The Vancouver Canucks are good this year. That’s not good for a Dallas Stars team, that at least recently, couldn’t beat them when they were bad.
2019. That’s the last time Dallas defeated Vancouver on home ice. Jordie Benn was there for the visitors, but his younger brother stole the show. Ben Bishop got the win. Taylor Fedun and Justin Dowling potted goals. Some guy named Corey Perry – most famous for a walk of shame six weeks later at the Cotton Bowl – got on the scoresheet with a goal and an assist.
Since that game, its been nothing but disappointment for the guys in Victory Green. The victories have been rare and of the moral variety. The best result being a 5-4 overtime loss last February.
The game is Thursday night. What else do you have going on? Might as well watch, but expecting a win might be pushing it.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Craig Smith (15) – Radek Faksa (12) – Sam Steel (18)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Thomas Harley (55) – Joel Hanley (44)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
Matt Murray (32)
Some interesting splits in net for the Stars against the Canucks. Wedgewood has only faced them once, and that was in relief. Murray, on the other hand, has two of his three NHL starts against Vancouver. Neither ended well. Wedgewood, for a variety of reasons, is the obvious choice for the starters net.
Vancouver Canucks Lineup
Ilya Mikheyev (65) – Elias Pettersson (40) – Pius Suter (24)
Nils Hoglander (21) – J.T. Miller (9) – Brock Boeser (6)
Dakota Joshua (81) – Teddy Blueger (53) – Conor Garland (8)
Phillip Di Giuseppe (34) – Nils Aman (88) – Sam Lafferty (18)
Quinn Hughes (43) – Filip Hronek (17)
Nikita Zadorov (91) – Tyler Myers (57)
Ian Cole (82) – Noah Juulsen (47)
Thatcher Demko (35)
Casey DeSmith (29)
First, we need to get this out there. Vancouver has a great record – but how stable is it?
Sure, they have the second best record in the Western Conference. Sure, they’re 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Sure, they have a goaltending tandem that can be lights out. But can we talk about luck and how sustainable that PDO might be over the full 82 game regular season.
Plus, Vancouver is doing this while periodically giving Andrei Kuzmenko and his $5.5 million cap hit a healthy scratch – right now in favor of Pius Suter.
There is a lot to like about the top end talent on the Canucks. Their top two lines are on the same plain as the Stars top two, and they’ve gotten a bit more production out of their bottom six.
Defensively, Hughes is a beast and he’s paired with Stars killer Hronek. Zadorov and Myers take size to the extreme, and even an aging Cole is holding up.
If the Stars don’t take this teams seriously, they’ll get run out of the barn. And that is what’s happened over the last several years.
Keys to the Game
Luck. Might as well PDO the PDO kings.
Get ahead. Vancouver is just the type of team that will run with a lead. Depending on a comeback may not be in the Stars best interest.
Benn. It may not look like it lately, but Jamie Benn has put up solid numbers against the Canucks over his career. A return to form from the BC native is just the kind of thing that could pull out a win.