Vancouver Canucks Buzz: Game 5 Preview and Lineup Projections

The Los Angeles Kings visit Rogers Arena on Sunday evening hoping to oust the 2011 Stanley Cup finalists and reigning President's Trophy winners from the first round of the playoffs. Heading into Game 5, the Kings lead the series 3-1, and Game 5 marks their second opportunity to advance to the second round.

The Goods & Statistical Numbers

TV: CBC (HD), RDS, NBC Sports Network

Puck Drop: 5:00pm Pacific

Series Score: 3-1 Kings lead over Canucks

Team	Goals For / game	Goals Against / game	Power Play %	Penalty Kill %
LA Kings	2.50	1.75	13.0%	88.2%
Canucks	1.75	2.50	11.8%	87.0%

Note: based on playoffs, not regular season

Projected goalies for Game 5: Jonathan Quick for LA, Cory Schneider for VAN

Projected Lines for Kings in Game 5 (subject to change)

Justin Williams - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown

Dwight King - Mike Richards - Jeff Carter

Dustin Penner - Jarret Stoll - Trevor Lewis

Richardson - Fraser - Nolan

Rob Scudari - Drew Doughty

Willie Mitchell - Slava Voynov

Alec Martinez - Matt Greene

Projected Lines for Canucks in Game 5 (subject to change)

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - David Booth

Alex Burrows - Ryan Kesler - Maxim Lapierre

Christopher Higgins - Sammy Pahlsson - Jannik Hansen

Raymond - Malhotra - Kassian

Bieksa - Hamhuis

Edler - Salo

Tanev - Ballard

Note: Cory Schneider is expected to start his third straight game and Roberto Luongo will serve as backup. Byron Bitz, Dale Wiese, Andrew Ebbett, Andrew Alberts, Aaron Rome and Marc-Andre Gragnani are the healthy scratches.

Kings to Watch Out For

C - Dustin Brown - He has had a dominant series against the Canucks so far, and some of his best craft came here in Rogers Arena. He has provided big hits, goals and speed for the Kings.

G - Jonathan Quick - In two games in Vancouver, Jonathan Quick posted a 2.00 GAA, and a .952 save percentage. The Canucks will have their work cut out for them. They must score more if they want to continue playing.

D - Willie Mitchell - This is a defenseman that you won't often see in the TV highlights. The Kings love him, and he's one of the most important pieces to the puzzle for the Kings. What he does is shut down offensive players such as the Sedin twins, Kesler and kills penalties to a tee.

Canucks to Watch Out For

C - Henrik Sedin - The captain has been playing really well since late in the regular season. With his brother returning to the lineup, Henrik has raised his performance to another level. He quietly leads the team in scoring with one goal and three assists for four points.

D - Dan Hamhuis - Similar to his counterpart Willie Mitchell, the Canucks play Dan Hamhuis a lot against the Kings' top offensive leaders. Hamhuis is a steady as they come defensively, and he has also chipped in with two assists in the series.

G - Cory Schneider - It might be unfair to blame the first two losses on the play of Roberto Luongo. However, Cory has only allowed one goal in each of his two starts in Los Angeles. The Canucks have a tremendous chance of winning if Cory Schneider continues his current form.

Keys to the Game

Kings - Keep the Canucks to the outside, and let Jonathan Quick do the rest. The Kings are one of the best teams at forechecking, and if they can play in position defensively, they will have a great opportunity to steal their third game on the road.

Canucks - As the league's highest scoring team in the first period during the 82-game regular season, if the Canucks can get their game off on the right footing, the confidence will kick in, and make life really hard for the LA Kings. An early goal would get the crowd into it and benefit the Canucks later in the game.

This is Joseph Trenton reporting from Vancouver on the eve of Game 5.