VANCOUVER – December 30th, 2021
The Vancouver Canucks extended their winning streak to seven games now under new head coach Bruce Boudreau. The win was a thrilling comeback win that the Canucks took in overtime 2-1. JT Miller scored the winning goal 26 seconds into overtime after Tanner Pearson scored the tying goal 1:21 into the 3rd period.
Some negative Canucks news as forward Justin Dowling has entered Covid-19 protocol early Thursday morning during the rapid testing. He joins Brock Boeser and Phil Di Giuseppe on the list.
Some positive news the Canucks activated Mathew Highmore from injured reserve (IR), he missed a total of 23 games this season with his upper body injury.
The next stop for the Canucks is LA to face the Los Angeles Kings tonight. Jaroslav Halak gets the start against the Kings as Thatcher Demko got the start last night. The Canucks are projected to ice the same lineup as last night except having either defenseman Kyle Burroughs or newly activated Mathew Highmore playing on the 4th line instead of Dowling. The Kings will start goalie Jonathan Quick.
Tonight’s game is huge for the Canucks, if they win, they can leapfrog the Kings and the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific division and jump from 7th to 5th and be 2 points out from being in 3rd place. A win tonight and the playoffs aren’t out of the question for the Canucks who have been a very resilient bunch since the hiring of Boudreau.
The Canucks are supposed to fly home tonight after the game in LA so if they get more positive Covid tests the players or staff can self-isolate at home. The road trip doesn’t end yet however, they play the Seattle Kraken in Seattle on Saturday on January 1st and will fly to Seattle on gameday.