Canucks visit Edmonton without captain and head coach
Posted January 21, 2014 12:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON (NEWS1130) – The Vancouver Canucks are in Alberta for a game against the Oilers tonight. Edmonton will be facing a Canucks roster that is missing Captain Henrik Sedin.
Sedin is suffering from bruised ribs and an injured finger. He has not missed a game in over ten seasons and his 679 iron man streak is the sixth longest in NHL history.
The Canucks will also be without their head coach. John Tortorella has started serving his 15 day suspension for his actions in Saturday’s fight filled game against the Calgary Flames.
Assistant Coach Mike Sullivan takes over behind the bench and says Tortorella is a big part of the Canucks success, but they need to get wins in is absence over the next six games.
“I think John Tortorella’s presence is important to our team. I think everybody takes their cues off of him. His passion and his energy, I think is what has allowed us to have the success that he has had in this league.”
While we will see coaching and roster changes for tonight’s game, one thing still hasn’t changed and that is the lack of goal scoring the team has provided to start 2014. Sullivan says that needs to change, starting tonight.
“We have been struggling to score goals. We have been struggling to find consistency in our game and that is what we are trying to get back to. We have talked to our guys on a daily basis about how we can do that. Part of it is simplifying the game and simplifying the process and making better decisions with the puck.”
With the hockey world still buzzing from Saturday’s game against the Flames, the players are trying to make it clear they want to move the focus to hockey, including Kevin Bieksa.
“We had our fun and it was another galvanizing game for the team. To win the game was that much sweeter because obviously we weren’t the initiators, but to go through that and to win the game was big for us. Now we are focused on Edmonton. We need points now. We have to move up in the standings and catch teams, and that is what we are focusing on.”
The Canucks have won both meetings with the Oilers this season. Edmonton is expected to start newly acquired goalie Ben Scrivens. The Oilers have already had five different goaltenders suit up for this season. It’s the first time the Oilers have had five different goalies appear in a game for them since the 1989-1990 season.
The game can be seen on Sportsnet Pacific and the puck drop is at 6:30 p.m..
