Canucks Hunt for a Lifeline as the Flyers Visit Rogers Arena
Vancouver carries a five-game skid into a meeting with a Philadelphia club that has been even worse away from home than on its own ice.
Written before the game
Two teams at the bottom of their conferences meet in Vancouver, and only one of them badly needs proof that it can still win a hockey game.
The Canucks are 3-15-1 with 7 points, a minus 32 goal difference and a five-game losing streak. They have won one of their last ten, and just one of eight at home. The underlying numbers match the record. Over that ten-game stretch, Vancouver's chances have been worth about 2.34 expected goals a night (expected goals measure how many goals a team's chances are worth), while opponents' chances have been worth about 3.96. That gap is too large to blame on bad bounces.
The Flyers arrive at 4-10-5 with 13 points and a minus 23 goal difference. They have gone 4-4-2 over their last ten, but they are only 1-6-2 on the road.
Both clubs sit eighth in their division and 16th in their conference, and both are still in the playoff race. For Vancouver, a win would not erase the hole, but it would stop the skid at home. For Philadelphia, a road win would answer the clearest weakness in its record so far.