VANCOUVER CANUCKS NOTES:
MATCH-UP INFO
• Tonight marks the first of four meetings between the Canucks and Sharks this season: Nov. 27 (road), Dec. 7 (road), Dec. 27 (home), Mar. 23 (home)
• The Canucks are 61-55-9-7 all-time against the Sharks, including a 33-29-5-2 record on the road.
• Vancouver is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games vs San Jose (5-0-0 in their last 5).
• Among active Canucks skaters, Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the team in points (8-17-25) and games played (53).
• J.T. Miller has produced more than a point-per-game in his career vs San Jose with 16 points (6-10-16) in 15 games.
• Thatcher Demko is 6-0-0 in his career vs San Jose, posting a 2.16 GAA and 928 SV%.
• Spencer Martin is 0-1-1 against the Sharks in his career with a 4.02 GAA and .857 SV%.
QUICK NUMBERS
• Brock Boeser has 10 points (3-7-10) in his last nine games and is on a nine-game point streak (3-7-10) since returning from injury.
• Bo Horvat has 13 goals and 17 points (13-4-17) in his last 13 games and is only one goal behind Jason Robertson (DAL) for most in the NHL this season.
• Quinn Hughes has 20 points (0-20-20) this season and ranks first in NHL for assists among defencemen (20 in 17 GP).
• Andrei Kuzmenko has seven points (2-5-7) in his last four games.
• J.T. Miller has 13 points (6-7-13) in his last 11 games and is on a seven-game point streak (4-5-9).
• Elias Pettersson leads the team with 24 points (11-14-25) this season and is on a five-game point streak (5-2-7).
• Luke Schenn is 15 hits away from tying Brooks Orpik (2,946) for the NHL all-time record of most hits by a defenceman.
LAST MEETING – APR. 9/22: VAN 5 vs SJS 1
Jason Dickinson opened the scoring with an unassisted tally at 2:03 in the first period…Conor Garland restored Vancouver’s lead at 4:49 in the second assisted by Alex Chiasson…Alex Chiasson then notched the eventual game-winning goal at 2:07 in the third period to record his second straight multipoint game (1-1-2)…Luke Schenn added a shorthanded empty-net goal, unassisted at 19:59 in the third period…Alex Chiasson led all Canucks in shots (7)…Luke Schenn led the team in hits (5)…Bo Horvat went 20-13 in faceoffs…Thatcher Demko made 35 saves.
2022.23 TEAM RANKS
VAN SJS
Goals For/Game 3.57 (5th) 2.96 (19th)
Goals Against/Game 3.76 (30th) 3.57 (t-28th)
Power Play % 29.3 (t-2nd) 20.0 (22nd)
Penalty Kill % 67.1 (32nd) 90.0 (1st)
Penalty Min./Game 12:42 (29th) 7:36 (3rd)
*Rankings are accurate as of 9:00am PT on November 27
LAST GAME PLAYED – NOV. 26/22: VAN 5 at VGK 1
Brock Boeser opened the scoring on the power play at 9:22 in the first period to match a career-high nine-game point streak (3-7-10)…Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland registered the assists…J.T. Miller notched a power play goal at 18:57 in the first period…Quinn Hughes and Andrei Kuzmenko collected the assists…Elias Pettersson cashed in on the power play at 11:33 in the second period, before Kuzmenko and Bo Horvat each added goals of their own…J.T. Miller led the team with three points (1-2-3) while Hughes (0-2-2) and Kuzmenko (1-1-2) also had multi-point games…Elias Pettersson set a new career-high with nine shots on goal…Kyle Burroughs led all Canucks in hits (6)…Spencer Martin made 26 saves.
LAST 5 vs SAN JOSE
• Apr. 9/22: VAN 5 vs SJS 1
• Feb. 17/22: VAN 5 at SJS 4 (OT)
• Dec. 16/21: VAN 5 at SJS 2
• Jan. 29/20: VAN 5 at SJS 2
• Jan. 18/20: VAN 4 vs SJS 1
SHINING AGAINST THE SHARKS
• The Canucks’ current five-game winning streak (5-0-0) vs San Jose is tied for their longest active streak against any opponent (also 5-0-0 in last five vs Seattle).
• Dating back to the 2019.20 season, the Canucks have scored at a rate of 4.29 goals per game against San Jose, which ranks second in the NHL behind Tampa Bay (4.80).
• Goaltender Thatcher Demko is also 6-0-0 in his career vs San Jose, which is tied for his most wins vs a single opponent (also 6 wins vs Ottawa). Demko is the only goalie in NHL history to have a perfect winning-percentage vs the Sharks with three or more games played.
