Canucks, Flames slumping ahead of matchup
The Vancouver Canucks could use some home cooking and a healthy Elias Pettersson.
The Pacific Division leaders return to Rogers Arena on Saturday to face the Calgary Flames in the opener of a six-game homestand. The Canucks have won nine in a row on home ice.
Vancouver wrapped up a five-game road trip with a 4-2 loss in Minnesota on Thursday. The Canucks won the first two games before dropping the past three (0-2-1).
"I thought we did some good things on this road trip that we can take back home with us," Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. "At the same time, we (have) got to figure out a way to get wins here."
Pettersson, the reigning Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's rookie of the year, was a late scratch for Thursday's game with a lower-body injury that occurred on a late hit Tuesday in Boston. The first-line center, who has a team-high 23 goals and 55 points this season, is considered day-to-day, according to coach Travis Green.
The Canucks apparently will be without defenseman Oscar Fantenberg, who left the Thursday game early in the third period with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Minnesota's Marcus Foligno. TSN 1040 Vancouver reported Friday that Fantenberg was placed on injured reserve.
Vancouver called up defenseman Guillaume Brisebois from AHL Utica on Friday.
The Canucks fell behind 3-0 in the first period against the Wild and never caught up.
"Believe it or not, I didn't mind parts of our game," Green said. "You don't usually say that when you're down 3-0 after the first period, but it felt like we had some good looks, we missed some good chances. I felt like we were unlucky to be down 3-0 after one."
Green refused to lay blame for the defeat on the absence of Pettersson.
"He's our No. 1 centerman, leading scorer, changes (the team), but it's not an excuse why we lost," Green said.
While the Canucks are glad to get back home, the Flames might just need some time to get away.
Calgary dropped all three games on their just-completed homestand, including a 3-2 defeat to the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
It was Calgary's first game without captain Mark Giordano. Last year's Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman is week-to-week after he sustained a hamstring injury while attempting to take a shot in a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The Thursday defeat left the Flames holding the last wild-card playoff berth in the Western Conference by just one point.
"This needs to be a desperate group right now," Calgary goaltender Cam Talbot said. "You look at the standings, and teams are closing quickly."
The Flames are 2-5-1 in their past eight games.
"Right now, if we're having issues with how we need to play, if we don't understand how we need to play, then we're in trouble," Flames coach Geoff Ward said. "You look at good teams at this time of year, the veteran players and the team drives itself in a lot of cases.
"Right now, at the end of the day, we have to be better, we have to be more desperate, we have to compete harder and we have to understand what our identity is, and we have to play with it."
In the last meeting between the Flames and Canucks on Dec. 29, Vancouver won 5-2 as defenseman Tyler Myers scored twice.
--Field Level Media
