Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 15th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Vancouver Canucks embark on a four-game road trip as they face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, in pursuit of their inaugural victory of the season.
Last week, the Canucks suffered consecutive defeats on their home turf to kick off the season. On Wednesday, they squandered a 4-1 lead and ultimately lost 6-5 in overtime to the Calgary Flames. This was followed by a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.
According to Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, "We have to be cautious after losing two games in overtime. Can we improve our performance? Absolutely. Are there areas where we can improve our coverage? Of course. However, this is due to some new and unfamiliar players, and I'm not placing blame on them. Some of our players have not had much game time, so there are some coverage issues that we need to work out."
See also:
'Panthers come out on top in NHL recap while Jackets pay tribute to Johnny Gaudreau'
See also:
"Utah Defenseman Sean Durzi Sidelined Indefinitely with Upper-Body Injury"
Forward Brock Boeser has scored two goals in two games, while captain Quinn Hughes has contributed two assists.
The Canucks' two goaltenders have split the first two games of the season. Arturs Silovs allowed all six goals against Calgary, resulting in a 5.94 goals-against average and a .769 save percentage. On the other hand, Kevin Lankinen only conceded two goals before the shootout against Philadelphia and recorded a .935 save percentage. Lankinen has faced the Lightning five times in his career and has yet to secure a win, with a 0-3-1 record, a 4.37 GAA, and an .872 save percentage.
Last season, Vancouver and Tampa Bay split their season series, with the Lightning winning 4-3 on Oct. 19 and the Canucks claiming a 4-1 victory on Dec. 12.
Tampa Bay is returning to action after their Saturday home game against the Carolina Hurricanes was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
On Friday, the Lightning began their season with a 4-1 triumph over the Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C. Nikita Kucherov, who was last season's Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's top scorer, scored a natural hat trick in the third period and also provided an assist in the win.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper stated, "It was a fantastic start against Carolina, but upon reviewing the game, we realize that there's still a lot of work to be done. Our gamesmanship, determination, and competitiveness were all excellent. I loved the way we finished the third period, but we need to put ourselves in a better position to win games in the future. We'll take our two points and continue to push forward this week."
Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman recorded three assists, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves in the victory.
See also:
"Senators Triumph over Kings in High-Scoring OT Matchup: NHL Recap"
See also:
Illness sidelines Panthers' Tkachuk for one week
Jake Guentzel, who joined the Bolts in the summer as a free agent on a seven-year contract, contributed two assists in his debut for the Lightning.
Forward Anthony Cirelli remarked, "There were a lot of positive things that came out of that game, and we did a lot of things well. However, there are still some areas that we need to tighten up. We gave up a few too many odd-man rushes, and there are some small things that we need to focus on and be prepared for the next game."
Tuesday marks the first of two meetings between the Canucks and Lightning this season. The two teams will face off again on Dec. 8 in Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Six different players scored in Tampa Bay's six-goal second period, Carter Verhaeghe tallied his first career hat trick and the Lightning routed the visiting Vancouver Canucks 9-2 on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to a season-high eight games, the club's longest since a 10-game stretch last February.
The Lightning's six-goal period matched the franchise record set in 1995 against Winnipeg. They are the third team to turn the feat this season, joining Colorado and Pittsburgh.
Brayden Point scored and assisted on three goals, and Steven Stamkos posted his 17th tally and had two helpers. Alex Killorn also produced his 17th.
Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Erik Cernak netted for the Lightning, who had 13 players on the scoresheet.
Mikhail Sergachev played in his 200th game, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots to win his 20th.
Elias Pettersson and Loui Eriksson scored for Vancouver. Jacob Markstrom allowed seven goals on 26 shots before being relieved by Thatcher Demko, who made nine saves.
Their first meeting this season was just the second instance in NHL history featuring two teams carrying an active winning streak of at least seven consecutive games.
Pettersson, who will play in his second All-Star Game later this month, skated in and slipped in his 20th marker through Vasilevskiy's pads with just 62 seconds left in the first period.
Johnson zipped a shot on Markstrom early in the second period, and the puck deflected up and went over the goal line for Johnson's 10th at 4:21 to tie it at 1.
Stamkos gave the Lightning their first lead on the power play when Point won a faceoff, and the captain wired a shot from just inside the edge of the right circle at 10:10.
Eriksson's chip of a centering pass hit Hedman and bounced in at 14:05 to even it at 2, but Tampa Bay regained the lead when Killorn raced in and beat Markstrom on a breakaway just over a minute later.
The Lightning took complete control at 6-2 when Verhaeghe, Kucherov and Cernak all potted goals in a 56-second span to chase Markstrom from the game, and Point and Verhaeghe, who scored twice in the third, provided the final margin.