ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS VS MANITOBA MOOSE SERIES PREVIEW
Winnipeg, MB – After eight days off for the holidays, the Abbotsford Canucks are back in action on Friday and Saturday with back-to-back games against the Manitoba Moose.
Following a series sweep against the San Jose Barracuda last week at home, Abbotsford sits 4th in the Pacific Division at 16-9-1-1, a record good enough for 9th in the AHL. Manitoba is similar in ranking at 2nd in the Central Division (16-7-2-1), and 8th in the league.
The Canucks nabbed their first shutout of the season in a 7-0 home win against the Moose on Saturday, Dec. 3, as goaltender Arturs Silovs made 19 saves for Abbotsford. The following day the Canucks suffered a 2-1 loss to the Moose, with Phil Di Giuseppe scoring the lone goal for Abbotsford.
Most recently, Abbotsford put up 6-2 and 6-3 wins against San Jose at home. Defenceman Christian Wolanin continues to lead in Abbotsford points (33), good for third in the AHL. The blueliner also leads both the team and the league in assists with 29.
Canucks forward Linus Karlsson leads all AHL rookies with 21 points this season. Karlsson’s eight goals rank second on active Canucks skaters, behind Will Lockwood. Lockwood’s 12 goals mark a career high for the 24 year-old, three more than he tallied in 46 games last season.
Manitoba most recently swept a series against the Iowa Wild with 5-3 and 4-3 wins. Alex Limoges leads the team in points with 23. Manitoba’s Jeff Malott sits 5th in the league in goals amongst active skaters with 15. Malott also sits in 4th for power play goals with 7. Leading the Moose in assists is Declan Chisholm with 18. The Moose have been showing up with their goaltenders this season, as a pair of rookies, Arvid Holm and Oskar Salminen, rank in the top-25 in the league with .923 and .902 save percentages, respectively. Abbotsford’s Arturs Silovs sits 39th with a save percentage of .889.
Special Teams
Power Play %
ABB: 22.4%, MB: 23.78%
Power Play Goals For
ABB: 28, MB: 22
Penalty Kill %
ABB: 74.3%, MB: 94.6%
Fast Facts
Abbotsford blueliner Wyatt Kalynuk is out of this weekend’s lineup after competing with Team Canada in the 2022 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
Abbotsford’s leading scorer Lane Pederson was called up to Vancouver in mid-December. He has tallied 3 points in 5 NHL games (1G, 2A) this season.
Travis Dermott was called back up to Vancouver and activated off of LTIR on Thursday, December 29th.
Manitoba Rookie Colin Bilek is second in the league for penalty minutes per game. On average he records 7 PIM each match.
Manitoba defenceman Ville Heinola was called up to the Jets in mid-December under emergency circumstances. He has tallied 10-points so far this season with the Moose.
Both games this weekend will take place at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, home to both the Moose and Winnipeg Jets.
Abbotsford will head to the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary following this weekend’s series, taking on the Calgary Wranglers on January 2nd and 4th.
The Canucks play their first home games of the New Year on January 6th and 7th against the Henderson Silver Knights.