KUZ CONTROL
Tallying his 9th goal and 9th assist of the season on Nov. 26 at VGK, first-year NHLer Andrei Kuzmenko recorded his third multi-point game in four games, and his sixth so far this season, tied for second-most on the team with Bo Horvat and Quinn Hughes (trailing Elias Pettersson, 7 games). With 18 points this season, Kuzmenko tied Brock Boeser and ranks behind Elias Pettersson (21), Igor Larionov (19) for most points through a player’s first 20 career NHL games in Canucks history.
POWER PLAY PROWESS
Netting 19 power play goals on 52 opportunities in their last 15 games played, thanks to three on the man-advantage on Nov. 26 at VGK, the Canucks’ power play ranks first in the NHL since Oct. 24, producing at a rate of 36.5%. Vancouver is also ranked tied for second in the league overall this season at 29.3% and has the second-ranked power play on home ice at 38.5%.
MOVIN’ ON UP
With the team’s 5-0 victory on Nov. 26 at SJS, Bruce Boudreau passed Tom Renney for sole possession of 13th place on the Canucks all-time coaches wins list with his 40th victory.
EV40
Scoring at 5-on-5 in the third period on Nov. 21 vs VGK, Elias Pettersson tallied his 10th goal of the season, all of which have come at even strength. He is tied with seven other NHL skaters for second-most even strength goals this season (10).
HUGHES’ HELPING HANDS
• Collecting two assists on Nov. 26 at VGK, Quinn Hughes picked up his 20th assist of the season in just 17 games, trailing only Henrik Sedin (21 assists in 2010.11) for most assists by a Canucks player through their first 17 games of a season.
• Previously, on Nov. 21 vs VGK, Hughes passed Sami Salo for sole possession of 9th place on the Canucks all-time assists list among defencemen (164) in 346 fewer games played.
• Picking up a power play assist to extend his personal assist streak to 10 games (0-13-13) on Nov. 13 at BOS, Hughes passed Jiri Bubla (1983.84) for the second-longest assist streak by a defenceman in Canucks history. He is only one of two Canuck defencemen to ever hit a double-digit streak, being one game short of tying Dennis Kearns for the franchise record (11 games in 1976.77).
BO’S BLAZING START
Scoring his team-leading 17th goal on Nov. 26 at VGK, Bo Horvat became the fourth player in Canucks history to notch at least as many goals in the team’s first 21 games of the season.
• With 31 goals in 39 games since March 9, 2022, Horvat has the highest goals per game (0.79) in the League during that stretch (minimum 5 GP).
• Tallying eight goals in five games (Oct. 28-Nov. 8), Horvat tied Mikael Samuelsson (2009.10) and Alexandre Burrows (2009.10) as the only Canucks to do so in the last 26 years.
• Earlier this season, Horvat became also the first player in franchise history to have five multi-goal games in the first 13 games.
HARD HITTING SCHENN
With 2,931 career hits, Schenn is only 15 hits away from tying Brooks Orpik (2,946) for most in League-history by a defencemen.
Schenn has collected the second-most hits in the NHL this season (91 in 21 GP). Earlier this month, Schenn became the first player in
NHL history to record at least three games with 12+ hits in his career following a franchise record-matching 12 hits on Nov. 12 at TOR.
*The NHL began tracking hits in 2005.06.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
• Curtis Lazar activated from injured reserve, Nov. 18
• William Lockwood assigned to Abbotsford, Nov. 18
• Karel Plasek on loan to HC Olomouc, Nov. 17
• William Lockwood recalled from Abbotsford, Nov. 15
• Jack Studnicka placed on injured reserve, Nov. 15
SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Game 23 – 11/25 – SJS 2 vs. LAK 5…Timo Meier (0g, 1a) and Tomas Hertl (0g, 1a) extended their respective point streaks to six games each with an assist on San Jose’s first goal as the Sharks fell 5-2 to Los Angeles Friday. Kevin Labanc (1g, 0a) notched his fourth goal of the season and Alexander Barabanov (1g, 0a) lit the lamp for the second-straight game, extending his point streak to three contests.
