Amid all of the soap opera-caliber chaos of a rift between standout forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, the Vancouver Canucks are riding a three-game winning streak into a Friday night road clash against the Dallas Stars.
With the run capped by a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, Vancouver’s first three-game win streak since the start of November has vaulted the squad into a Western Conference wild-card position.
“I think we’ve done a really good job of playing connected, playing as five,” goaltender Thatcher Demko said. “It goes zone to zone, the quicker we can get back for the breakout and help each other, the better, and that goes for the neutral zone and the offensive zone, too. We just need to continue that stuff.”
The Canucks — entering the final contest of a three-game road trip — have made more noise off the ice than on it in recent weeks. President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford admitted the two star players are butting heads, creating turmoil and fueling trade rumors.
A winning streak can help quiet the noise, and the Canucks know it.
“We had some internal meetings about it being that time of year where we’ve got to string some games together here, and getting the last three is huge for us,” Demko said. “A big test the last leg of the trip here in Dallas and, hopefully, (we can) make it four.”
Coach Rich Tocchet put the focus into a succinct perspective.
“Got to keep moving along, keep grinding away,” Tocchet said.
The Stars, currently in a neck-and-neck battle with the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division, are riding a three-game winning streak of their own.
Dallas is coming off an impressive comeback in a 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. The Stars trailed 3-1 five minutes into the second period before Wyatt Johnston rallied them with a short-handed goal before completing his second career hat trick with the winning tally.
“Wyatt Johnston has been going to another level for probably a month now, so great to see him rewarded for that,” coach Pete DeBoer said.
The Stars, winners of four of five games, have few flaws, but the Vegas win was the first time they won a game when trailing after two periods, snapping a 13-game skid in that situation.
“It’s huge. It always seems like the games with (Vegas), whoever scores first ends up winning,” Johnston said. “So, it’s great to get that comeback win.”
Adding to the accomplishment was how the team rallied after star defenseman Miro Heiskanen left the game before the middle of the third period due to a knee injury.
“That’s sticking with it through adversity,” DeBoer said. “We’ve had a lot thrown at us this year at different points. I like our resiliency.”
The Stars will need to show more mettle going forward. Heiskanen leads the club’s defensemen in scoring and the team in ice time, averaging more than 25 minutes per game. He is not expected to return quickly.
The club has listed Heiskanen as being out on a week-to-week basis, and DeBoer said they will know more after he sees a specialist on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
