Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Nucks Fan Rebuild & Retool Center - Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment

As far as road trips go, you can't ask for more than what we saw from the Canucks. They've been road beasts so far this season, but can they make this success translate at home as they take on the Oilers for the first time since their post-season clash?

Vancouver Canucks (7-2-3) vs. Edmonton Oilers  (6-7-1)

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet, CBC, CITY

Radio: Sportsnet 650

There was a lot to like about the play of the Canucks on that three game California trip. Quinn Hughes is, inexplicably, even better than he was last season. Kevin Lankinen has been phenomenal, giving the Canucks a chance to win every night. Jake DeBrusk snapped out of that funk to start the season in a big way. And the Canucks have been getting solid efforts every night up and down the lineup.

Now, it wouldn't be the Vancouver Canucks if there wasn't a dark cloud attached to it, and that darkness comes in the form of the injury to Brock Boeser. No real timeframe yet for his return, and hopefully it's not long term. At least the NHL did something about it, as Tanner Jeannot received a three game suspension for the gutless headshot on Boeser Thursday night in LA. Still kind of lenient, but better than what we expected.

And tonight is a big game, not just because it's a divisional rival, but because this is a statement game that the Canucks can use as a building block for the rest of the season. A chance to show the Oilers that they don't match up against a healthy Canucks team, even with the world's two best forwards on their side.

Both teams struggled out of the gate, but the main difference has been the Canucks are managing to salvage points pretty much every night, while the Oilers regulation losses have continued to mount. It won't be an easy game, but with the confidence gained after the California sweep, and a chance to stick it to these dirty rotten bastards, they should come out fired up and ready to blow the roof off Rogers Arena tonight.

 

LINEUPS

 Oilers projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Viktor Arvidsson

Adam Henrique -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor Brown

Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan -- Corey Perry

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Troy Stecher

Brett Kulak -- Ty Emberson

Stuart Skinner

Calvin Pickard

Scratched: Travis Dermott

Injured: None

Canucks projected lineup

Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Nils Aman -- Aatu Raty -- Arshdeep Bains

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen

Injured: Brock Boeser (upper body), Derek Forbort (lower body), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Okay, lots to unpack here. With Boeser out, Conor Garland moves to the top line. Ashdeep Bains and Nils Aman have been recalled from Abbotsford to replace Boeser and Daniel Sprong, who was traded to Seattle for future considerations.

GAME DAY CHATTER

 Comments from the coach... and Jake DeBrusk... Plus updates on Boeser and Lekkerimaki from GM Patrik Allvin.. Desharnais is looking forward to the next visit from the Kings, apparently...

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Exodus dropped an unexpected AC/DC cover the other day, and like their other covers of the legendary Aussie band, they do a fine job paying tribute. And I like that it's a deep cut and not something obvious, but especially with Steve 'Zetro' Sousa's vocal style, it works so well with the older AC/DC material.

The Canucks end their western road with a chance to win out as they face the Kings in LA.

 A 5-1 win against Anaheim is a satisfying result, but as Tyler Myers mentioned a few games ago, this team is not hitting on all cylinders. There were a lot of chances given up by the Nucks and thank god Lankinen continues to shine for this team and keep them in games until the offence decides to show up.

I thought Petey played a pretty good game, especially defensively and he did have 6 shots on net. Unfortunately, for his line to really be dangerous, he is going to have a teammate that can convert more of his passes into goals or Petey will have to get hot and start scoring. The line has had some good chances, but until Petey finds his inner sniper, the greasy goals will have to do. PowerPlay Petey is playing the wrong side....we all know it.

Tonight's game is a good measuring stick since the Devils game. The Kings are a puck control team and have they have skill and speed, so the Nucks need to find a way to get through the neutral zone and get some shots.

Lineups

If only the 4th line could score......

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Pius Suter -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Nils Hoglander -- Aatu Raty -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen

Injured: Derek Forbort (lower body), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Kings projected lineup

Kevin Fiala -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe

Akil Thomas -- Phillip Danault -- Trevor Moore

Warren Foegele -- Quinton Byfield -- Alex Laferriere

Andre Lee -- Trevor Lewis -- Tanner Jeannot

Mikey Anderson -- Jordan Spence

Joel Edmundson -- Brandt Clarke

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Kyle Burroughs

Darcy Kuemper

David Rittich

Scratched: Andreas Englund, Caleb Jones

Injured: Alex Turcotte (upper body), Drew Doughty (ankle), Arthur Kaliyev (clavicle)

Status report

Forbort, a defenseman, is week to week. … Demko was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, but there is no update on when the goalie could make his season debut. … Turcotte, a forward, is day to day after leaving in the second period of a 3-0 win at the Nashville Predators on Monday; Kings coach Jim Hiller said Turcotte’s injury is not a head injury or related to any previous concussions. … Kaliyev, a forward, has started individual on-ice workouts but will have a lengthy ramp-up process after being injured at the start of training camp. … Fiala will remain on the first line with Kopitar and Kempe after being moved up in a 5-1 win at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Game Day Chatter

Game Day Battle Hymn

Big shout out to the wife, who is recovering from surgery, she chose today's song from random and yet it suits the mental psyche of Canucks Nation and its relationship with Petey. A rough patch the start of the year has been, but he is our Swedish Alien.

Go Canucks Go!

After dodging a bullet with a last minute goal from Pius Suter, the Canucks look to get a win streak going as they head to Orange County and a date with the Anaheim Ducks.

Vancouver Canucks (5-2-3) vs. Anaheim Ducks  (4-5-2)

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

While it was far from a classic, there were encouraging signs in amongst the scattered and disorganized effort we saw against the Sharks on Saturday night.

The big news was Jake DeBrusk getting his first goal as a Canuck. And while it was a little anxiety inducing for Canucks fans to see him struggle out of the gate, you should remember he did the exact same thing in Boston last season, and after a few more games, was pretty consistent the rest of the way. Patience, my friends.

We also got another solid outing from Kevin Lankinen. If he continues to provide the Canucks with a chance to win every night, they're gonna be fine when Thatcher Demko returns. This is the one-two goalie punch the Canucks need, and while you feel for Arturs Silovs, you have to roll with who's hot, especially in this situation.

And who had Pius Suter being one of the biggest free agency signings by the Canucks management team last season? While it was a solid pickup on the surface, his consistent two way play and work ethic is inspiring, and helping to ease the burden on the top 6 until they can get rolling. This is literally what depth is supposed to do for you, and the Canucks should definitely reward Suter with a new deal this summer.

They're up against an Anaheim Ducks squad that has some good young talent, but is still in a kind of rebuild/retool mode. Back in the days of Getzlaf, Selanne and Perry, the Ducks were always a tough draw, but the modern day Ducks have lost 5 straight to the Canucks, and 8 of the last 10 meetings. And even with the lack of experience in goal for the Canucks, Lankinen and Silovs are a combined 3-0-0 lifetime against Anaheim.

LINEUPS

Scribbled on a napkin from Space Mountain is where we found today's lineups, and certainly not at nhl dot com...

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Pius Suter -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Nils Hoglander -- Aatu Raty -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Derek Forbort, Noah Juulsen

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Ducks projected lineup

Robby Fabbri -- Leo Carlsson -- Ryan Strome

Frank Vatrano -- Mason McTavish -- Troy Terry

Cutter Gauthier -- Trevor Zegras -- Alex Killorn

Brock McGinn -- Isac Lundestrom -- Brett Leason

Cam Fowler -- Olen Zellweger

Pavel Mintyukov -- Brian Dumoulin

Urho Vaakanainen -- Radko Gudas

Lukas Dostal

James Reimer

Scratched: Ross Johnston, Jackson LaCombe

Injured: John Gibson (appendectomy)

GAME DAY CHATTER

The Canucks call up Raty, send down Bains.. Comments from the Coach... and Conor Garland... He won't play tonight, but we might see Dakota Joshua on Thursday in LA... 33 years ago today, the Canucks were forever changed as we saw the Russian Rocket blast off for the first time.. Demko gets closer...

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Colorado based thrashers HAVOK dropped a new EP entitled 'New Eyes' the other day, and it's got an absolutely killer cover of METALLICA's 'Eye Of The Beholder' that you should check out. Man, this track sounds amazing with bass in it (#JusticeForJason). IYKYK.

Enjoy the game, folks. Go Canucks Go!

CANUCKS (4-2-3) at SHARKS (3-7-2)

10 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, CITY, SN, CBC

Any guess as to what Canucks team will show up tonight? I don't think Quinn will be answering any calls from his brothers for awhile. You would think that the cure for playing shitty would be to face a bad San Jose team that they beat 10-1 last year....but then you remember that the Canucks sometimes have a tendency to play to the level of their competition and then lose the game, like they did 3 weeks later against the Sharks.

I was talking to someone today (Hi Mom), who said Petey was acting like a whiny bitch because he doesn't get to play with Miller and Boeser. I am not sure I agree, but Frank Seravalli says that he sees a Petey that looks disinterested. Well fuck. I wonder if Frank will ask that question Petey, "Hey Petey, it looks like you don't like skating...or shooting....especially not scoring. What can the team do to get you going? A raise, perhaps?"

There is some complaining about Bains playing with Petey, instead of Hoggy, but Petey doesn't seem to play well with anyone over the past two games. I was praising Petey three games ago and now I just hope for consistency.

LINEUPS

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Arshdeep Bains -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Nils Hoglander -- Pius Suter -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Noah Juulsen

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Derek Forbort, Vincent Desharnais

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Sharks projected lineup

William Eklund -- Mikael Granlund -- Tyler Toffoli

Ethan Cardwell -- Alexander Wennberg -- Fabian Zetterlund

Barclay Goodrow -- Will Smith -- Luke Kunin

Carl Grundstrom -- Nico Sturm -- Danil Gushchin

Jake Walman -- Cody Ceci

Mario Ferraro -- Jan Rutta

Henry Thrun -- Timothy Liljegren

Mackenzie Blackwood

Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Klim Kostin, Givani Smith, Jack Thompson

Injured: Lucas Carlsson (undisclosed), Logan Couture (groin), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body), Macklin Celebrini (lower body), Ty Dellandrea (upper body)

Status report

The Canucks placed forward Nils Aman on waivers Saturday for the purpose of reassigning him to Abbotsford of the American Hockey League. ... Joshua, a forward, participated in Vancouver's morning skate Saturday but his not expected to play and has yet to make his season debut. ... Liljegren will make his Sharks debut after being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

GAMEDAY CHATTER

He might be gone by time this game starts.....or not.

