Sniper Sharp sinks wonky life raft

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1 4 Dec 2015 The Vancouver Sun Iain MacIntyre Sniper Sharp sinks wonky life raft Outshone again: Dallas can beat you many ways, but Vancouver makes it easier with meltdowns and bad goals Just when the Vancouver Canucks looked like they might profit from the kind of halting turnover that has haunted them since Halloween, the National Hockey League team did what it has done best since then. It lost. Of course, the Canucks always lose to the Dallas Stars, 10-0 against Vancouver the last 34 months. But Thursday s game, dominated by the Stars everywhere but on the scoreboard, looked in the third period like a potential life raft for a Canuck team with three wins in 15 games and only three wins at home all season. Then Patrick Sharp skated untouched between three Vancouver players, with defencemen Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber out of position, and with 5:59 remaining plunged a dagger through the inflatable life raft and Canuck morale for a 4-2 Dallas win. With six minutes to go, it could have been 4-1 or 5-1 for the Stars. But it was 2-2. The game was there for the Canucks two points begging to be stolen. But the Canucks give mostly the puck away and don t take, and fell to since Nov. 2 with another discouraging loss. It s disappointing, Canuck winger Danny Sedin said. We tie it up 2-2 and then they come back and score. It s tough right now coming in after losing. We were not good enough. We know that. It s up to each and every guy; we roll four lines, play six Ds. That s what made us successful last year. But right now, too many guys are standing still. We re a fast team when we skate, a slow team standing still. With Hamhuis and Weber scrambling for position, Sharp cut into the Canucks zone and scored from the high slot through goalie Ryan Miller s pads. It came 8½ minutes after Alex Goligoski s unforced giveaway to Henrik Sedin led to Jannik Hansen s opportunistic tying goal on a night when shots were for Dallas. That was a huge goal for them, Canuck Brandon Prust said. We got a little complacent there... lost our gap. It s a tough way to lose. I feel like we ve lost a lot of tough games this year. We ve got to be better on the road, got to be better at home. We can t play 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there. We have to put complete games together. Jason Spezza added an emptynetter for the Stars, who swept the three-game season series against Vancouver. The Canucks had a dream start Thursday. Then they woke up. Alex Edler, whose previous touch was the ghastly overtime turnover that allowed the Los Angeles Kings to beat the Canucks 2-1 on Tuesday, made it 1-0 for Vancouver only 56 seconds into the game. Edler s heavy wrist shot from the point zipped past Hansen s screen and Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen s glove hand.

2 The Canucks had two other shots and one other great scoring chance, by Prust, in the opening two minutes. And in the next 38 minutes, the Canucks were outshot 24-7 and outscored 2-0 as the Stars took a 2-1 lead into the final period. Valeri Nichushkin made it 1-1 for Dallas at 11:09 of the first, creating a goal out of nothing by simply outskating and overpowering Hamhuis, then beating Miller on a breakaway deke. Nichushkin then set up the go-ahead goal 33 seconds into the second period by beautifully reversing the puck from behind the net to fool Miller and every other Canuck on the ice as Tyler Seguin chipped in the centring pass at the near post. Turnovers, which crushed the Canucks in November, were again a menace for Vancouver. Edler, Jared McCann, Alex Burrows and Hank Sedin were among the Canucks who needlessly gave away the puck near their own net, generating scoring chances for a Stars team that doesn t need help scoring. Until Vancouver cleans up play in its own zone, it hasn t a hope of making up in December the space in the standings it yielded in November. Goligoski tried to return the turnover favour. The Canucks would have none of it. We need to help each other better, Edler said. We need five guys together all over the ice we need it in the defensive zone, the neutral zone, the offensive zone. That s how we have to play. We need everyone out there helping each other. Not helping the opposition. THE DEBRIEF In danger of a rare moment of prosperity, the Canucks squandered their potential good fortune by allowing an easy, weak winning goal by Patrick Sharp with 5:59 remaining and lost 4-2 to the Stars, who are 10-0 against Vancouver the last 34 months. Dallas dominated, but Alex Goligoski s turnover earlier in the third led to Jannik Hansen s opportunistic tying goal. The Canucks lost anyway, falling to at home this season and since Nov. 2. Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and assist for Dallas. BY THE NUMBERS Shots were for Dallas, including the final 40 minutes. Only nine Canucks registered a shot... Canuck goalie Ryan Miller, beaten with a weak shot between the pads on the winning goal, has allowed three or more goals in nine of 11 starts... Dallas Tyler Seguin had one goal and eight shots on net... Canuck Jared McCann went 1-12 on faceoffs... Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen improved to ALL-TIME 100 Daniel Sedin s assist on Alex Edler s first-period goal was the Canuck s 910th point, moving him into a tie with Gary Roberts for 100th in all-time National Hockey League scoring. Canuck Henrik Sedin, who had two assists, is 93rd in NHL history with 940 points. Just ahead of Hank: Chris Chelios, Rick Tocchet, Larry Robinson, Kirk Muller and Maurice Richard. CRUEL HAND LUCA Canuck defenceman Luca Sbisa was a surprise scratch because of a hand injury suffered blocking a shot Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was replaced by Chris Tanev, back after missing one game with a similar injury. Vancouver wingers Chris Higgins (upper body) and Jake Virtanen (hip) missed a second straight game, while defenceman Ben Hutton (foot) sat out his seventh. Centre Brandon Sutter (hernia surgery) is out four to six weeks. NEXT UP The Canucks practise today before playing the Boston Bruins on Saturday, 4½ years since Boston beat Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Final. The Buffalo Sabres visit Monday, when the Canucks will honour

