The Vancouver Canucks (23-18-11) host the National Hockey League’s leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche (31-21-2) tonight at Rogers Arena.
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And while the Avs are known for their high-octane offence, the true challenge for the Canucks tonight will be scoring against a Colorado team that comes into action after back-to-back shutout wins.
<h1>What we know</h1>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> Quinn Hughes on ice ahead of morning skate working with skills coach. Moving well. But no word yet on his status for tonight <a href="https://t.co/pohQXqhPoR">pic.twitter.com/pohQXqhPoR</a>
&mdash; Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) <a href="https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1886841553810850076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Captain Quinn Hughes will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Hughes skated on his own before his teammates this morning but left the ice before the group session began. In the middle of his morning media session, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “Not playing the next couple of games, use that as a positive that he is getting rest.” So, the coach may have tipped his hand about the two remaining games this week. The Canucks are 1-2-2 in the five games Hughes has missed this season.
The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Canucks are expected to use the same defence</a> group they did on Sunday in a 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit. That means rookie Elias Pettersson remains in the lineup, while veteran <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-carson-soucy-available-nhl-trade-market-report">Carson Soucy is likely to be a healthy scratch</a> for a second straight game amidst trade rumours that are starting to bubble to the surface.
Thatcher Demko gets the start in goal. He allowed three goals on 14 shots in a 5-3 loss in his last start on Friday in Dallas.
Newcomer <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/tape-shift-by-shift-breakdown-filip-chytils-impressive-vancouver-canucks-debut">Filip Chytil scored in his Canucks debut on Sunday</a>. And after a 23-game goal drought, Pius Suter has scored in three of the team’s last four games. His goal on Sunday was his first at 5-on-5 since a December 6th game against Columbus. 
The Canucks had no power play opportunities on Sunday. It’s the third time in the past 11 games the team has not had the chance to work with the man-advantage. At this morning’s skate, Filip Hronek took Hughes’ spot at the point and worked with forwards Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Conor Garland. The second unit featured Tyler Myers as the lone defenceman with Chytil, Suter, Kiefer Sherwood and Dakota Joshua.
Canucks are now two shy of matching the franchise record for losses in a season beyond regulation time. The 2015-16 Canucks found themselves on the wrong end of 13 overtime or shootout decisions.
Kevin Lankinen used this morning to break in some of the equipment he&#8217;ll wear at next week’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> Lankinen breaking in some 🇫🇮 gear at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> morning skate <a href="https://t.co/M2RTTt6S6E">pic.twitter.com/M2RTTt6S6E</a>
&mdash; Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) <a href="https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1886851283879125278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<h1>The opponent</h1>
The Avs arrive in town having not allowed a goal in 121:10 of game action. They beat St. Louis 5-0 on Friday night and followed that up with a 2-0 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon scored the goals against the Flyers, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves. That was on the heels of Blackwood stopping all 19 shots he faced against the Blues on Friday. The last team to score against Colorado was the New York Islanders late in a game one week ago tonight.
Despite winning three of their last four games, the Avs remain in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 64 points on the season. They are two points back of Minnesota in the battle for third place in the Central Division.
MacKinnon leads the NHL with 60 assists and 80 points. He is three points up on Leon Draisaitl in the scoring derby. Arturi Lehkonen leads Colorado with 21 goals although Mikko Rantanen had scored 25 for the Avs before he was traded to Carolina for Martin Necas. Necas has a goal, four assists and 15 shots in five games for the Avalanche.
Cale Makar leads all NHL defencemen with 19 goals. He is a point behind Quinn Hughes in the defencemen scoring race. Led by Makar, the Avs have the highest-scoring defence corps in the league with 133 points this season.
The Canucks took the first meeting of the year between these teams. Kiefer Sherwood scored all of Vancouver’s goals in a 3-1 victory at Rogers Arena on December 16th. The Canucks will make their lone trip to Denver in their final road game of the regular season on April 10th.
Tonight’s referees: Peter MacDougall &amp; Kendrick Nicholson
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse &amp; Ray Ferraro
<h1>What we heard</h1>
Rick Tocchet on Hughes not playing tonight: “He’s not playing. He wants to gut everything out, but it’s the right move.” Tocchet noted there has been a slight improvement for whatever is ailing Hughes since it was first detected on Friday night in Dallas.
Tocchet on Soucy’s status for tonight: “Well, we’ve all been through it. Sometimes you need a reset or whatever – I hate to say a kick in the ass – a little bit to jump start yourself. We felt he needed that. He might play tonight.”
Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
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The Vancouver Canucks (23-18-11) host the National Hockey League’s leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche (31-21-2) tonight at Rogers Arena.
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And while the Avs are known for their high-octane offence, the true challenge for the Canucks tonight will be scoring against a Colorado team that comes into action after back-to-back shutout wins.
<h1>What we know</h1>
https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1886841553810850076

