BRING ON THE SENATORS

Coming off a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday night, the Vancouver Canucks (34-19-2) look to get back on the winning track tonight as they wrap up the Eastern Canada portion of their 14-game road trip at Scotiabank Place facing the red hot Ottawa Senators (32-21-4).

STALLED AT SEVEN

We’ve got to realize what our identity is: a defence-first team. This year, we’ve had production offensively. At the end of the day, we’ve got to realize we have to take care of our own end first.- Captain Roberto Luongo on the need to avoid a game of trading chances.

Had the stars aligned perfectly, tonight’s contest between the Canucks and Senators would have featured the two Canadian teams with the longest active win streaks going head-to-head in a battle to determine the undisputed hottest team in Canada. Unfortunately, the Canucks were the ones who were unable to live up to their end of the bargain. 

The Canucks carried a seven-game win streak into their Tuesday meeting with the Habs in Montreal and probably felt they should have walked out of the Bell Centre with an eight-game win streak. However, despite firing a season-high 47 shots in the direction of Jaroslav Halak, the Canucks managed to put just two pucks behind the Slovak Olympian in a 3-2 loss. It was just the second time this season the Canucks have dropped a game to an Eastern Conference opponent (10-2-0) and the first time they’ve lost a game to a team from the Northeast Division (4-1-0). 

While tonight’s game won’t be a battle between two teams with long win streaks, there will be plenty of bragging rights still available as the two top Canadian teams in the NHL standings go head-to-head. The Canucks enter tonight’s game with a two point lead over the Senators and hold two games in hand.

SENS-ATIONAL

The Canucks will be looking to do to the Senators what the Canadiens did to them two nights ago: bring an end to their opponent’s extended win streak. The Senators come into tonight’s game as the second hottest team in the entire NHL having won their last ten consecutive games (only the Washington Capitals are riding a longer win streak with 11 victories in a row entering play Thursday).

I got speared in the members. I think if anyone gets hit there, they are going to go down.- Ryan Kesler on the controversial diving call he was assessed in the third period against the Habs.

The streak looked like it may have been in jeopardy last night in Buffalo after the Sens saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in just 27 seconds after the Sabres scored in quick succession midway through the third period to pull that contest into a 2-2 tie. However, Captain Daniel Alfredsson made sure the Sens would return to Ottawa on a winning note after netting the go-ahead goal with exactly one minute left in regulation time and sealing the deal with an empty-netter to power the Sens to a 4-2 win.

The Senators may be the hotter team heading into this match-up but it’s the Canucks who have had the Sens’ number in recent meetings winning six of the last seven head-to-head contests including both games in the 2008.09 season series. The Canucks have also won in their last three straight visits to our nation’s capital having not lost to the Senators in Ottawa since November 20, 2001. Vancouver’s last overall loss to Ottawa came nearly six years ago on March 13, 2004.

The Canucks and Senators will conclude their two-game season series on March 13, 2010 when the Sens have the privilege of being the first team the Canucks host upon their return to GM Place following the Olympic Games in Vancouver. The Canucks continue their road trip on Saturday with a rare morning Pacific Time affair playing the Bruins in Boston at 10:00am PT.

WATCH IT

Tonight’s game faces off at 4:30pm PT and can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. Listen live on the TEAM 1040 Sports Radio or online at team1040.ca.