3 the old West Coast Express line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi. The Canucks fourgame homestand ends Wednesday against another elite team, the New York Rangers. 4 Dec 2015 The Province JOSE COLORADO Who are the Canucks top rivals? The fans have spoken the Calgary Flames are public enemy No. 1 Rivalries are a funny thing in sports. Sometimes they can come and go more quickly than a cup of coffee. Other times, they re firmly ingrained into the social fabric of an entire franchise, city and collection of people even long after the culprits who jump-started it all are gone. I was hooked on the (Vancouver) Canucks after a Calgary (Flames) game, said Cynthia Lau, a longtime Vancouver resident. That rivalry really made it fun and made you feel invested. Even for casual fans. Political or geographic differences, player feuds or memorable matchups can all provide some foreplay into the matter of rivalries, but the meat and bones really comes down to one thing the product. And that puts the Vancouver Canucks in a rather precarious situation at the moment. At and sitting in fourth place in the Pacific Division, the Canucks fall from relevance following their devastating Game 7 Stanley Cup loss in 2011 has been swift, and it has left the franchise without too many suitable dancing partners. The team has lost in the first round for three of the past four seasons since that Cup loss, and they appear destined for another early exit this year should they make it at all. So when the upstart Dallas Stars a team that has ignited some of the Canucks best hockey all year, according to coach Willie Desjardins, and whose star captain, Jamie Benn, infamously disparaged the Sedin twins last season rolled into town on Thursday night, there was reason to question whether the two squads had the makings of a budding rivalry. No, no, not at all it s two points, said Jannik Hansen, asked of any extra importance prior to the tilt. Right now a win is a win, and it doesn t matter if it s against Buffalo or Dallas or Anaheim, it s the points we need right now. Ironically enough, as questions of a new potential rival swirled around the Canucks locker-room Thursday night, it s an unquestioned old nemesis that makes its way to Rogers Arena Saturday in the Boston Bruins. The Canucks-Bruins rivalry, while short-lived, provided some of the most colourful moments for the franchise in recent memory. From some finger nibbling to dirty checking to Roberto Luongo s quizzical tire-pumping complex, the time was a thriller. But with the teams competing in separate conferences alas, only meeting twice

4 a year, the Canucks reloading with nearly a completely new roster since then, and both clubs performance waning in recent seasons (the Bruins to a much lesser extent) the contentious relationship has all but faded. All the sideshow, all the stuff that happened, it s four years ago, you can t really use it for anything, Hansen said, the last time the Bruins visited Vancouver. It s great for the fans, great for the media, but there s nothing that has to be paid back. The fan base would agree. By way of a Province poll that tallied roughly 700 votes, the Calgary Flames ranked as the Canucks biggest rival at the moment with 46 per cent. As the two largest cities in Western Canada, Calgary and Vancouver have long had deep-seeded political and geographic differences that have regularly trickled onto the ice. Following a plethora of heated playoff matchups in the 80s, the teams consistently vied for the top spot in the Smythe and Pacific division in the 2000s. And in 2014, the teams even engaged in a memorable 10-player fight off the opening puck-drop. Eight players were immediately ejected. I mean it would be fun if the stakes were a bit higher, said Lau. But this brings some excitement every now and then. And for two franchises that are searching for a return to prominence that just may have to suffice for the time being. 4 Dec 2015 The Province JASON BOTCHFORD Canucks outshone despite Sedin magic Think, for a moment, what this Canucks team would look like if it had a second line. A real one. What if this group had a Ryan Johansen? A Ryan O Reilly? A Matt Duchene? An Eric Staal? Could they compete in the Western Conference? Could they win a playoff round? Could they at least make the playoffs? Because that s the kind of player it would take to make a difference. You know what? Scratch those thoughts. The defence still wouldn t be good enough. Not with the way Dan Hamhuis is playing these days. The Sedins deserve better than a team on pace for 80-something points. They ve been everything you could hope for this year. The Canucks still need more from them. That s because, it s all on them. Everything. Every win. Every power play. Every third period. Even, every overtime. On Thursday, they didn t disappoint. The Sedins combined for a couple of goals to keep the Canucks in a game they had no business being in. When it looked its bleakest, early in the third period, they finally got a little payback, too. After a series of defensive blunders that had cost the Canucks a string of points for weeks, they got a chance to exploit one of their own. With his team in total control, Alex Goligoski passed a puck directly to Henrik Sedin. Henrik swung the puck to Jannik Hansen and a swift backhand later it was a 2-2 game. The Sedins had dragged their team into a game, yet again. But Vancouver couldn t hold it. Hamhuis watched, that s not a figure of speech, Patrick Sharp fly by him, scoring the game winner with six minutes left. The Stars come at you in waves of speed and skill. If it s not Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin shredding you, it s Jason Spezza. The Canucks can t come close to that kind of skill.

