Canucks vs Blackhawks

Tony Sartori breaks down Sunday's NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks, including a betting prediction.

Over his past two starts against the Canucks, Mrazek is 0-2 with a .901 SV% and a 3.60 GAA. One of the worst teams in hockey, Chicago is a disaster both offensively and defensively. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. The Blackhawks are right where one would expect in the standings considering the organization’s efforts to tank for Connor Bedard. However, reality quickly set in for a team with this type of roster construction. Backing up this team is goaltender Collin Delia, who gets the opportunity to beat his former team on Sunday evening. Backing up this inefficient team is goaltender Petr Mrazek. Vancouver has won nine of its past 11 games and five of those wins have been by at least a two-goal margin. Meanwhile, Mrazek allowed four goals in that same contest. At 5-on-5, Vancouver ranks eight spots higher than Chicago in Get up-to-the-minute [NHL Odds](https://www.actionnetwork.com/nhl/odds)here.

These two teams met back on Jan. 24, which was the first game of the Rick Tocchet era, after the Canucks mishandled the midseason firing of coach Bruce Boudreau ...

This was the lineup for Vancouver against Dallas. Seems like Mrazek in for Stalock and Ian Mitchell in for Wyatt Kaiser are the only two expected moves, but that won’t be known for sure until Luke Richardson speaks a few hours before puck drop. Martin was sent down to the AHL about a month ago, meaning it’s been the Demko-Delia Duo — calling dibs on that band name — for the final stretch of the season. To Tocchet’s credit, though, the Canucks have been surging of late with a 10-3 record in the last month and enter this game after a 3-1 win over the [Dallas Stars](https://www.defendingbigd.com) on Saturday night. 2.43 (32nd) — Goals per game — 3.35 (11th) 41.57% (31st) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 47.45% (24th) 43.27% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 47.84% (24th) While Alex Stalock has been commendable at times, there’s a very strong “Davy Crockett at The Alamo” every time he starts making saves. Also, with Stalock starting on Saturday night in the Twin Cities, Petr Mrazek seems like the choice to man the net in this one. The cupboard is not barren here. Although captain Bo Horvat is no longer here after a trade-deadline move to the 24, which was the first game of the Rick Tocchet era, after the Canucks mishandled the midseason firing of coach Bruce Boudreau about as poorly as a professional sports franchise can.

Slick Swede strikes twice in 63 seconds of third period to snap a 1-1 draw, extend point streak to 12 games.

“Being able to work with Daniel Sedin is just amazing and that kind of stuff will help me move forward,” McDonough recently said. His drifter beat Delia to the far side. He had plenty of time to get the puck to Murphy at the point. Eight have come in the last 17 games. However, by surrendering a first-period shorty, they have now allowed the most short-handed goals with 13. That’s admirable with 10 of the efforts coming in the last 17 games. However, the Canucks finally drew even in the second period on a fortuitous play. In the second period, J.T. And when Boeser had a turnover opportunity slide off the blade of his stick with a backhanded attempt, it set the frustration tone. It was a sprawling Delia, who faced Tyler Johnston twice early in the third period, to keep it a 1-1 struggle. You bring winger Jack Studnicka out of lineup purgatory after missing 10 of the previous 11 games as a healthy scratch. “I put Josh up on that line and he’s done a nice job for us,” said Canucks coach Rick Tocchet.

The Canucks travel to the Windy City after opening a three-game road trip with Saturday's 3-1 win in Dallas, and have now won nine of their past 11 overall. The ...

Despite their deepening woes, the Blackhawks managed to put a scare into the Wild on Saturday, mounting a third-period comeback to tie the game before seeing it slip away with a pair of Minnesota goals in the final 71 seconds. With the Blackhawks scoring just five total goals over their past five dates with Vancouver, the UNDER is on a 4-1 run. Overall, Vancouver has held opponents to just 22.5 shots on goal over their past four outings, and with Thatcher Demko starring the crease, the team has surrendered just 2.08 goals per game during a steady 9-3-0 run. The Canucks romped to a 5-2 victory when the Blackhawks visited Vancouver back on January 24, and have now earned the win in 11 of 14 clashes since January 2017 including five of their past seven visits to Chicago. The Blackhawks have put themselves back into the thick of the race for last place overall in the NHL standings with their most recent four-game slide. The Blackhawks closed out a five-game road trip with four straight losses this past week, capped by Saturday’s 3-1 defeat in Minnesota, but enjoy a rare two-game win streak on home ice.

It likely is a matter of time before the Vancouver Canucks officially are eliminated from playoff contention, but they refuse to go quietly.

I think right from the start we played really in their way and frustrated them quite a bit. "I think it goes a long way with the culture." The Blackhawks return home following a 3-1 setback to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. "I'm super proud of the strides he's made. "We're not a group that's just going to pack it in. "That's the goal ...

Scroll down to the comments to discuss the first period of the Blackhawks game on Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks!