The important thing to take away from last night's loss in Vegas is that we should all be panicking and the sky is most definitely falling, right?
Vancouver Canucks (46-21-8) vs. Arizona Coyotes (31-38-5)
7pm PDT; 10 p.m. ET
TV: Sportsnet Pacific, SCRIPPS
Radio: Sportsnet 650
Before we get started, I just want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who reached out as I have been trying to deal with the health-related knucklepuck that's been thrown at me. The response and the love was truly humbling, and gave me strength in the recovery process. I'm down a kidney, and in two weeks I will begin my first treatment in a year of immunotherapy to help my body fight off any further outbreaks of cancer. I'm going to try my best to keep contributing through this, as we prepare for the first real playoff run in almost a decade.
So, there's no way to sugar coat it. Last night sucked. Yes, the officiating was bad, and was definitely a factor, but the Canucks lost that game, plain and simple. It would be easy to look at the last couple weeks and say well, they lost to Colorado, Dallas and now Vegas, obviously they can't hang with the big boys. I don't buy that. The first two losses could easily have been wins, and the Avs and Stars won hard fought games that were decided by one mistake. Last night? It was a comedy of errors, compounded by two officials who have been making a strong case for genuine bias against a particular team.
Yeah, it was an ugly loss, and there was little to find that you could be positive about in it, but we need to look at the big picture here, folks. It doesn't erase a year of hard work, and let's face it: it's better to shit the bed now than after April 20th. Are there concerns? Of course there are. No one's trying to say that the Canucks are a sure thing to go all the way, and if they are, they're wrong. What they are is a good team, that, when they're healthy, with their all star goaltender in the crease, they are one of the better teams in the NHL this season. Don't buy into the mindset that anything less than a Cup this year is a failure, either. The only failure would be a first round sweep, and with Thatcher Demko in goal I just can't see that happening no matter who they play.
What is happening with this team right now is probably helping far more than it's hurting them. Look back at last year's Boston Bruins. They were on cruise control through the whole season, and looked untouchable. They faced adversity for the first time in Round One and folded under that pressure.
The playoffs are hard. None of these teams are going to be an easy matchup, and the more the Canucks see they can't bring anything less than 100% of the style of play that saw them utterly dominate some of the league's better teams this season, the better. I mean, it's possible some guys are playing hurt, and we saw just how important Dakota Joshua has become to this hockey club when he returned after six weeks away to heal a broken hand. It's been said by many smarter than myself: Trust the process.
There's a long way to go in this battle to bring this franchise back to respectability, and none of us expected things to go the way they have this season. And while they may be ahead of schedule, whatever happens shouldn't dampen your hopes for the Canucks. It was supposed to be a 'maybe they can battle for a wild card spot' kind of year, and instead, they'll head into the post-season with home ice advantage. That alone is huge, and trust me: it's not lost on the guys in that room, especially the ones who were part of the bubble playoff team in 2020.
Just breathe and enjoy this. It's just the start of things being better, and this whole season has been such a joy after a decade of abject misery. It's fun again, and I refuse to lose sight of that.
LINEUPS
The following lineup was scrawled into the dirt on an ACME delivery truck that was heading off to deliver to some schmuck trying to catch a roadrunner... or maybe it was on the ol nhl dot com thingy...
10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNP
Canucks projected lineup
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- J.T. Miller -- Conor Garland
Ilya Mikheyev -- Pius Suter -- Sam Lafferty
Vasily Podkolzin -- Teddy Blueger -- Arshdeep Bains
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Nikita Zadorov
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Noah Juulsen
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Elias Lindholm (upper body)
Coyotes projected lineup
Clayton Keller -- Nick Bjugstad -- Nick Schmaltz
Lawson Crouse -- Logan Cooley -- Dylan Guenther
Matias Maccelli -- Jack McBain -- Josh Doan
Liam O’Brien -- Alex Kerfoot -- Michael Carcone
J.J. Moser -- Sean Durzi
Juuso Valimaki -- Michael Kesselring
Travis Dermott -- Josh Brown
Connor Ingram
Karel Vejmelka
Scratched: None
Injured: Barrett Hayton (lower body)
Arturs Silovs gets the nod tonight, coming off a fantastic performance Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks at home. And while it's 3 games in 4 nights for the Canucks, expect them to come out fired up after a sub-par performance last night, and also because these are two teams that have been developing a genuine dislike for each other.
GAME DAY CHATTER
With a 60 minute effort and no passengers tonight, they can get things back on track as they have a huge game Saturday night against the Kings. The good news is, they could have Demko back, as he will be eligible to come off LTIR this weekend. Start treating every game like the playoffs have already started, and we'll see where this goes.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
I'm sorry you were all subjected to the ahem, musical choices that Westy provided in my absence, but I assure that I will make amends, starting now. And since the Canucks are in Arizona tonight, how about a brand new one from OG AZ thrashers ATROPHY? A long awaited new album is coming soon, and from that disc called 'Asylum' on Massacre Records, this is 'Punishment For All'.