5 They can t even find a second line. What this means The blue-line is going to get better. Ben Hutton is expected back and it could be as soon as Saturday. But Hutton is not going to fix all that ails the Canucks back end. There is just no way right now to put together a really good top four. The Canucks have one pairing, in Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. They are very good together, despite what you think about Edler s more memorable turnovers. After that, there are some pretty significant holes. Really, the biggest issue is surrounding Dan Hamhuis. The man they call Hammer has fallen off dramatically this season. It s hard to imagine in 2014 he was on Team Canada at the Olympics. He can no longer carry a second pairing, which means others need to pick up the slack. There s just one big problem here. The Canucks don t have anyone who can do that. Maybe it can be Hutton at some point, but he s not there yet. In a word WEAK SAUCE - If you squinted, the first Dallas goal looked like Valeri Nichushkin was carrying Dan Hamhuis in a Baby-Bjorn on his back. Hamhuis looked helpless to stop him, and it hasn t been an uncommon occurrence this season. PUSHBACK - Criticized for days for lack of pushback, Derek Dorsett took it upon himself to fight Dallas troll Antoine Roussel. He filled Roussel s face even though the Star never took his gloves off. Somehow, they got matching penalties. COMEBACK - It was the return of Ronalds Kenins, the scrappy forward who briefly lit Vancouver up last season with his forechecking and big hits. He faded late last year and disappeared to start this season. He didn t get off to a great start with a boarding penalty. Advanced stats 51 % - This is the Canucks score-adjusted, even-strength, shot-attempt differential. It ranks 12th in the league. Last year, Vancouver was 18th with a Corsi percentage of 50.2%. They re actually a better possession team this year. 23rd - This is where the Canucks penalty-killing unit ranks. Last year, they were second in the league. If you re looking for the biggest difference between last year and this one, start here The number of shots the Canucks average per 60 minutes played at even strength. Last year, the team averaged It suggests the Canucks could do a better job of getting shots on net with their zone time This was Dan Hamhuis Corsi through the first two periods. Hamhuis was on the ice for nine more shot attempts against than shot attempts for. His pairing had the worst Corsi rating. What we learned So general manager Jim Benning wants more scoring. He has suggested several times this week that if he s going to make a trade, it s going to be for a forward who can help with secondary scoring.

6 The problem is that the Canucks have a lot of good young forwards who will be scoring soon enough. They don t have a lot of good young defencemen. If you re going to move assets, and the Canucks will, doesn t it make more sense to trade for the blue-line? 4 Dec 2015 The Province Ed Willes STARS TOO FAR AWAY Canucks don t have what it takes to beat the top team in the West If there was any confusion about the monumental challenge facing the Vancouver Canucks this season, Willie Desjardins explained things neatly and succinctly before Thursday night s meeting with the Dallas Stars. The Stars, the Canucks head coach stated, are loaded with high-end talent and possess that rare ability to muddle along before suddenly finding a gear that few teams can match. This explains why the Stars lead the Western Conference by a comfortable margin. It also explains why they d scored 15 more goals than any team in the West before Thursday s games. That, at least, is the Stars world. The Canucks, for their part, occupy a slightly different plane of existence. According to Desjardins, his team has one option and one option only; to play at the top end of its game from the first shift of the first period to the final horn. It s a fanciful notion, one that exists more in the fevered mind of an NHL coach than in reality. But it also speaks to a simple fact. As they re currently constructed, the Canucks face an acute talent deficit compared with the top teams in the West and the only way to compensate for that is through some combination of their own diligence, the schedule and, of course, luck. Against the Stars, they didn t have any of those things working for them Thursday. This made the outcome somewhat predictable. In the Stars 4-2 win Thursday night, Alex Edler gave the home team a 1-0 lead on the game s first shift and, for the next 59 minutes, the Canucks looked like Neo in The Matrix, dodging bullets through a wild series of contortions while narrowly avoiding the kill shot. The Stars held a huge edge in shots on goal, in chances, in territorial play and produced two beauties against goalie Ryan Miller. Yet, with just over five minutes left, the Canucks were in a 2-2 tie because, early in the third, Henrik Sedin turned an Alex Goligoski turnover into a tying goal for Jannik Hansen. That s when the Stars flexed their muscles one last time. The game winner came on a screwy play in which Patrick Sharp finessed his way through Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber on the Canucks defence before beating Miller, with Stars Antoine Roussel barely staying onside. Maybe it was a little fortunate for the Stars, but when you own a advantage in shots on goal, it figures you ll catch a break. The story of this one, in fact, was easy to tell. Valeri Nicushkin, who s likely the Stars fifth-best forward, scored one goal when he held off Hamhuis almost the length of the ice then beat Miller badly

7 and set up Tyler Seguin s goal with a between-the-legs pass. Seguin, meanwhile, had five shots on goal in the second period with at least three from the prime scoring areas, and finished the night with eight shots. And Sharp was turned away on a breakaway. Those were the Stars difference-makers and they all made a difference on this night. As for the Canucks, it s becoming painfully apparent that the entire source of their offence is concentrated around the Sedins and whoever is playing with them. Thursday, that line produced both goals, but it wasn t enough and it hasn t been nearly enough all season. So where do they go from here? It s a good question, but the answer is depressing if you re a Canucks fan. Their lineup isn t deep enough to withstand the loss of any of their key contributors and injuries to Brandon Sutter and various blue-liners have exposed this team. It was always going to be hard for Desjardins squad, but they re in a fight for their lives right now and their short-handed. Maybe they can mask their deficiencies with that supreme effort the coach talked about on Thursday, but here s the thing. The other guys are trying, too. And they re trying with better players. JOSHUA CLIPPERTON VANCOUVER The Canadian Press Friday, Dec. 04, 2015 Nichushkin sparks Stars top line, leads Dallas over Vancouver Canucks Valeri Nichushkin made the most of his chance on the Dallas Stars top line. The Russian winger scored once and set up another while playing alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn as Dallas downed the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Thursday night. Those guys are the best guys in the league, Nichushkin said of the pair who sit second and third in NHL scoring. It makes me happy to play with them. Patrick Sharp buried the winner in the third for Dallas, while Seguin added another as the Stars ( ) became the first team to 20 wins this season while also matching the Montreal Canadiens atop the overall standings with 41 points. Nichushkin has spent most of his time on Dallas third line, but head coach Lindy Ruff saw a player who could provide a spark following a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. He was really playing really well and the top line had struggled generating good opportunities, said Ruff. He has been holding on to the puck really well down low and I thought it would give that line some possession time. I thought he did a great job. Jason Spezza scored into an empty net, Alex Goligoski chipped in with two assists and Kari Lehtonen stopped 14 shots as the Stars picked up their 10th straight victory over Vancouver and fifth in a row at Rogers Arena. Sharp s goal at 5:59 of the third with the score tied 2-2 came after he took a pass from Goligoski and wove into the Canucks zone before beating Ryan Miller with a quick shot through the pads for his ninth of the season.

