Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks look to extend winning streak after Thursday’s matchup – NHL Preview
Both the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks have had a great run this month, they nearly have a same record in their past 10 games, 8-1-1 and 9-1-0 respectively. This makes their matchup on Thursday at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia,
all the more exciting.
It will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams, and the second one this month. Vancouver will look to not only to extend their winning streak to five in a row just as LA is, but they will also try to even up the series between each other.
The Kings had won the first two matchups during the opening week of the season in October, but the Canucks have become a totally different team since back then. Los Angeles lost to them 3-1 at home early this month.
Vancouver’s Situation
The Canucks have come a long way since the start of the regulation season. They have accomplished so many things it would take a while just to name their achievements.
With just six-games remaining, Vancouver does not have any sort of tension in respect to its playoff positioning. When other teams had not even secured a playoff spot, they had their Divisional spot clinched and recently they clinched the top number spot
for the Western Conference.
All they have to do is to rest their key players to prepare them for the play-offs. Near the end, centre player Manny Malhotra went out for the season due to an eye related injury after taking a puck to the head. He is a really authoritative figure and has
contributed so much for them that it would be a shame if he is not able to join them in their Stanley Cup stretch.
The Canucks lost another defenseman Dan Hamhuis on March 27, after his collision with Rick Nash. Vancouver’s management has not been able to set a return date for him as of yet.
All problems aside, Vancouver is still an unbeatable force in the National Hockey League. The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel have put on a show that has shook every franchise in the league. Both are leaders in game-points and assists, with 189 combined
points.
Henrik Sedin is set to be a nominee this season for the MVP award after an amazing season which will definitely continue into the play-offs. It will be the first time that two brothers have won the award in consecutive seasons.
Los Angeles Kings Situation
LA has already improved their monthly record, winning 9-13 matches as compared to last month’s 8-13. Before the noticeable winnings, they stood below the elite eight border line and showed no real hope of recuperating.
That all changed after their team realized that the time was near and being shutout of the finals never did any NHL club good.
It was almost a heartbreaking moment for the brave Kings when their lead player Anze Kopitar broke his ankle during their game against the Avalanche at home. He is not expected to return for the remainder of the season and might not even during the play-offs.
They went on to win that game on Saturday and another one against the Oilers after that. It has created a chance for players like Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis to rise and shine. Brown scored twice during their match against Edmonton, while Lewis who had
four points in his past 44 games has picked up four in his last two.
The Kings have six games remaining of which all are against strong teams. This will be a good time to test them if they really are capable of winning big games without Kopitar.
Both teams will face-off against each other at 10pm ET.
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