Captain Quinn Hughes will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Hughes skated on his own before his teammates this morning but left the ice before the group session began. In the middle of his morning media session, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “Not playing the next couple of games, use that as a positive that he is getting rest.” So, the coach may have tipped his hand about the two remaining games this week. The Canucks are 1-2-2 in the five games Hughes has missed this season.

The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Canucks are expected to use the same defence</a> group they did on Sunday in a 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit. That means rookie Elias Pettersson remains in the lineup, while veteran <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-carson-soucy-available-nhl-trade-market-report">Carson Soucy is likely to be a healthy scratch</a> for a second straight game amidst trade rumours that are starting to bubble to the surface.

Thatcher Demko gets the start in goal. He allowed three goals on 14 shots in a 5-3 loss in his last start on Friday in Dallas.

Newcomer <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/tape-shift-by-shift-breakdown-filip-chytils-impressive-vancouver-canucks-debut">Filip Chytil scored in his Canucks debut on Sunday</a>. And after a 23-game goal drought, Pius Suter has scored in three of the team’s last four games. His goal on Sunday was his first at 5-on-5 since a December 6th game against Columbus. 

The Canucks had no power play opportunities on Sunday. It’s the third time in the past 11 games the team has not had the chance to work with the man-advantage. At this morning’s skate, Filip Hronek took Hughes’ spot at the point and worked with forwards Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Conor Garland. The second unit featured Tyler Myers as the lone defenceman with Chytil, Suter, Kiefer Sherwood and Dakota Joshua.

Canucks are now two shy of matching the franchise record for losses in a season beyond regulation time. The 2015-16 Canucks found themselves on the wrong end of 13 overtime or shootout decisions.

Kevin Lankinen used this morning to break in some of the equipment he'll wear at next week’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1886851283879125278
<h1>The opponent</h1>
The Avs arrive in town having not allowed a goal in 121:10 of game action. They beat St. Louis 5-0 on Friday night and followed that up with a 2-0 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon scored the goals against the Flyers, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves. That was on the heels of Blackwood stopping all 19 shots he faced against the Blues on Friday. The last team to score against Colorado was the New York Islanders late in a game one week ago tonight.

Despite winning three of their last four games, the Avs remain in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 64 points on the season. They are two points back of Minnesota in the battle for third place in the Central Division.

MacKinnon leads the NHL with 60 assists and 80 points. He is three points up on Leon Draisaitl in the scoring derby. Arturi Lehkonen leads Colorado with 21 goals although Mikko Rantanen had scored 25 for the Avs before he was traded to Carolina for Martin Necas. Necas has a goal, four assists and 15 shots in five games for the Avalanche.

Cale Makar leads all NHL defencemen with 19 goals. He is a point behind Quinn Hughes in the defencemen scoring race. Led by Makar, the Avs have the highest-scoring defence corps in the league with 133 points this season.

The Canucks took the first meeting of the year between these teams. Kiefer Sherwood scored all of Vancouver’s goals in a 3-1 victory at Rogers Arena on December 16th. The Canucks will make their lone trip to Denver in their final road game of the regular season on April 10th.

Tonight’s referees: Peter MacDougall &amp; Kendrick Nicholson

Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse &amp; Ray Ferraro
<h1>What we heard</h1>
Rick Tocchet on Hughes not playing tonight: “He’s not playing. He wants to gut everything out, but it’s the right move.” Tocchet noted there has been a slight improvement for whatever is ailing Hughes since it was first detected on Friday night in Dallas.

Tocchet on Soucy’s status for tonight: “Well, we’ve all been through it. Sometimes you need a reset or whatever – I hate to say a kick in the ass – a little bit to jump start yourself. We felt he needed that. He might play tonight.”

Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2DpM0CfiuQ

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Scenes from morning skate: Hughes out again, Demko starts for Canucks vs. Avalanche

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