8 We had a controlled breakout and I kind of swung to the wrong side, said Sharp, who has spent most of the year alongside Seguin and Benn. (Goligoski) saw me cut to the middle and put it right on my tape. Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardins used his challenge to see if the play was offside, but the call stood after review. Alexander Edler and Jannik Hansen had the goals for the Canucks (9-10-8), who have lost four straight and 12 of their last 15. Miller made 30 stops, while Henrik Sedin added two assists. Trailing 2-1 through 40 minutes, Vancouver tied the game at 5:31 of the third when Sedin jumped on a Goligoski giveaway and fed a wide-open Hansen, who cooly beat Lehtonen for his eighth goal of the season. The Canucks were coming off a road trip that included a 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars almost grabbed the lead when Hansen ripped a one-timer wide midway through the third. Dallas had a great opportunity at the other end when Miller shot out a pad to deny Vernon Fiddler with about seven minutes remaining before Sharp s winner and Spezza s 11th into an empty net sealed it. Even though we hadn t played our best game we were right there the whole game, said Sedin. We told each other we were one shot away. We scored in the third, but it got away from us again and it s the same old story. The only way out of it is work. You can t feel sorry for yourself. After the teams traded goals in the first, Dallas took the lead 33 seconds into the second when Nichushkin grabbed the puck behind the Vancouver net and fed a slick between-the-legs pass back to Seguin, who beat Miller on the shortside for his 14th goal of the season. The coach tells us every game, puck on the net, said Nichushkin. Seguin was behind me. I just tried a play like that. Eric MacKenzie Thursday, December 3, 2015 'Same old story' in Canucks' loss to Stars The Dallas Stars completed a season sweep of the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday at Rogers Arena, but unlike their previous meetings, the Canucks came away completely empty-handed this time. The Stars, who had scored overtime and shootout victories over the Canucks earlier this season, got the go-ahead goal from Patrick Sharp with six minutes left in a 4-2 triumph. With that, the Canucks (9-10-8) are below.500 for the first time all season. More accurately, they ve won just nine of 27 games and have dropped four in a row overall. Adding to the disappointment of Thursday s game was the fact that the Canucks scored on the first shift of the game, but couldn t build on Alex Edler s tally just 56 seconds in. And despite getting outshot by a healthy margin again they were held to just 16 shots for a second straight game there were some signs of life in the third, as Jannik Hansen scored at 5:31 of the final period to tie the game at 2-2. Even though we hadn t played our best game, we were right there the whole game, said captain Henrik Sedin. But it got away from us again. It s the same old story.

9 Valeri Nichushkin scored midway through the first and Tyler Seguin 33 seconds into the second for Dallas to take a 2-1 lead into the third. Vancouver evened things up when Henrik picked off a breakout pass from Stars D-man Alex Goligoski and fed Hansen in front, who beat Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen with a backhand shot. But Sharp potted the winner on a 1-on-2 against Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber, beating Ryan Miller through the five-hole. Miller, who stopped 30 of 33 shots, had made several stops to keep his team in the game to that point. Jason Spezza hit an empty Vancouver goal from the Stars own end with 1:27 remaining. Notes: -Jake Virtanen will be out week-to-week with a hip pointer, general manager Jim Benning told TSN 1040 on Thursday. Chris Higgins and Luca Sbisa also did not play against the Stars. Chris Tanev, however, did return after missing one game with a hand injury, and Wednesday call-up Ronalds Kenins played his first game of the season with Vancouver. -Daniel Sedin achieved a spot in the top 100 all-time scorers in NHL history (910 points) with an assist on Edler s goal. Hansen reached 200 career points with his tally. -Vancouver s penalty kill did not surrender a goal on three Dallas power-play opportunities. That ended a streak of seven straight games in which they d been scored on while shorthanded. -Next up, the Canucks welcome the Boston Bruins to Rogers Arena on Saturday night (7 p.m.). Guts McTavish 24 hours Vancouver Thursday, December 3, 2015 Sutter's value to Canucks apparent during absence While everyone has been chastising the Vancouver Canucks blue-line crew myself included the team s difficulty with defence isn t just on the players at the back end. Although one player wouldn t suddenly make this team playoff-bound, how Vancouver has played without centre Brandon Sutter reveals some compelling numbers. In the first 10 games sans Sutter, the Canucks managed just two wins. The penalty kill has sorely missed his presence and during his time away, nullifying penalties at an embarrassing rate of 72.5% since the 26-year-old has been out of the lineup. If that's not enough for you, Sutter was 53.6% in the face-off circle. That might not seem like a bold stat, but when you consider the Canucks rank 30th in the NHL at winning draws, suddenly it's no question he's been missed. Sutter took his share of criticism before his injury, but his value to the team has become more apparent in his absence. He's the type of player that helps you hold leads. The Canucks certainly could use a player like that. Unfortunately, with the announcement this week of Sutter s sports hernia surgery, that help just got several weeks further away.

