PREVIEW: Gulls Out To Even Series Against Canucks
Oct 29, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls look to get back in the win column when they face the Abbotsford Canucks in the second game of their back-to-back series tonight at Abbotsford Centre (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
San Diego dropped the first game, 7-3, last night in Abbotsford’s home opener. A better start is key - San Diego found themselves down by four after the first period. Although they were able to battle back, this early defensive lapse became too much to overcome.
"I thought the first period, we just got out-skated," Gulls head coach Roy Sommer said following the loss. "We had some breakdowns, and when we did have a breakdown, and they got an opportunity, it was in the net. Just a lot of bad details tonight, I can tell you that. Just looking at the goals against, we just weren't ready to go when the puck was dropped. It was their home opener; you try and talk to them that you have to weather the first five minutes. We didn't do a good job of that."
The Canucks enter the game following a strong outing by their leading scorer, Linus Karlsson. The rookie forward tallied three points in last night’s game and is riding a five-game point streak with 2-6=8 points. Karlsson is also tied for the league lead among rookie skaters. The Gulls will need to be aware of him whenever he steps on the ice. San Diego will look to improve its physicality and bring a more consistent forecheck at even strength into tonight’s game. The team credits this mindset for the success it found in Friday’s loss.
"When we were physical in the second period, we created a lot of turnovers and that's how we scored our goals," Gulls center Benoit-Olivier Groulx said. "We didn't do that in the third period. Tomorrow, it's going to be our main point in our game plan and if we execute it, I think it's going to be a different game for sure."
Lukas Dostal could get the nod after allowing four goals on 10 shots in the first period. However, the team shouldered the blame for the difficult opening period.
"Clearly, they were more ready than us," Groulx said following the game. "They started the game really strong. They competed really hard, they won a lot of 50-50 battles on the boards, and that led them to good offense, and they capitalized on most of them. You have to give credit to them; they came ready. We just have to regroup, look at some video and come way harder than we did today."
The Gulls will look to Rocco Grimaldi to help kickstart their offense and get out to a strong start against the Canucks. In his last two games, he has 1-3=4 points and enters the game as the team’s second-leading scorer. In addition, Groulx is riding a modest two-game point streak, collecting three assists (0-3=3) over that stretch.
"Right now, I think we all know those are big points," Groulx said last night. "It's games within our division. We have to be ready every single night. I think tomorrow is a must-win for us. It builds a lot of character when you get destroyed like that. I think our group needs that. We're going to come back stronger and I think it's going to go our way tomorrow."