dylan Guenther capitalized on Utah’s fourth power play of the night.
Utah outshot Vancouver 32-15, marking the second-fewest shots allowed in a game by Utah this season. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka earned the win, stopping 14 shots.
Notably, Vancouver’s top defenseman Quinn Hughes was not in the lineup, leaving the Canucks to play without their leading scorer.
CLOSE GAMES
Many of Utah’s recent games have been significant for playoff implications, but they’ve also been tightly contested on the ice. Utah has played 32 one-goal games this season- the second most in the NHL. 11 of Utah’s last 18 games have been decided by just one goal, and 16 of Utah’s last 18 contests have been decided by either one or two goals.
Utah is 14-7-11 in games decided by one goal while Vancouver is 15-4-11.
AGAINST WILD CARD HOPEFULS
Utah is trying to chase down three teams in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference: the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and St. Louis Blues. The Mountain Blue has a combined record of 6-1-0 against those teams this year, with another opportunity to gain ground coming tonight against the Canucks. In those seven contests, Utah has outscored the opposition 24-13 while averaging 3.43 goals for and 1.86 goals against.
Utah has beaten Vancouver twice by one goal, posted five goals against Calgary twice, and scored four times against St. Louis twice. The team has not allowed more than three goals in any of the games against these three Western Conference foes.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah concludes a three-game road trip on Tuesday with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. The team returns home to face the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, Mar. 20.
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