SJ Goals: Labanc (4), Barabanov (3)
SF: 31
SA: 29
SJ PP: 0/3
SJ PK: 1/2
W: Quick
L: Reimer
RECENT SHARKS TRANSACTIONS
11/26 Recalled G Aaron Dell from the San Jose Barracuda; placed D Mario Ferraro on IR
11/25 Re-assigned G Aaron Dell to the San Jose Barracuda
11/23 Actived D Radim Simek from IR; placed F Nico Sturm on IR
11/22 Recalled G Aaron Dell from the San Jose Barracuda
11/18 Assigned D Scott Harrington to the San Jose Barracuda
11/14 Placed D Radim Simek on IR; recalled D Nick Cicek from the San Jose Barracuda
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: VANCOUVER CANUCKS
After opening the season with a seven-game skid, the Vancouver Canucks have gone 8-5-1 in their last 14 ahead of the back end of the club’s back-to-back Saturday at Vegas and Sunday at San Jose. The Canucks took the front end of the twin bill by a 5-1 final at Vegas, the visitors scoring the first five goals of the game in the road rout that included three power play tallies from Vancouver. Brock Boeser extended his point streak to nine games (3g, 8a), matching the longest run of his career. After Saturday’s result, the Canucks enter San Jose having won their last three road games and earning victories in four of the last five overall. Nov. 27, 5:00 p.m. PT
SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. VANCOUVER CANUCKS
7-13-3 (17 pts), 7th in Pacific 2022-23 RECORD 8-10-3 (19 pts), 6th in Pacific
1-4-0 LAST 5 GAMES 4-1-0
First Meeting SEASON SERIES First Meeting
62-54-9-7 ALL-TIME RECORD AGAINST OPPONENT 61-55-9-7
2022-23 PLAYER STATS
9 players (23) GAMES PLAYED LEADER 6 players (21)
Timo Meier (12) GOALS LEADER Bo Horvat (17)
Erik Karlsson (19) ASSISTS LEADER Quinn Hughes (20)
Erik Karlsson (30) POINTS LEADER Elias Pettersson (25)
STORYLINES
IN RARE ER…Erik Karlsson continued his historic start to the season by notching his 30th point of the campaign on Wednesday (11/23) at Seattle, becoming just the third defenseman since 1991-92 to reach the 30-point mark in 22 games, joining John Carlson and Bryan McCabe. Karlsson, who has two four-point games (10/29 and 11/1) and one hat trick (11/1) on the season, enters Sunday’s game against Vancouver with 19 points in November, tying a team record held by Brent Burns (March, 2016) for scoring in a month by a defenseman. The Sharks blue-liner’s 28 points through 19 games was the second-most since the turn of the century among defensemen, trailing only Carlson’s 29 (8g, 21a) in the 2019-20 campaign. Karlsson has factored into 30 of 68 goals scored for San Jose this season (44.1-percent). Per NHL PR, the highest-ever rate in the NHL’s modern era (since the 1943-44 season) at which a defenseman factored into team goals for a season was Bobby Orr, 43.3-percent in 1969-70.
IT’S TIMO TIME… Timo Meier pushed his points streak to six games with an assist on Friday (11/25) against Los Angeles, now with eight points and five goals in that span. He notched his fourth-career hat trick earlier this week, Wednesday (11/23) against Seattle. Meier, who took sole possession of 10th on the Sharks’ all-time ranks in goals scored on Nov. 10 and now paces the Sharks with 12 markers on the season, claimed a five-game goal-scoring streak earlier this month (11/1 – 11/11, 6g) and has found the back of the net in eight of 12 November games. He is second in the NHL with 11 goals in November, trailing only Dallas’s Jason Robertson (14). Meier has found the scoresheet in 13 of the past 14 games (12g, 8a). Following Friday’s game against Los Angeles (11/25), Meier leads the NHL with 115 shots on goal.
LO-VEMBER…Logan Couture’s career-long five-game goal streak came to a close on Friday, the captain finishing one game behind San Jose’s team record of six games. Couture has lit the lamp in seven of the past nine contests with four multi-point efforts and 11 points (7g, 4a) in that span. Couture’s previous long came from December 29, 2013 through January 4, 2014, a stretch of four straight with a goal. Couture has totaled 12 points (7g, 5a) in 12 November contests, the fourth-highest scoring total on the club for the month.
HERTL HEATING UP… Tomas Hertl has registered points in six straight, nine of the past 10 games and has five multi-point efforts in the past 12 entering 11/27 vs. Vancouver, most recently with an assist on San Jose’s. The forward registered a season-high three points in San Jose’s 11/5 game against the Anaheim Ducks, including a goal and two assists and has 19 points (4g, 15a) in the team’s previous 17 games dating back to October 20 at New York Rangers. He had goals in three consecutive contests for the first time this season from 11/5 – 11/11 and notched his 400th career NHL point on November 11 with an assist.
CRANK THE POWER… The Sharks’ power play has been hot of late, cashing in on 10 of 35 (28.6%) trips to the man-advantage since the start of a six-game home stand on October 25, the fourth-best in the NHL in that span. San Jose has gone empty in five games in that stretch, including Nov. 10 at St. Louis when the team had zero power play opportunities. The Sharks were 0-for-3 on Friday against Los Angeles.
PRIME PENALTY KILL…San Jose killed off its first 22 penalties of the season before finally allowing a power play goal on Oct. 22 at New Jersey, and enters Sunday’s game as the top PK unit in the league at 90-percent. The Sharks saw a six-game penalty kill shutout streak come to a close on Wednesday, conceding one 5-on-3 goal at Seattle, and allowed a PPG in consecutive games for the first time this season with a LA goal on Friday. San Jose has been operating at a league-best 88.1-percent shorthanded efficiency since the 2022 NHL All-Star break, and the Sharks have the league’s second-best penalty kill percentage since the start of the 2020-21 season (83.9-percent).