10 Funny how many fans expected Bo Horvat to win the second-line centre job away from Sutter with ease as training camp began. But the 20-year-old been placed into some difficult NHL situations that Ryan Kesler and now Sutter would embrace. Horvat owes no one an apology. Life's tough at his age with so much demand put on his game. The count for Horvat heading into Thursday s contest with Dallas was 14 games without a goal. An ugly drought, but growing up fast in the big league will only prepare Bo for a long run as a trusted and effective two-way pro. I'm not worried. Who I am worried about is Sutter. Get well soon, Brandon. Without you, the Canucks are presently the cure to any team s ailing offence. Cam Tucker Metro Published Thu Dec Five takeaways: Vancouver Canucks can't hang with high-flying Dallas Stars A shot deflects off the shoulder of Vancouver Canucks' goalie Ryan Miller, left, as Chris Tanev (8) defends against Dallas Stars' Patrick Eaves, right, during the second period of an NHL game in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday. The Vancouver Canucks started their four-game home stand with a loss to the Western Conferenceleading Dallas Stars on Thursday at Rogers Arena. The Stars got a late third-period goal from Patrick Sharp that would eventually count as the winner, as Dallas defeated Vancouver 4-2. Canucks coach Willie Desjardins used his coach s challenge on the Sharp goal, arguing a Dallas player had gone offside as Sharp entered the Vancouver zone, however the call of a good goal on the ice stood up. Here are the five takeaways: A DELAYED PROSPECTS REPORT OF SORTS A cross check from Ryan Getzlaf on Monday could put Jake Virtanen s chances of representing Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championships on ice. It was never a guarantee the Canucks would ve released Virtanen to Canada s junior team later this month, although the debate had been ratcheting up for a while now. The hard-hitting Virtanen has played in 19 games for Vancouver as a 19-year-old rookie forward, scoring once and recording four points, and there is the notion that perhaps going to the annual junior tournament would help him rebuild his confidence. NHL teams have until Dec. 19 the league s roster freeze prior to Christmas to decide whether or not they will release eligible players to their national junior teams. The Canucks have another player eligible to play for Team Canada in 19-year-old centre Jared McCann, although his play has steadily improved since the start of the season, and up the middle is where Vancouver can t afford to lose another player, with Brandon Sutter out of the lineup four to six weeks following sports hernia surgery. On Thursday, general manager Jim Benning told TSN 1040 radio that Virtanen suffered a hip pointer on the cross check from Getzlaf in Vancouver s embarrassing loss to Anaheim earlier this week.

11 According to Benning, Virtanen is week-to-week with the injury. We re going to see in this next two weeks where we re at as a team, and if he comes back, where he s at in the lineup, where we are injury-wise, Benning told the radio station s midday show prior to Thursday s game against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Arena to begin a four-game home stand. On Wednesday, Canucks prospect Lukas Jasek was invited to the Czech Republic junior team evaluation camp. The Canucks selected the 18-year-old Jasek in the sixth round, 174th overall, of this year s draft. The slight right-winger has scored six goals and 16 points in six games for the Trinec junior team in the Czech Republic. SEDIN TWINS CARRYING CANUCKS Daniel Sedin entered a prestigious club in the National Hockey League. On Thursday, with an assist on Alex Edler s goal 56 seconds into the first period, Daniel tied Gary Roberts for 100th in all-time NHL scoring with 910 career points. Twin brother, Henrik Sedin, is 93rd all-time, with 941 points. At age 35, they re both enjoying impressive seasons so far. They won t be around much longer. They re in the twilight years of their careers. Yet, it begs the question: Where would the Canucks be at this point in the season if not for these two players and, to an extent, their linemate Jannik Hansen? That line combined for four points against Dallas. Right now, they re the only forward line combination that appears dangerous on the attack. The twins have been held off the score sheet only twice in the last 12 games. In that span, they ve combined for 36 points. That s a remarkable pace given their age, as if they re putting this team on their shoulders. But eventually, others up and down the lineup have to contribute on a more regular basis. RYAN MILLER STOOD TALL FOR THE MOST PART You could criticize Ryan Miller for the goals he allowed versus the Stars. Valeri Nichushkin, after he sped past Dan Hamhuis, deked Miller right out and was able to slide an easy backhander into a wide open net. And he wasn t tight to his post when Nichushkin s blind pass from behind the net to Tyler Seguin, who went top corner on the short side. But Miller was very good for the Canucks the rest of the way. He needed to be. Otherwise, this was a blowout because the Stars, especially the line of Nichushkin, Seguin and Jamie Benn, were all over Vancouver, completely taking over the game before the midway mark of the first period. In fact, the final score flattered the Canucks, who registered just 16 shots on goals, compared to 34 for Dallas. YOU NEED A GOAL, WHO DO YOU CALL? With less than three minutes remaining in the third period, and the Canucks needing a goal to manufacture at least a single point, head coach Willie Desjardins entrusted Brandon Prust and Adam Cracknell to take a shift with Radim Vrbata. Vrbata is still a scorer, despite his struggles. Prust and Cracknell are not scorers.

