Time: 10:00 PM EDT Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 6G1 / The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Micheal Ferland during the offseason in hopes he could help bolster their top line. Through the first two games, however, the top grouping has not produced a goal. Vancouver coach Travis Green may opt to try some new combinations when the Canucks host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night, or he might give Ferland another try with elite scorers Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Ferland, who scored 17 goals with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, was dropped down to the third line during practice on Tuesday, while J. T. Miller moved up to join Pettersson and Boeser." Obviously, we haven't been good at all," Ferland told reporters after the Canucks' 3-0 road loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. "It's frustrating. I need to be better." Green told reporters after the defeat that he thought the shifts on the top line were too lengthy, causing Ferland, Pettersson and Boeser to lose a lot of steam before they could get off the ice." When you're tired, sometimes you're not as good with the puck," Green said. "They're trying to find some chemistry. They haven't played together a lot. I'm not too worried about it, though. They're going to be fine." The Kings posted their first win of the season on Tuesday night in Calgary, giving up a three-goal lead before prevailing 4-3 in overtime. It was the first victory for Kings coach Todd McLellan, who was hired in the offseason to take over a team that finished with the fewest points in the Western Conference last season (71)." We started the season by saying everybody has to grow," McLellan told reporters after the win. "Whether you're 35 years old or whether you're 20 years old, you've got to find a way to grow. I think our team did that (Tuesday) night. We enjoy it on the plane, we park it and get ready for (Wednesday)." Holding leads remains an early concern for Los Angeles, which blew four leads in its 6-5 season-opening loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday." If we want to be a good team this year, we can't be letting teams back in games like that," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty told Fox Sports West after scoring the overtime winner against the Flames. Doughty would like to see the Kings start out against Vancouver the way they did against Calgary, outshooting the Flames 20-3 in the first period and taking a 3-0 lead at 3:46 of the second." If we can play like we did in the first period for a full 60 minutes, we'll win a lot of hockey games," Doughty said. In addition to finding offense from their top line, the Canucks will take anything they can get out of their power play. Vancouver is 0-for-10 with the man-advantage this season. The Canucks will face a Los Angeles penalty-kill unit that allowed two power-play goals against the Oilers before killing both penalties against the Flames. Ferland is eager to score his first goal with the Canucks any way possible." A couple of games in and you start gripping the stick and you don't play with the confidence that you're usually used to," he said. "I'm just trying to get that first goal and make plays after that." --Field Level Media
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