It's really good to be back, especially with a potential for an honest to god playoff run that starts in a couple weeks. I'm glad to be able to be here with you guys for this. LFG!
Coming off a frustrating overtime loss, the Canucks head into the All Star break with one last game, and a chance to make amends for another frustrating overtime loss as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets.
CANUCKS (31-11-5) at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (15-23-9)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET PACIFIC, SN1, CITY TV
In a way, I kind of feel sorry for Teddy Blueger. I mean, dude rolls out a 3rd period hat trick including the tying goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation, and all everyone is talking about is Elias Pettersson.
Was it a blown call? By this season's standards, absolutely. Was he the reason they lost in OT? Absolutely. Was head coach Rick Tocchet right to call EP40 out after the game? Absolutely. Was it excessive? Absolutely not. Was it blown out of proportion by the media? Absolutely not. I know it's really bog standard to call out the media anytime someone thinks they were out of line, but when the harshest reporting on it came from the rights holder, I think Tocchet's complaint doesn't hold up. It'd be a shame to see him be less than as honest as he's been since taking the reins in Vancouver, because it's been such a revelation.
After tonight, the Canucks have 33 games remaining, and their schedule in February after the All Star Weekend is absolutely brutal. It kicks off with a 5 game Eastern swing that sees them run the gauntlet of Carolina, Boston and a weekend pre-noon Pacific time back to back in Detroit and Washington. They follow that up with a game in Chicago before returning home. That is a stupid amount of travel, especially the back and forth between Boston, Detroit and Washington. And it's not just this trip. They face the Bruins twice this month, as well as twice against Detroit, plus Colorado, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. 13 games in 24 days. If they can come through this with a winning record, there's a good chance they'll be able to hang onto the division lead.
And after a game that was a bit of a deviation from what we've been used to this season in terms of complete efforts, we're hoping that tonight we see the Canucks come out all guns blazing against a team that definitely took advantage of a road weary Vancouver squad last time they met.
The Blue Jackets haven't forgotten how to battle, and came through with a big win over the Calgary Flames Thursday night, but there's really no excuse for the Canucks to not show up for this one, looming vacation or not.
LINEUPS
Written on a sandbag as everyone prepares for another atmospheric river adventure is tonight's lineup, though it also might have been nhl dot com...
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Cole Sillinger -- Yegor Chinakhov
Adam Fantilli -- Boone Jenner -- Jack Roslovic
Kent Johnson -- Dmitri Voronkov -- Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier -- Sean Kuraly -- Justin Danforth
Zach Werenski -- Erik Gudbranson
Ivan Provorov -- Damon Severson
Jake Bean -- Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Emil Bemstrom, Mathieu Olivier, Nick Blankenburg
Injured: Adam Boqvist (upper body), Patrik Laine (clavicle)
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Ian Cole -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Linus Karlsson, Mark Friedman
Injured: Carson Soucy (hand), Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Can we be blunt here? If the Canucks get bogged down in another low event game against a team whose top defensive pairing includes Eric Gudbranson, and without Patrik Laine, they should be put on blast.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
I saw a documentary piece on Youtube the other day, that looked at the increasing numbers of females making an impact in the metal world. It was an interesting look at the things women have to endure to make it in a male dominated industry, but also about how metal is growing and living up to its ideals of being welcoming to anyone. One of the bands feature was SLAVES TO SIRENS, an all female band from Lebanon. This is a band that literally breaks laws to exist, and that my friends is metal as fuck.
So enjoy the game tonight, and make sure to check back as we get you set up for the All Star Canucks Takeover of Toronto as well as the stretch run and the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. Go Canucks Go!
No Lotto luck, no problem! The Sabres kept the Canucks All Star Game bound trio off the scoreboard, and still lost. Sam Lafferty FTW, bitches! So after a grueling, playoff-style win the Canucks managed to get to Columbus to take on the lowly Blue Jackets in an early game to end this road swing.
CANUCKS (29-11-3) at BUFFALO SABRES (13-21-9)
NATIONWIDE ARENA, COLUMBUS, OH
10:00 AM PST
SPORTSNET PACIFIC
To say this road trip's been a success is a massive understatement. After a frustratingly close loss in St Louis, the Canucks ran roughshod over some of the best in East, each one more impressive than the last, wrapping it up with a gritty 1-0 win in balmy Buffalo Saturday afternoon.
After the loss in St Louis, as we've seen all season from Rick Tocchet and his staff, they set out to make a few tweaks to address what didn't work in the previous game. So after a rare lack of offensive output against the Blues, Tocchet reunited the Lotto Line and they absolutely dominated the Devils, Rangers, Islanders and Penguins. 27 combined points, led by Elias Pettersson who set an NHL record with 4 consecutive game winning goals on the road.
Each game showcased some of the different facets of the Canucks new era, and in a way, the win over Buffalo Saturday was as impressive as the wins over the Rangers and Penguins.
While playoff hockey is but a dream for the Canucks expansion cousins, the game had all the feeling of a meaningful post-season battle. Two goaltenders stopping anything thrown their way. hits that had a little more oompf to them than your usual January afternoon contest, and so much downright feeling and emotion, something we've not seen in years.
And from the way J.T. Miller laid out a tough (but legal) hit, then answered the bell twice for it, to the composure the Canucks showed when the Sabres relentlessly targeted Pettersson and Quinn Hughes while the officials flat out refused to get involved. It would have been easy to give the Sabres what they wanted (and get suckered into even more penalties in the process), but the Canucks stayed composed, killed off the penalties, and got another stellar performance from Thatcher Demko for their 5th straight road win.
And that leads us to today's game. And while common sense tells us this should be an fairly simple two points, given how not so good the Blue Jackets are, and all the injuries to some of their best players they're dealing with, it has all the makings of one of those trap games that we've seen bite the Canucks on the ass over the years.
Fortunately, we've seen few examples of not taking an opponent seriously this season, save for that one loss to the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks taking a night off just isn't really a thing with Rick Tocchet, and that's one of the reasons they're sitting atop the NHL standings at the moment. Would you risk mailing it in with Rick Tocchet watching you?
And it plays right into the Canucks mindset under Tocchet: They haven't won anything yet, so no one should be surprised if they lay a beating on the BJ's on this American holiday Monday. The Canucks are for real, and here's something people need to wrap their heads around: They haven't even played their best hockey this season. There's something happening in Vancouver that no one saw coming, at least not this early, but if you're not on board to just have some fun, and see where this goes, you should be. It's amazing to have not just fun, entertaining hockey to watch again, but a team that doesn't stress us out as we watch talented players wasting years of their prime with no help. There's hope again, and damn is it good to feel this way again.
LINEUPS
Scrawled in nacho cheese sauce along the side of that god-forsaken cannon was this potential lineup. It was also reportedly found on nhl dot com...
Canucks projected lineup
Elias Pettersson -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Pius Suter -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Linus Karlsson, Noah Juulsen
Injured: Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Cole Sillinger -- Yegor Chinakhov
Kent Johnson -- Adam Fantilli -- Emil Bemstrom
Dimitri Voronkov -- Jack Roslovic -- Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier -- Sean Kuraly -- Justin Danforth
Damon Severson -- Adam Boqvist
Ivan Provorov -- Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean -- Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin
Scratched: David Jiricek, Mathieu Olivier, Daniil Tarasov, Brendan Gaunce
Injured: Boone Jenner (jaw), Patrik Laine (clavicle), Nick Blankenburg (upper body), Zach Werenski (ankle)
It would appear that the Jackets aren't going to try and go for the feel-good story and start former Canucks Spencer Martin and Brendan Gaunce. They will have Erik Gudbranson though, so uh, yeah. They will want to make sure that 2nd line with Lower Mainland native Kent Johnson and 2nd overall pick from last year's draft Adam Fantilli don't get the time and space needed to create havoc.
It looked like Casey DeSmith was going to get the start on Saturday, which instead went to Demko as we know. Now they're showing Demko as the starter today so who knows? No other changes as the Canucks look to notch a season high sixth straight win.
GAME DAY CHATTER
These are the kinds of hardships that will make them battle ready for the postseason...
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
This past weekend was a massive one for Vancouver metalheads as 3 Inches of Blood reunited to play three sold out shows at the Commodore Ballroom. One of the best metal acts this country's ever produced, and it sucked that I couldn't be there to see them live one last time. Still holding out hope this'll spark the desire for a new album though. There's a full video of night one on youtube, but we'll give you 'Deadly Sinners', a hell of a pump up tune to get you ready for today's game.
Enjoy this daytime hockey if you can, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
The Canucks, with Elias Pettersson leading the way, are on an absolute tear through the Eastern Conference right now, and this afternoon they have a chance to put the cherry on their first ever NY/NJ road sweep with a win over their expansion cousins in Buffalo.
CANUCKS (28-11-3) at BUFFALO SABRES (18-20-4)
KEYBANK CENTER, BUFFALO, NY
1:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET
For the past few seasons, we've been frustrated as writers trying to come up with new and innovative ways to tell you that the Canucks were awful. Now, we're being put to the test trying to wrap our heads around a potential Cup run. It's a good problem to have, but we'll do our best to not get cocky about anything, lest we upset our betters. It's important, as we have been reminded this week, that we as fans know our place and keep our bloody mouths shut.
Heh.
Heading into this road trip, it had all the bearings of a win some/lose some kind of jaunt, especially after the inauspicious start to this seven game road swing in St Louis. Since then, the Canucks, faced with a gauntlet of playoff quality teams have rattled off four straight wins. And each of these wins just absolutely ring like a team making a statement that the era of soft, ineffective hockey is over in Vancouver.
With a management team that has literally done what Jim Benning told us he could do, and failed miserably at, to a coaching staff that has gotten a complete buy-in from the entire room to transform how they play the game, the Vancouver Canucks went from a potential Draft Lottery winner to a potential Stanley Cup threat in a year and a half. You know, just like Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin did in Pittsburgh.
It seems like every week there's something that's happening with the Canucks that is making the league take notice, and with the four wins over the last week against some of the best in the East, it's been the play of the reunited Lotto Line, most specifically Elias Pettersson, leading the way.
Over the last month, it was the Canucks bottom 6 forwards leading the way, but on this trip, it's been the team's best players at their absolute best. Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser have terrorized the opposition since being reunited a week ago in New Jersey, combining for 13 goals and 12 assists.
And how about the offensive contributions from the back end on this trip? 3 goals and 12 assists as the Canucks defence, led by Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek prove the old adage: The best defence is a good offence. It's been production on a scale we haven't seen in a long time in this market, perhaps ever.
This brings them to Buffalo, taking on a Sabres team that find themselves in familiar territory. It seems like every season, they head into October with a roster that on paper should at least have them competitive, and hope that better days lie ahead. And every season, by this time, they find themselves seven points back of a playoff spot, and more likely to have a shot at a top five draft pick next season than hosting a playoff game at KeyBank.
If there's a plan in Buffalo, it's not clear apart from maybe they're playing the long con and they'll surprise everyone next year. But as for this season, this should be, especially the way the Canucks are playing right now, a long afternoon in Buffalo for the hosts. But hey, don't feel bad for them. They've still got the Bills.
LINEUPS
The following lineup was written in wing sauce and scrawled on the underside of a broken table in the parking lot at Highmark Stadium. Or it was nhl dot com, I think...
Canucks projected lineup
Elias Pettersson -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Pius Suter -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Casey DeSmith
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Linus Karlsson, Noah Juulsen
Injured: Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Sabres projected lineup
Casey Mittelstadt -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka -- Dylan Cozens -- Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway -- Peyton Krebs -- Zach Benson
Eric Robinson -- Zemgus Girgensons -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Erik Johnson
Ryan Johnson -- Connor Clifton
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Devon Levi
Scratched: Victor Olofsson, Henri Jokiharju
Injured: Jeff Skinner (upper body)
After a solid performance against the Islanders on Tuesday night, it's nice to see Casey DeSmith rewarded with another start today. Load management, baby! Other than that, it's status quo as the Canucks continue to stay healthy and all that. The Sabres could be without Tage Thompson today, as he's been dealing with an injury and we likely won't know til closer to game time if he's good to go.
GAME DAY CHATTER
Something to keep in mind for today's contest.
Is that good? It seems good, but we wouldn't want to come off sounding cocky...
Can't imagine who that might have been, but my guess is some guy in marketing named Dancesco Squaquilini...
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
With 2024 set to see some seriously kickass releases in the metal realm, New Orleans thrashers EXHORDER have thrown down the gauntlet early ahead of their album release in March with 'Year Of The Goat'. The first single off 'Defectum Omnium', due March 8th worldwide on Nuclear Blast Records, this is one of the best tracks they've done since Pantera stole their sound off 'Slaughter In The Vatican' and 'The Law'. Crank this one and enjoy a cold brew before some Saturday afternoon Canucks hockey!
Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
Coming off a massive win in New Jersey as they continue this tough seven game road trip, the Canucks now face a back to back against the New Yorks, with the Eastern Conference leading Rangers first up. Time for a little payback, perhaps?
CANUCKS (25-11-3) at NEW YORK RANGERS (26-10-2)
MADISON SQUARE GARDENS, NEW YORK, NY
4:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET
Saturday's win in New Jersey was far more than just an important two points for the Vancouver Canucks. Bouncing back from a disappointing loss in St Louis, as well as a massive confidence boost to get their first win in New Jersey since 2013 sets them up rather well for a battle against the Eastern Conference leaders, the New York Rangers.
The Rangers are just a point ahead of the Canucks in the overall standings, and a regulation win will see Vancouver leapfrog them and move into 2nd overall, as well as getting them to within one point of the Western Conference leaders, the Winnipeg Jets.
The last time these teams met was in October, as the tail end of a back to back at home for the Canucks. The game was as billed, two of the NHL's top teams in the standings going toe to toe, and it appeared to be headed for a shootout to decide it when a brutal non-call in OT in the Rangers favour directly led to the OT winner from K'Andre Miller.
That game also featured a moment that will live in Canucks history:
The Canucks have gotten a massive contribution from the rest of their Dcore this season compared to the last few, and they'll likely need it again tonight against the Rangers. And as Jeff Paterson wrote over at Canucks Army, the goalies aren't the only ones who could use a rest. Defensive load management should be something this team is engaging in the rest of the way.
This game is another measuring stick for the Canucks, and having acquitted themselves well in a number of these tests so far this season, we're eager to see how they match up in the last opportunity before they meet for a rematch of the 1994 Finals. Can you imagine? Also, skate jersey full time in the playoffs, please, including a white version. Do it already!
LINEUPS
Written in green ooze on the underside of a manhole cover in the Bronx, was this potential lineup for tonight. Rumour has it, you can also find it on nhl dot com...
Canucks projected lineup
Elias Pettersson -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Pius Suter -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Mark Friedman, Linus Karlsson
Injured: Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Rangers projected lineup
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere
Brennan Othmann -- Nick Bonino -- Jonny Brodzinski
Will Cuylle -- Barclay Goodrow -- Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Zac Jones
Injured: Kaapo Kakko (lower body), Filip Chytil (upper body), Tyler Pitlick (lower body)
Nikita Zadorov is back in after missing Saturday, but he'll be going into Juulsen's spot to skate with Ian Cole, and the pairing of Myers and Soucy remains for now. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see some shuffling to address the issues a team like the Rangers can give a team, though.
GAME DAY CHATTER
Well, so much for the load management. Shame, because Juulsen's been steadily improving since he came back from the stretch of 11 straight healthy scratches. I mean, there's not a lot to complain about right now, but he's earned his spot.
What a difference a year makes, eh?
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
What am I supposed to do here, not introduce you to a band called NEON CHICKEN? Of course I am, dammit. This Australian one man band released its debut EP last year entitled 'Industrial Slavery' and it's a solid slab of modern thrash with some serious guitar chops. Sure, a lot of these one person projects never add members and play live, but that's no reason to discount them. Silly name aside, this is a promising debut.
After a frustrating loss in St Louis, the Canucks have some issues to address with the top 6 and getting them back in gear. It's Saturday, so maybe it's time to roll with 6/49 and bring back the Lotto Line?
CANUCKS (24-11-3) at NEW JERSEY (21-14-1)
PRUDENTIAL CENTER, NEWARK, NJ
4:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET PACIFIC, SN1
One of the great things about this year's version of the Canucks, is that games like Thursday's loss in St Louis have been rare this year. They're a little distressing, and something that needs to be nipped in the bud. Probably the two most glaring issues from that game were the Canucks losing a fucktillion faceoffs, and missing the net a fucktillion times. Making things easy for Jordan 'Where exactly were you three years ago today?' Binnington isn't something any team should do, lest the braintrust at Hockey Canada be fooled he's somehow supposed to lead Canada to glory at the upcoming World Cup Of Hockey next year.
So while the Bottom 6 continue to wreak havoc against their opponents, the top 6 have been alarmingly quiet. Yes, Elias Pettersson notched two earlier this week against the Ottawa Senators, but it's clear there's issues that are probably not just Andrei Kuzmenko's unwillingness to play a 200 foot game. The solution is simple: Like the rest of us on Saturdays, it's time to take a chance on 6/4(0)9 and reunite the Lotto line.
Yes, having the ability to roll four lines that can score was great while it lasted, but this is an adjustment that we know will work. And it may have the added bonus of giving the Canucks suddenly floundering power play the kick in the ass it needs. I'm not one of those guys who's gonna complain about J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser despite their struggles these past few games. And honestly, if you're still bitching and moaning about Miller, I wonder if you're truly watching his contributions to the games, because the Canucks are a better team this season because of how he's bought in to Rick Tocchet's plan. So let's throw their best forwards together, and put either Nils Hoglander or Sam Lafferty with Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev, and force teams like the Devils to have to either have to focus on trying to deal with the speed and skill of the top 6, or risk spreading out so the third and fourth lines don't burn them.
This road trip is a tough one, and given the way this team has struggled against the Devils over the past few years, they're going to have to be air tight when it comes to errors in this game. There are a couple things that could work in the Canucks favour tonight though. The Devils were involved in a wild one against the Chicago Blackhawks last night, that saw 64 minutes in penalties and an open ice Scott Stevens special that left Connor Bedard with a fractured jaw.
They're also going with youngster Nico Daws in net after Vitek Vanecek got the win last night against Chicago. If the Canucks can get to Daws early and often, they'll give themselves a shot at securing a win, something they've managed just once in the last ten meetings with New Jersey.
LINEUPS
The following lineup was painted on the side of a barn in Old Bridge, NJ, but also may have been seen on nhl dot com...
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Sam Lafferty
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Andrei Kuzmenko
Injured: Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois
(concussion)
Devils projected lineup
Tyler Toffoli -- Jack Hughes -- Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer
Curtis Lazar -- Michael McLeod -- Alexander Holtz
Brendan Smith -- Chris Tierney -- Nathan Bastian
Luke Hughes -- John Marino
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Simon Nemec
Colin Miller -- Kevin Bahl
Nico Daws
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Graeme Clarke
Injured: Dougie Hamilton (pectoral), Tomas Nosek (foot), Timo Meier (undisclosed), Ondrej Palat (lower body)
Not that we wish him any ill will, but we certainly wouldn't shed a tear if Jack Hughes was unable to go tonight. Hughes, who left last night's game against the Blackhawks and did not return, is the team's leading scorer. The injuries are starting to mount for the Devils as they battle to hang onto their wild card slot in the East.
GAME DAY CHATTER
Great news for the Canucks D core, and while he'll likely be a game time decision, it does mean that one of Ian Cole and Noah Juulsen will have to come out. Both have been playing well in their third pairing roles, especially Juulsen and the physicality he brings to the back end.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Since Jimmi and Westy seem to think that my inclusion of JUDAS PRIEST was the reason for the Canucks loss on Thursday (yeesh) I have decided to respond by a) shaking my head in their general direction, and b) upping the heaviness factor. While I feel bad for you when they subject you to the crap they post in here when I am not at the helm (to get a rise out of me more than anything else), today it's time to fight back. Bay Area bastards GHOUL are back with a new single as they prepare to hit the road with label mates NECROT and DEAD HEAT in support of MUNICIPAL WASTE over the next couple months.
'Noxious Concoctions' is their first new tune in a while, and one that if you're familiar with them at all, hits hard as hell. Make sure and check them (and a ton of other cool bands) out at Tankcrimes Records.
Enjoy the game, folks. Go Canucks Go!
Seven games in eleven nights. It just refuses to get easier for the Canucks as they head off on one of their longest and toughest road trips of the 23/24 season, starting tonight in St Louis.
CANUCKS (24-10-3) at ST LOUIS (18-17-1)
ENTERPRISE CENTER, ST LOUIS, MO
5:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET PACIFIC
While it wasn't without its warts, the Canucks still came out with a better overall effort on the 2024 side of the end of the year, than what we saw against Philadelphia a few days earlier. I'm not particularly thrilled with the second period we saw from them, after what was probably the most dominant first period performance they've shown us all year. They took their foot off the pedal and allowed the Senators a whiff of optimism in a game where they had no business doing that, and that will surely be addressed.
Another thing that had to be addressed was the injury in the first period to Phillip DiGiusepe. It has to be frustrating for him, having just made it back into the lineup only to pull something and miss the rest of the game after getting an opportunity on the Miller/Boeser line.
Karlsson will get into the lineup right away, with Nils Aman also getting back in on the fourth line.
These teams are meeting for the second time this season, the first one being a lopsided 5-0 Canucks win at the end of October. The Blues are 5-3-0 under new head coach Drew Bannister after parting ways with Craig Berube last month. They're still in tough to try and claw their way back into a playoff spot, but losing the last two, while the Oilers and Kraken have won their last six and five games respectively, have allowed those two rivals to leapfrog them as they chase down the Arizona Coyotes for the final Wild Card slot in the Western Conference.
LINEUPS
The following lineup was spray painted on the Arch, and also, apparently, the ol' nhl dot com thingy...
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Sam Lafferty
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Andrei Kuzmenko, Mark Friedman
Injured: Phillip Di Giuseppe (lower body), Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Blues projected lineup
Pavel Buchnevich -- Robert Thomas -- Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad -- Brayden Schenn -- Jake Neighbours
Alexey Toropchenko -- Kevin Hayes -- Kasperi Kapanen
Nathan Walker -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Sammy Blais
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Torey Krug -- Matthew Kessel
Marco Scandella -- Scott Perunovich
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Scratched: Nikita Alexandrov, Tyler Tucker
Injured: Justin Faulk (lower body)
So it looks as though Andrei Kuzmenko is back in the doghouse again. It also appears Sam Lafferty is back on the first line, and Pius Suter's strong play since his return has been rewarded with a promotion to the second line with Miller and Boeser. No changes on defence, and it'll be Demko versus noted pissbaby and lover of getting Michigan'd, Jordan Binnington for the Blues in net tonight. I so wanna see Hoglander try to do it on him to see if his bullshit tough talk is for real. Honestly, I think it would be the best thing in the world if teams tried to do this to him every time they played the Blues, because fuck that guy, man.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Today in the "Holy shit am I getting old" department, we give you a classic album that was released on this date 40 years ago today. Fresh off their 1983 release 'Screaming For Vengeance' that saw the band break huge in North America, Judas Priest followed it up with an album that doesn't get enough praise in their catalog, IMO. A solid banger from beginning to end that sees both the twin axe attack of Glenn Tipton and KK Downing at their best and Rob Halford cementing his legacy as THE Metal God, we're gonna give you a double shot today, with the two video releases from this album: 'Freewheel Burning' and 'Love Bites'. Happy 40th to 'Defenders Of The Faith' from JUDAS PRIEST.
Enjoy the game tonight, folks! Go Canucks Go!
After some much-needed rest, the Canucks kick off 2024 with a home game against Ottawa before embarking on an epic seven game road jaunt.
FLYERS (18-11-4) at CANUCKS (23-9-3)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:00 PM PST
SPORTSNET PACIFIC, TSN 5
Well, now that we've gotten the foul taste of the last game out of our collective mouths, and Team Canada is gone early from the World Juniors, we can turn our attention back to Canada's Team: The Vancouver Canucks.
While it seems like the Canucks would be due for an easier schedule than the first half of the season so far, but that's not the case, as tonight's contest kicks off a stretch of 13 games in 26 nights. And while there's some tough games coming up in this stretch, they'd do well to not take their eyes off the Sens. It's an opportunity for two points that could come in handy in what will be a tough month for the Canucks, and a way to regain some momentum after playing just once in more than week.
As far as the Sens go, it's another disappointing season, but with the team going through the growing pains of new ownership, management and coaching all on the fly this season, it's not wholly unexpected. This is still a team with some talent, in spite of their record, and as we've seen from the Canucks so far this year, they cannot take a night off against any team, especially with the Oilers starting to claw their way out of the basement after that horrendous start.
One good thing is that the Canucks have managed to keep their spot atop the Pacific Division standings while the teams chasing them have made up most, if not all of the games in hand the Canucks had on them. One of the big changes from last season has been their play on home ice, and a win tonight will move their home record to 14-4-1. They've been better on the road this year too, and they'll need to be, as they have 6 of those 7 games against non-playoff teams, the only one being a rematch against the first place New York Rangers and a chance for revenge after that bullshit non-call in OT led the Blueshirts to an undeserved win.
LINEUPS
The following lineups were scribbled on the inside of a discarded party hat seen floating down the Fraser River. Or maybe it was nhl dot com.
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Josh Norris -- Claude Giroux
Vladimir Tarasenko -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Dominik Kubalik -- Ridly Greig -- Parker Kelly
Erik Brannstrom -- Mark Kastelic -- Zack MacEwen
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Jacob Bernard-Docker
Jakob Chychrun -- Travis Hamonic
Anton Forsberg
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Angus Crookshank, Jiri Smejkal
Injured: Mathieu Joseph (lower body), Rourke Chartier (concussion)
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Aman -- Pius Suter -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Hoglander
Injured: Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Rick Tocchet's tough love academy has welcomed Nils Hoglander back to the press box again, showing that on this team, there's no room to rest on your laurels. PDG is back from his exile and will skate on the 2nd line with Miller and Boeser. Carson Soucy will be on the road trip, but he won't be playing tonight. The Canucks D have been playing well, but it will definitely help to get the veteran Soucy back in the lineup.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
We're off to Chile this time and a brand new track from CRITICAL DEFIANCE. It's off their upcoming as yet untitled third album. It follows up on 2022's fantastic release 'No Life Forms', and is a good sign that we'll be getting another solid disc of crossover thrash. Here's 'The Search Won't Fall', and if you dig these guys, definitely head over to their Bandcamp page and check them out.
The Canucks are back on their bullshit, and by bullshit, we mean defying the odds and predictions of what this season was going to look like. Tonight they'll roll into Dallas with a chance to head home having snagged 7 of 8 possible points on this Central Division road swing.
Vancouver Canucks (20-9-2) vs Dallas Stars (18-8-4)
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
5:00PM PST
Sportsnet Pacific
The wagon is rollin' yet again.
After a frustrating loss in the shootout to Minnesota, the Canucks rebounded with back to back wins in Chicago and Nashville, and will wrap up this four game road jaunt tonight in Dallas taking on the Stars. And what better place to end it than DFW against a team that they've beaten in 11 of their last 14 meetings.
The Stars have been one of the NHL's better teams over the last few seasons, but have been getting beaten repeatedly by the Canucks, who definitely have been one of the NHL's worst teams over that same time frame, and while it makes zero sense, it's only gonna get worse for Dallas.
As the Canucks showed against Nashville Tuesday night, even good teams are having fits trying to handle the tenacity of the Canucks forechecking. The Preds came into that game winners of 13 of their last 16, yet never had a sniff as the Canucks rolled over them in the second period.
That's not to say that there aren't issues that need addressing, but unlike Canucks teams of the past, things that aren't working get addressed immediately. They've had a near complete buy in on Rick Tocchet's systems, and when you add in the incredible efforts from the players that GM Patrik Allvin brought in this season, they truly are a much different squad than the one we suffered through for years. Jim Benning swore he could retool on the fly, but he never came close to doing what Allvin and Jim Rutherford have managed to do since they were hired. I mean, the Canucks have a chance to go into the NHL's Christmas break in first place overall. Not even the most optimistic Canucks fan could have imagined this.
And while this is a hell of a lot of fun, this is still a team that cannot take a night off, and is going to have to continue to hope for more good luck when it comes to staying healthy if they hope to continue on this trajectory and not just make the playoffs, but actually make a run at the Cup. Yes, I think we've reached the point where we can start talking about this, and believe me when I say it's as weird as it sounds.