12 Yet, they re out there at a time when the Canucks need a goal. Surely, there are better options to play with Vrbata, like, say 19-year-old Jared McCann, who was parked right in the middle of the bench at that time. Curious decision. STARS ARE DANGEROUS Nichuskin, Seguin and Jamie Benn were a constant threat for Dallas. It seemed like every time they touched the ice, they made something happen in the attacking zone. In the end, hockeystats.ca had them all well into positive territory in puck possession, with a combined plus-20 in shot attempts for. And it made for another difficult night for Vancouver s moribund defence corps. The Canadian Press December 4, 2015 TSN 1040 Sharp, Stars double up Canucks VANCOUVER - Patrick Sharp scored the winner with 5:59 left in the third period as the Dallas Stars beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Thursday. Sharp took a stretch pass from Dallas defenceman Alex Goligoski and wove into the Vancouver zone before beating Canucks goalie Ryan Miller with a quick shot through the pads for his ninth of the season. Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardins used his challenge to see if the play was offside, but the call stood after review. Valeri Nichushkin, with a goal and an assist, and Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars (20-5-1), who became the NHL's first team to 20 wins this season while also matching the Montreal Canadiens atop the overall standings with 41 points. Jason Spezza added another goal into an empty net, while Goligoski picked up two assists. Canucks continue to sink Canucks GM Jim Benning recently called out his team for a lack of pushback, yet they only managed 16 shots on net in their loss to the Stars. TH2N breaks down Vancouver's fourth straight loss. Kari Lehtonen stopped 14 shots to get the Stars' 10th straight victory over Vancouver and fifth straight at Rogers Arena. Alexander Edler and Jannik Hansen replied for the Canucks (9-10-8), who have lost four straight and 12 of their last 15. Miller made 30 stops for Vancouver, and Henrik Sedin added two assists. Trailing 2-1 through 40 minutes, Vancouver tied the game at 5:31 of the third when Henrik Sedin jumped on a Goligoski giveaway and fed a wide-open Hansen, who cooly beat Lehtonen for his eighth goal of the season. The Canucks were coming off a road trip that included a 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars and had a great chance to grab the lead when Hansen ripped a one-timer wide midway through the third. Dallas blew a 3-0 lead in the third period of Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames and had a great opportunity at the other end when Miller shot out a pad to deny Vernon Fiddler with about seven minutes remaining before Sharp's winner and Spezza's 11th into an empty net sealed it.

13 After the teams traded goals in the first, Dallas took the lead 33 seconds into the second when Nichushkin grabbed the puck behind the Vancouver net and fed a slick between-the-legs pass back to Seguin, who beat Miller on the shortside for his 14th goal of the season. The Canucks were outshot 18-6 in the period and finally provided a bit of resistance with about five minutes to go only to see Seguin nearly bury his second of the night from the slot when the Stars turned back the other way. Vancouver opened the scoring 56 seconds into the first when Edler, whose costly giveaway led to Anze Kopitar's winner in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, fired a shot from the point that found its way through traffic and past Lehtonen for his fifth. The Stars tied things up at 11:09 when Nichushkin outraced Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis before avoiding Miller's attempted poke check to slide home his third. Notes: The Canucks announced Wednesday that Brandon Sutter will miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia. The centre hasn't suited up since Nov The Canucks continue a four-game homestand against on Saturday against Boston.... The Stars visit Edmonton on Friday. Jason Brough Dec 3, 2015 NBC Sports Benning upset that Canucks lost pack mentality versus Ducks Since Jim Benning was recruited out of the Bruins organization and named Canucks general manager, the following things have happened: Derek Dorsett was acquired in a trade with the Rangers and signed to a four-year extension. Luca Sbisa was acquired in a trade with the Ducks and signed to a three-year extension. Bruising winger Jake Virtanen was drafted sixth overall, ahead of smaller but arguably more talented forwards like William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers. Brandon Prust was acquired in a trade with the Canadiens. The common denominator? Toughness. Benning felt the Canucks needed more of it. He won a Stanley Cup in Boston with a big, bad team. Beat the Canucks in the final, actually. Remember that series? Brad Marchand punched Daniel Sedin in the face a few times. Marchand was asked why he did it. Because I felt like it, he said. That answer still stings in Vancouver. So, what did Benning think when the Canucks were pushed around by the Ducks the other night? That Anaheim game was the most disappointing loss for me since I ve been here, Benning told the Vancouver Sun. I just felt that there were instances in that game where last year we (would have) stuck up for one another; when someone was picking on one of our guys it was a pack mentality and as a team we

14 stuck up for each other. For whatever reason, we didn t stick up for each other that game. That was really disappointing for me to see that. Benning clearly believes in the pack mentality philosophy. When the Sbisa and Dorsett extensions were announced in April, here s what he said: Over the course of the year where in scrums and stuff, there d be one guy and he d have to figure it out. But about halfway through the year, we stuck together as a team and that was everybody in the scrums sticking up for one another. And I think a big part of that goes to Derek and Luca for instilling that mindset among our group. The Canucks are back in action tonight against the Dallas Stars. THOMAS DRANCE DECEMBER 4, 2015 Sportsnet Game 27 lessons: Lack of secondary scoring sinks Canucks Kari Lehtonen made only 16 saves but helped back stop the Dallas Stars to their 10th straight victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Patrick Sharp scored the winner with just under six minutes remaining in the third period as the Dallas Stars dropped the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Thursday. Here are five takeaways. Secondary scoring? At the moment the Vancouver Canucks are extraordinarily reliant on Daniel and Henrik Sedin to single-handedly outscore the opposition. When it happens, Vancouver wins. When it doesn t, the Canucks lose. On Thursday night the Canucks scored both of their goals in a 4-2 loss with the Sedin twins on the ice, but that was all the offence the club generated. It wasn t enough to best the high-octane, multifaceted goal-scoring machine that is the Dallas Stars. This iteration of the Canucks isn t the first group to be too reliant on the Sedin twins offensively, but the trend has been extraordinarily pronounced over the past month; magnified by the Sedins playing their best hockey since Since November 1 the Canucks have manufactured 40 total goals in 16 games and 26 of those goals have come with Henrik Sedin on the ice. Vancouver is a top-heavy club. They have a high-end first line and a credible first pair. Like Anklyosaurus, their weak spot is the soft underbelly. The lack of secondary scoring depth has cost the club dearly during a tough 16 game stretch in which the Canucks have emerged the victor on only four occasions. Second pair problems It was a rough night for Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber. Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev chased the Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin line around all evening. Though the most lethal forward line in hockey controlled the run of play with ease, Edler and Tanev actually did a decent enough job keeping them to the outside and limiting their shots.

