The Vancouver Canucks (16-9-5) travel to face off against the Utah Hockey Club (14-11-5) on Wednesday, December 18th. This game will be played at Delta Center in Salt Lake City and televised on ESPN+. The Canucks are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Hockey Club are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Golden Knights. Puck drop is set for 10:00 ET.

Canucks vs Hockey Club

The Vancouver Canucks Are Coming Off A Win

The Canucks improved to 16-9-5 with a 3-2 win over the Sharks. Vancouver, favored by -1.5 goals, failed to cover the puck line. The total for the game was set at 6.5 goals, but the teams combined for just 5.

San Jose scored first, but Vancouver tied it up in the second period. The Canucks took the lead in the third, and after the Sharks tied it again, Pius Suter scored with 26 seconds left to secure the win.

The Utah Hockey Club Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Utah Hockey Club fell to 14-11-5 with a 4-3 loss to the Golden Knights. Utah held a 2-0 lead before Vegas stormed back, scoring the game-winner in overtime.

The total for the game was set at 6.5 goals, and the combined 7 goals surpassed that mark. Utah, as the underdog on the puck line, failed to cover.

Vancouver Offense Breakdown

Pius Suter found the net twice for the Canucks, bringing his season total to four goals. He scored at 5:19 in the second period and again with just 26 seconds left in the game. Suter took three shots on goal. Jake DeBrusk added his first goal of the season at 4:22 in the third period.

Vancouver took 27 shots on goal but did not score in the first period. They added two goals in the third period, including Suter’s game-winner. The Canucks recorded 25 giveaways in the game.

Hockey Club Offense Breakdown

Utah Hockey Club took 19 shots on goal in their 4-3 loss to Vegas, scoring three times. Ian Cole netted his first goal of the season, while Logan Cooley added his second and Alexander Kerfoot scored his second goal of the year.

Cooley also picked up his 8th assist on Cole’s goal. Nick Bjugstad contributed two assists, giving him 2 on the season, and Jack McBain added his 3rd assist. Maveric Lamoureux recorded his first assist of the year.

Vancouver Team Defense

Defensively, the Canucks will look to improve after giving up the first goal just 2:37 into the 2nd period and another late in the 3rd. Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves with a 91.3% save percentage, while the defense added 5 takeaways and 24 hits.

Utah Team Defense

Utah’s defense gave up four goals, including the game-winner 2:15 into overtime. They had taken a 2-0 lead at the 8:00 mark of the 2nd period, but allowed three straight goals before tying it at 3-3 in the 3rd. Connor Ingram made 31 saves with a save percentage of 88.6%. Defensively, Utah had 8 takeaways and 21 hits.

Canucks vs Hockey Club Trends

• Across their ten previous road games, Vancouver has an puck line mark of 6-4. Their straight up record in these matchups was 8-2 while averaging 3 goals per game.
• Across their last three home contests, Utah has a 2-1 record vs the spread. Their overall mark in these games was 0-3, while averaging 2 goals per game.
• As the betting underdog, the Hockey Club have an puck line mark of just 9-1 in their last ten games. Utah posted a straight up mark of 5-5 in these matchups.
• In their last three games as the betting favorite, the Canucks have a straight up record of 1-2 and an puck line mark of 1-2.

Canucks vs Hockey Club Prediction

For a moneyline pick, I’m taking the Canucks to pick up on a win over the Hockey Club and the road. With the moneyline sitting at -103, I’ll be locking in a bet on the Canucks straight-up.

Our projections have the Canucks pulling out a win as the underdog. But if you’re not as bullish as we are on the Canucks, we’d recommend at least getting a bet down on them to cover the puck line.

With an over/under line sitting at 5.5 goals, we like this game to remain below that mark and recommend getting a bet down on the under.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.