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Canucks Game Day: Looking for some juice against the Anaheim Ducks

The Vancouver Canucks host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday at Rogers Arena, with Kevin Bieksa in attendance.

Kevin Bieksa was plenty tough during his NHL career, here meting out rough justice to Matt Beleskey of the Anaheim Ducks in a January 2013 NHL game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Kevin Bieksa was plenty tough during his NHL career, here meting out rough justice to Matt Beleskey of the Anaheim Ducks in a January 2013 NHL game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Photo by Harry How /Getty Images files

Anaheim Ducks (3-6-1, 6th in Pacific) at Vancouver Canucks (2-6-2, 8th in Pacific)

Thursday7 p.m., Rogers Arena.

TV: Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650

It’s Kevin Bieksa retirement night.

The heart-and-soul Canuck is signing a one-day deal Thursday to retire as a Canuck, and will be celebrated pre-game. The Ducks are his other NHL team, so it’s a fitting matchup for the retired blueliner now broadcaster.

Bieksa was known for his fiery play, regular spurts of offense and always colorful quips. Will that kind of energy play out on the ice between these two Pacific Division bottom-feeders who both came into the season with playoff aspirations?

Three things to watch in tonight’s game:

New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer (91) scores on Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) in the second period at Rogers Arena.
New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer (91) scores on Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) in the second period at Rogers Arena. Photo by Bob Frid /USA TODAY Sports

In the fours: Neither Thatcher Demko nor John Gibson having goals against averages in the four makes sense, nor does either of them having sub-.900 save percentages.

Neither goalie is off to a banner start.

And you wonder if Demko’s struggles combined with the strong play in two appearances by backup Spencer Martin might lead to a change in the Canucks’ crease.

Demko didn’t have much help on three of the four goals he gave up Tuesday against New Jersey, but he struggled at times last Thursday in Seattle. It’s been a mostly down start to the season for the Canucks’ No. 1 netminder, one of the league’s best goalies last year.

Gibson, on the other hand, is now 29. He’s been no more than average for several seasons now — playing behind a bad team hasn’t helped — and so you wonder if he’s simply on the down slope of his career. The end can sometimes arrive slowly, then quickly for goalies. If so, the Ducks do have prospect Lukas Dostal playing in San Diego, but no doubt they would like to give Gibson more time to find his groove and also have the team play better in front of him.

Swiss cheese: Gibson isn’t saving much, but his defense isn’t helping him much either: the Ducks have yielded the most shots-against-per-game in the entire NHL, 37.9 per contest. The Canucks have given up the 11th-most shots-per-game, “just” 33 per game.

New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Boqvist (70) collides with Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (8) in the first period at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night.
New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Boqvist (70) collides with Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (8) in the first period at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night. Photo by Bob Frid /USA TODAY Sports

Generating offense: The Canucks struggled to create much offense on Tuesday versus the Devils. They need to reel-off some wins in the next 10 games or else their playoff hopes may be gone before they know it.

Yes, they have defensive issues to clean-up but they aren’t scoring much five-on-five and that’s never a good thing.

The Ducks’ offense is sputtering too: they’ve scored just 25 times this season, third-fewest in the league.

Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) shoots past New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer (91) in the first period at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night.
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) shoots past New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer (91) in the first period at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night. Photo by Bob Frid /USA TODAY Sports

A tale of two power plays: Why are the Canucks at the league-average in goals-for, despite struggling five-on-five? Their power play is fifth-best in the league.

Why are the Ducks struggling to score overall? Their power play is second-worst in the league.

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