15 With Luca Sbisa out of the lineup with a hand injury, Vancouver s third pair of Alex Biega and Matt Bartkowski were solid, if high-event. Biega and Bartkowski fared extremely well against the bottom end of the Stars lineup and weren t a total liability when they got caught out against the Benn line. Thursday night s game was won and lost by the Stars middle-six forward lines, who manhandled Vancouver s second pair all night long. Weber and Hamhuis were a -8 and a -10 in scoring chance differential on Thursday night, according to war-on-ice.com and Vancouver was outshot eight-to-one when their second pair matched up against Dallas second or third line. It was appropriate, ultimately, that Patrick Sharp walked easily through Hamhuis and Weber before notching the game winner. Challenging times Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins challenged the Stars game-winning goal on Thursday night. He wanted to check whether the play was offside. It was closer on review than it seemed at first, but it was a good goal and the right call. It was a close call, Desjardins said of Thursday s unsuccessful challenge. That late in the game, you re going to take a chance and see if you can get it. We knew it was close. You have to try to make a call on that one. Desjardins has initiated two coach s challenges one on Thursday, and one in mid-november in Toronto and both occurred following extremely high-leverage third-period goal against. Are we seeing something of a strategy emerging from the Canucks, where the standard for a coach s challenge drops somewhat when the outcome is more obviously the line? Desjardins comments certainly imply that. In addition to their two unsuccessful coach s challenges, the club has also seen two of their goals reversed by the new video review regime (though one of those challenges was initiated automatically). Like the club s struggles in 3-on-3 situations, this season s rule changes haven t worked in Vancouver s favour. The rest controversy Starting goaltender Ryan Miller is struggling. It s evident from the way he s shaking his head after goals against and it s evident from his performance. In 13 starts since November 1, the 35-year-old workhorse has managed a meek.890 save percentage. Vancouver has won only three of those 13 contests. On the heels of Jacob Markstrom s 40-save performance in Los Angeles earlier this week, you can feel the second guessing beginning. It always does in Vancouver. Miller doesn t have to wear Thursday night s 4-2 loss to Dallas. He stopped 30 of 33 shots and was occasionally excellent against the Stars. He looked particularly sharp during the second period when Dallas kicked the Canucks teeth in, but only tallied once despite a flurry of five-alarm scoring chances. He wasn t good enough to win, though. Miller seemed to lose his net on Dallas first-period equalizer, couldn t hold his post and permitted a soft, early second-period goal, and the game winner sailed right through him. It was still, on the whole, a fine game. It just wasn t enough to chase away the ghosts of Vancouvergoaltending-controversies-past, or to settle the wagging tongues in a hockey market that traditionally reveres the backup. Among all NHL goaltenders only Devan Dubnyk and Sergei Bobrovsky have started more games than Miller has. They re both under 30.

16 There s no question that Miller is Vancouver s No. 1 starter. There s also no question that Markstrom needs to play more. I think so, Canucks general manager Jim Benning told Sportsnet s Dan Murphy when asked if Markstrom should start more often. I talked to (head coach Willie Desjardins) about that before the game and coming off of his injury we wanted to make sure we were careful with him coming back, but he s feeling really good right now Killer instinct The Canucks killed three penalties they took in a losing effort on Thursday. It was the first time in seven games that the Canucks too-permissive penalty kill managed to shutout the opposition s power play. And what a power play it is. The Stars are stacked and their first power-play unit is next to unstoppable. Dallas currently ranks second in the NHL with a power-play conversion rate north of 25. Vancouver s much-maligned penalty kill snuffed out the Stars usually threatening man advantage play, denying the zone ably and preventing shots with active sticks and stingy positional defence inzone. In three power-play opportunities the Stars managed just two shots on net and were often made to look out of sorts. Thursday s performance was a positive sign for a group of penalty killers that will face another stiff test on Saturday when the Canucks host the Boston Bruins, the NHL s most lethal team with the man advantage. Friday, Kevin Woodley NHL.com Nichushkin, Sharp lift Stars past Canucks THREE STARS OF THE GAME 1ST VALERI NICHUSHKIN RW G: 1 Shots: 1 A: 1 Hits: 2 PTS: 2 PIM: 0 +/-: 1 TOI: 17:05 2ND HENRIK SEDIN C G: 0 Shots: 1 A: 2 Hits: 0 PTS: 2 PIM: 0 +/-: 0 TOI: 21:21 3RD PATRICK SHARP LW G: 1 Shots: 3 A: 0 Hits: 0 PTS: 1 PIM: 0 +/-: 1 TOI: 16:50

17 VANCOUVER -- It's hard to imagine Dallas Stars forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who are tied for second in NHL scoring, needing help creating offense, but that's exactly what coach Lindy Ruff had in mind when he moved Valeri Nichushkin to their line against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The move quickly paid off. Nichushkin scored on a nice individual effort in the first period before setting up Seguin's goal in the second with a between-the-legs pass, and Patrick Sharp scored the game-winner with 5:59 left in the Stars' 4-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. "[Nichushkin] was really playing really well, and the top line had struggled generating good opportunities," Ruff said. "He has been holding on to the puck really well down low, and I thought it would give that line some possession time and I thought he did a great job." So did Sharp, who had been playing on the top line with Benn and Seguin. Stopped on an earlier breakaway, Sharp received a nice stretch pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski in the neutral zone, split the defense and beat goalie Ryan Miller between the legs from above the hash marks for his ninth goal and a 3-2 Dallas lead. Sharp credited Goligoski for hitting him in stride, but he seemed more impressed by Nichushkin, who had his first two-point game this season. "He had some jump in his game today," Sharp said. "I think he felt good playing with our two big guys there. He scored a beautiful goal, but on that pass, you have seen [Canucks forwards] Henrik and Daniel [Sedin] do that 1,000 times in this building. I feel like it was a good play that a young kid like Val can make. Hopefully, he gets better and better as the season goes on." The Stars outshot the Canucks 34-16, helping goalie Kari Lehtonen earn a win in his first game back after missing three with a neck injury. "They got a couple chances, but overall it was fairly easy for me," Lehtonen said. Jason Spezza scored into an empty net with 1:27 left, and Dallas (20-5-1) completed the three-game season sweep with its 10th consecutive win against Vancouver (9-10-8). After Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler opened the scoring on a point shot through a screen 56 seconds into the game, Nichushkin tied it with his third goal at 11:09. He picked up the puck at center ice and outraced defenseman Dan Hamhuis down the left side before cutting back and around a sprawling poke-check attempt by Miller. Nichushkin set up Seguin's go-ahead goal 33 seconds into the second period with another beautiful play at the side of the Canucks goal. The 20-year-old Russian forward started behind the net and pulled Miller off the post before dropping a backhand pass between his legs to Seguin, who lifted in his 14th goal before Miller could get back to the post. "Those guys are the best guys in the League. It makes me happy to play with them," Nichushkin said of Seguin and Benn. "I like it. Thank you, Coach, for giving me a chance." Nichushkin, who was the No. 10 pick at the 2013 NHL Draft, had a four-point game as a rookie two seasons ago and played for Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, earned it after a slow start this season. "There's no secret, you play well you are going to get to play," Ruff said. "Sometimes it's tough to explain that to a young player, because they think they should get to play whether it's so-so play or good play, and he struggled right out of the chute this year, and I think it's good he's been able to learn from some adversity and come back and play so well for us."

18 Ruff and Sharp were impressed with how well the Stars defended against the Canucks, especially after they blew a 3-0 third-period lead in a 4-3 shootout loss against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. After the Canucks tied it 2-2 on Jannik Hansen's goal 5:31 into the third period, Dallas limited Vancouver to four shots the rest of the game. It's a familiar feeling for Sharp, who won the Stanley Cup three times with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to Dallas on July 10. "We won in Chicago because we protected our net and limited chances," he said. "I know there was some big-time forwards and defensemen there that got a lot of credit for scoring goals, but we knew the identity of the team was defensive first. That's what we're preaching here. We have some worldclass players that put the puck in the net, but when we have success, it's playing well away from the puck, protecting our goaltender and playing from the back-end out." Henrik Sedin had two assists, and Miller made 30 saves for the Canucks, who have three wins in their past 15 games (3-8-4) and are struggling to find offense beyond the Sedins. "We've got to create more," Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said. "You might get some points, but you don't deserve the games. We battled back to get a tie in a game we probably didn't deserve to be tied in. The only thing you can do is work your way out of it. People aren't going to feel sorry for you. We've got to work our way out of it. It's going to be tough." Friday, NHL Public Relations Around the League notebook: Thursday, Dec. 3 THURSDAY'S RESULTS Home Team in Caps Colorado 2, NY RANGERS 1 New Jersey 5, CAROLINA 1 Washington 3, MONTREAL 2 OTTAWA 4, Chicago 3 (OT) DETROIT 5, Arizona 1 Florida 2, NASHVILLE 1 MINNESOTA 1, Toronto 0 Dallas 4, VANCOUVER 2 HOLTBY, CAPITALS CONTINUE STREAKS TO CLIMB STANDINGS... Braden Holtby made 33 saves, including 16 stops in the second period, to extend his personal winning streak to a career-high eight games and lead the Washington Capitals to their sixth consecutive victory overall. * At (37 points), the Capitals pulled ahead of the New York Rangers (17-7-3, 37 points) who lost in regulation vs. COL for first place in the Metropolitan Division, by virtue of having more wins. * Holtby s winning streak is the longest by an NHL goaltender this season. The Elias Sports Bureau adds that Holtby is the first Capitals goalie to win eight or more consecutive decisions in one season since Jose Theodore in (10-0-0). * Holtby also improved to in nine career regular-season appearances vs. MTL (1.40 GAA,.949 SV%, 2 SO). Overall in , he leads all goaltenders in wins (16) and ranks second in goalsagainst average (1.96) among goaltenders with at least eight appearances. * The Capitals improved in their last 12 regular-season visits to Bell Centre dating to Nov. 28, 2009, including five straight wins (MTL: 2-8-2). Overall, Washington picked up its fourth consecutive road victory and improved to away from Verizon Center in