Jeff Mattingly previews a Western Conference matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Vancouver is coming off a listless 6-2 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night and now get ready to face a team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the last two seasons. “Every time we play them it seems to be a heated game where its the playoffs or the regular season,” Chicago forward Patrick Sharp stated. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun to play them again.” The Canucks were unable to stop Minnesota’s top-ranked power play last night in missing two of its top penalty killers, Keith Ballard (concussion) and Dan Hamhuis (bruised foot). One bright spot was Daniel Sedin scoring in the opening minute and finding the net again in the final minute. He has six goals on the season tying him with Sharp for second in the NHL.

The Canucks will be meeting the Blackhawks in the first of four meetings tonight and will have revenge on their minds due to last year’s playoff-series loss. Goalie Roberto Luongo is likely to be in net, but is struggling to get started this season, producing an 0-3-0 record with 14 goals against. He was in net for all six of Minnesota’s goals last night and has a save percentage of 79.7 for the season. “He was like the rest of our team. Everybody in that room, starting with me, could do a better job,” coach Alain Vigneault stated. The club is 8-1 in its last nine games playing on zero days rest.

Chicago is poised to win its fourth consecutive game in hosting the Canucks at the United Center and will look for Sharp and NHL scoring leader Marian Hossa to lead them. Hossa recorded his sixth and league-leading seventh goals of the year in the Blackhawks 3-2 victory over St. Louis on Monday night. “He’s got the ability to do a lot of different things out there,” Sharp said of Hossa. “He’s got the size and strength to go through defensemen and he’s got the speed and skill to finesse his way around them.” The Blackhawks have converted six times in their first seven games on the power play, which is a far-different from the unit that finished 16th in the league last year.

The Blackhawks are likely to send goaltender Marty Turco back inside the pipes after stopping 32 of 34 shots to earn his third consecutive win in the victory over the Blues. “He was patient, saw the puck. I thought he was very good again and a big part of us being in the game,” coach Joel Quenneville said. Turco is 18-7-2 with a 1.92 lifetime goals-against-average versus Vancouver, a team that has managed to score more than three goals just once this season.

Bettors may back the Canucks due to the revenge factor and the team’s 22-10 record in its last 32 games in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation. Chicago is a dominating 39-16 in its last 55 home games.
 

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