And one thing that's going to help this? Some well-deserved rest. After Saturday's home game against San Jose, the Canucks have just two games over the following ten days. That's going to be massive in terms of letting the guys who are playing a little banged up get healthy, and considering the daunting seven game road swing coming up next month, heading into that healthy and well rested is going to be huge.
LINEUPS
The following potential lineup was found in the basement of the Alamo. Or maybe it was on nhl dot com...
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Pius Suter
Nils Hoglander -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Philip Di Giuseppe -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Andrei Kuzmenko
Injured: Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Tyler Seguin
Craig Smith -- Radek Faksa -- Sam Steel
Ryan Suter -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell -- Jani Hakanpaa
Thomas Harley -- Nils Lundkvist
Scott Wedgewood
Matt Murray
Scratched: Ty Dellandrea, Joel Hanley
Injured: Jake Oettinger (lower body)
And for a fourth straight game, Andrei Kuzmenko is a healthy scratch. Not a surprise, given how well the Canucks are playing right now. It's probably going to take an injury to get him back into the lineup, and every passing game makes it more likely he gets dealt at some point unless they can find a way to get him in sync with the rest of his team and play his way out of his troubles.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
We're gonna wrap up my last game preview before Xmas with an absolute rager from Irish lunatics GAMA BOMB. Off their new disc 'BATS', here's "Don't Get Your Hair Cut". From mine to yours, all the best this holiday season, eh? Stay safe, happy and warm, and enjoy some hockey through it all. Go Canucks Go!
After what might well have been one of the worst hockey games in the history of the sport, the Canucks make their way to Chicago, where they're being served up on a platter for Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks.
Vancouver Canucks (20-9-2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (9-19-1)
12:00PM PST
UNITED CENTER, CHICAGO, IL
SPORTSNET
After being forced to sit through a loving tribute to the 'glorious' Cult Of Lemaire days by the Minnesota Wild yesterday, the Canucks find themselves having to play yet another 3rd game in 4 nights scenario, this time, the schedule maker has decided things are just too rough on the poor, hard done by Chicago Blackhawks and given them a small token of their affection.
I suppose the best we can hope for is that a rested Thatcher Demko can conjure up another game like we saw from him on Thursday night against Florida, and that the rest of the Canucks are actually awake and coherent for this one. As dreadful as it is to watch the Wild play, the Canucks did themselves no favours by offering little pushback, and made some mind-boggling defensive choices throughout the game.
Another thing they'll need to fix for today is the power play. Going 0 for 5 against one of the worst penalty kills at home in the NHL simply isn't good enough, and while they did get a point, there wasn't a single one of the Canucks 'best players' you could say had a strong performance yesterday. It's great that the third line has become such a threat, but they're not going to win you hockey games.
And then there's Bedard. You know he wants to have a big game today against his favourite team growing up, and he'll be going full out from puck drop. Sure, he has little help, but if you give this kid an inch, he'll use it to destroy you. It's great that we could see this rivalry rekindled down the road, but it's gonna suck that the next great superstar went to this absolutely abhorrent franchise.
LINEUPS
This lineup was written on the wall of the cooler inside the restaurant from 'The Bear', which apparently is the only cooler in any restaurant ever that didn't have a way for you to get out of you should find yourself locked inside. Seriously, for all the lengths they've gone to in terms of recreating kitchen life and culture, this was an embarrassing gaffe. Anyway, it's also on nhl dot com...
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Sam Lafferty
Nils Hoglander -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Andrei Kuzmenko -- Pius Suter -- Phillip Di Giuseppe
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman
Injured: Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Lukas Reichel -- Connor Bedard -- Philipp Kurashev
Anthony Beauvillier --Tyler Johnson -- Taylor Raddysh
Nick Foligno -- Jason Dickinson -- Joey Anderson
Ryan Donato -- Cole Guttman -- Reese Johnson
Filip Roos -- Connor Murphy
Isaak Phillips -- Niikita Zaitsev
Alex Vlasic -- Louis Crevier
Petr Mrazek
Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: MacKenzie Entwistle, Wyatt Kaiser
Injured: Seth Jones (left shoulder), Jarred Tinordi (concussion protocol)
Look, we all know that this is a truly awful Chicago team, and that is by design. They're going full Pittsburgh, so that they can get the best odds at another number one pick this year, and probably next, so that they can create a new core and try and build around that. But as we saw against the Sharks a couple weeks ago, taking any team lightly will come back to bite you on the ass.
So what needs to happen to prevent this? Well, we need the top 6 to play like it. They were, to a man, not good at all yesterday. And especially on the power play, which should be able to feast on the Hawks terrible penalty killing and poor goaltending. I would expect to see J.T. Miller step up with a big game after being so noticeably awful yesterday.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
New Jersey thrashers The Donner Party are up today. Some solid thrash that embraces some of the best influences of both coasts. You can hear as much Exodus and Vio-Lence as you can Overkill and Nuclear Assault in these tunes, and that's always gonna get a thumbs up from me. Check out 'Mondo America' from their 2023 release 'Cutting Class'!
