NHL: Canucks Play Dallas After Brutal Night In Chicago

The Vancouver Canucks haven’t done well lately even with winger Daniel Sedin in the lineup. What kind of effort will they be able to muster against the Dallas Stars because their top goal-scorer is unable to play?

Sedin, who leads the Canucks with 30 goals, took an elbow to the head from Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith during their 2-1 overtime loss to Chicago Wednesday night. The forward has returned to Vancouver for further evaluation.

The Canucks doesn’t need any more bad news. They’re already missing defenseman Keith Ballard with a concussion, and the team is reeling in their last 10 games with a 3-5-2 mark including losses in four of their last five and six of their last eight. The team has scored two goals or less in five of their past 10 games; the Canucks started this road trip by being shut out in Minnesota 2-0 last Monday. In Dallas, they face the prospect of losing three in a row for the first time this season.

The hosts, meanwhile, have won seven of their previous nine contests, and five of their last seven games at the American Airlines Center. However, while the Canucks’ losses don’t hurt them in the standings, the Stars don’t have that luxury. As of this writing, they are on top of the Pacific Division with 85 points. A closer look reveals Los Angeles and Phoenix are breathing down their necks, and the Kings and Coyotes are eighth and ninth in the conference.

One of those teams is probably not going to make it into the post-season, so each of the nine games remaining in their schedule is a must-win for the Stars. Mike Ribeiro is leading the late-season charge, notching assists in all three regular-time tallies in their previous game against Phoenix and scoring the shooutout winner to boot. Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson have also made significant contributions down the stretch.

As for the Canucks, head coach Alain Vigneault is known for juggling his lines, so without Daniel Sedin he’ll have to mix and match until he finds a combination which works. Mason Raymond is rumored to have the first crack at filling the hole in the top line. It’s also likely that Cory Schneider will get the start over Roberto Luongo in net.

Given the circumstances, the NHL betting line generally favors the home team, and it does so here as well. Bettors should note, though, that the Canucks have won nine of 12 previous meetings between these two teams.