COMEBACK KIDS…The Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit en route to a 3-2 shootout victory on November 13 at Minnesota, the team’s first multi-goal comeback win of the season and first since 4/24/22 at Vegas, a 5-4 shootout decision. San Jose has come from behind in four of six wins on the year, including each contest of a three-game win streak Friday (11/11) at Dallas (trailed 1-0), Sunday (11/13) at Minnesota (trailed 2-0) and Tuesday at Vegas (trailed 1-0 and 2-1). San Jose was the first team to earn a win over Vegas when trailing after two periods on the year (the Knights had been 7-0-0). Per NHL PR, the three-game road trip was the first time since March 14-17, 2018 that the Sharks earned three consecutive come-from-behind wins in one road stint. San Jose has erased a thirdperiod deficit in four of the past seven games entering Sunday (11/27) vs. Vancouver, going 3-4-0 in that span.
REIM TIME…Sharks goaltender James Reimer earned his first shutout of the season on Oct. 23 with a 30-save performance at Philadelphia. Reimer’s shutout, his fifth as a Shark, moved him into a tie with Aaron Dell for eighth on the franchise’s all-time shutouts list. He recorded his third 41-save effort of the season on Saturday (11/19) against the New York Rangers, including saves on the first 40 shots he faced in the game. Reimer also owns a .940 shorthanded save percentage since joining the Sharks at the start of the 2021- 22 season, the best in the NHL in that span (min. 10 games played) and the best two-season stretch by a goaltender since the NHL began tracking the statistic in 1997-98 (min. 30 games played, second best is Cory Schneider from 2010-12 with a .936 SV% in 58 GP).
STURM WARNING…Nico Sturm netted his sixth goal of the season during Sunday’s (11/13) game at Minnesota, giving him his thirdbest season total of the year through just 17 games. Sturm had three goals and four points in a five-game stretch from 10/23-11/1, lighting the lamp against Tampa (10/29), Vegas (10/25) and Philadelphia (10/23), and his five-goals-in-eight-games stretch from 10/15-10/29 was the best of his career.
QUICK START KUNIN…Sharks forward Luke Kunin tallied points in each of his first two regular games with the Sharks, recording the secondary assist on Tomas Hertl’s goal on Oct. 7 and scoring his first goal as a member of the Sharks the next day. Kunin’s 21:23 minutes of ice time on Oct. 7 is the second highest he’s logged in his career and the most he has logged since 2019. His power-play marker on Oct. 8 was the first power-play goal of his career and the first special teams goal scored in the 2022-23 NHL season. Kunin had points on each of the Sharks first two power play strikes (1g, 1a) of the season, matching his career high for power play points in a season. Including exhibition and preseason, Kunin scored one point in each of the first six games he played with the Sharks.
GRIER’S GAMEPLAN…On July 5, Sharks president Jonathan Becher and assistant general manager Joe Will introduced Mike Grier as the team’s fifth General Manager and first black general manager in NHL history. The 47-year-old appeared in 221 games with the Sharks from 2006 through 2008 as part of a 14-season, 1,060 game NHL playing career. Just two days later, Grier was with the team as they selected center Filip Bystedt with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. On July 13, the Sharks traded longtime defenseman Brent Burns and signed Matt Benning, Oskar Lindblom, Markus Nutivaara and Nico Sturm on the first day of free agency. A full list of players under NHL contract that have joined the organization since July 5 is below:
Erik Karlsson’s overtime game-winning goal on Oct. 20 at New York (Rangers), assisted by Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl, was the first goal the Sharks scored this season that did not feature at least one of Grier’s offseason additions.
QUINN FOR THE WIN…On July 26, Grier introduced David Quinn as Head Coach of the Sharks and later named Scott Gordon, Ryan Warsofsky and Brian Wiseman as Assistant Coaches, Thomas Speer NHL Goaltending Coach and Nick Gialdini Video Coach. Quinn, who most recently served as head coach for Team USA at both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2022 World Championship, spent three seasons as head coach of the New York Rangers from 2018 to 2021, earning a 96-87-25 record. In his three years, the Rangers held the league’s eighth-best power-play percentage (22.1%), ranked seventh in team blocked shots (4,195) and takeaways (2,244), and were tied for tenth in wins when trailing first (52). Adam Fox, who made his NHL debut under Quinn in 2019-20, was awarded the Norris Trophy following the 2020-21 season. Quinn’s first NHL win was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Sharks at Madison Square Garden with the Rangers on Oct. 11, 2018. His first NHL win with the Sharks was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21, 2022. The 56-year-old recorded his 100th career NHL win on 11/11 at Dallas, a 5-4 final.