GAMEDAY BATTLE HYMN

Our man Kent continues on his treatment schedule for cancer and has put in his request for some light listening music. I guess he meant light for him, as I went to listen to it, it rattled my brain. Exodus is from the Bay Area and obviously weren't into Tupac. Their song "The Fires of Division" got me thinking about the noisy groups on Twitter that are pro-Petey and anti-Petey. I really hope he can get going in November and calm these flames.

Go Canucks Go!

HURRICANES (5-2-0) at CANUCKS (4-1-2)

10 p.m. ET; SNP, FDSNSO

The Canucks extended their won streak to four games, after hitting the magic button in the 2nd period to score 4 goals against Pittsburgh and hold on for a 4-3 win. I think we could all feel the change in air pressure when Petey scored his 1st of the year. Everyone exhaled at the same time. Arshdeep Bains finally got on the scoresheet and won himself one day of reprieve on Twitter. Kiefer Sherwood continued his role as "New AMFB", as her scored and drove the Pens crazy.

Tonight the Nucks play a team in the Canes, that won't have a 15 minute collapse. The Canes are 5-2 so far and have their own 3 game win streak as they end their west coast swing. The Canes are top 10 in both special teams and more impressive is that they have a plus 10 shot differential. The Canes don't like to let go of the puck. The Nucks are going to need all four lines to get the puck through the neutral zone against this team.

LINEUPS

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis

Jack Roslovic -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- William Carrier

Jackson Blake -- Jack Drury -- Eric Robinson

Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns

Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield

Shayne Gostisbehere -- Sean Walker

Pyotr Kochetkov

Spencer Martin

Scratched: Ty Smith

Injured: Frederik Andersen (lower body)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Arshdeep Bains -- Pius Suter -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Nils Aman, Derek Forbort

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Status report

Andersen, a goalie who had been alternating starts with Kochetkov, is day to day after making 18 saves in a 4-1 win at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Andersen finished the game but “came up a little gimpy after,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. … Martin was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Monday and is expected to dress as the backup but hadn’t arrived in time for the morning skate. … Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said he is considering a change on defense but did not indicate who might come out. He did say Forbort, a defenseman who rejoined the team at morning skate Monday after missing four games due to the death of his father, will not play. “He needs some time,” Tocchet said.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

I don't the musical knowledge of Kent. I usually go with songs that I like....seems like a good formula so far. I could see a younger version of myself listening to this and feeling the build up and getting pumped up. Now did the younger version of me listen to the lyrics....no. Is there a lesson there....probably.

Go Canucks Go...make it 5 in a row

PENGUINS (3-5-1) at CANUCKS (3-1-2)

10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, SN-PIT

After going 3-1 on the first road trip of the year, maybe management might want to consider burning down Rogers and have the team play on the road for the rest of the year. We saw this some last year as well, as this team just looks and plays more controlled and comfortable away from home ice. The team has found the starter for the moment and hopefully Silovs gets lots of love from his optometrist to start seeing the point shots.

JT Miller is the new Petey whisperer at practice, as the two of them exchanged heated pleasantries. The timing is a little funny as Petey and his line played really well against Bedard's line, but Petey still hasn't scored. I'm sure Miller reminded Petey that waiting for the perfect shot is a waste of time. Petey needs to stop over-thinking and just shoot it.

The third line of the Canucks is going to be interesting once Joshua comes back. Bluegar/Heinan/Sherwood has gelled quickly, with all the hitting and goal scoring. I'm sure Dakota will have a few games on the 4th line, but then you wonder how he fits in. Dakota is no longer a 4th line player.

Tonight the Nucks play a Pens team that is struggling to find any momentum with two older superstars. Crosby and Malkin have struck fear into other teams for two decades and still have the skill to to keep their team in games, but this is a game the Canucks should control. I just jinxed, didn't I?

I am calling out Quinn Hughes to night. I love you Huggy, but Makar is leading the league in scoring and while points aren't everything.....try and make it a little closer.

LINEUPS

Penguins projected lineup

Drew O’Connor -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell

Anthony Beauvillier -- Lars Eller -- Valtteri Puustinen

Kevin Hayes -- Noel Acciari -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Marcus Pettersson -- Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk -- Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves -- Jack St. Ivany

Alex Nedeljkovic

Joel Blomqvist

Scratched: Ryan Shea

Injured: Cody Glass (illness)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Arshdeep Bains -- Pius Suter -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Nils Aman, Derek Forbort

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Status report

The Penguins did not hold a morning skate Saturday after Blomqvist made 46 saves in a 4-0 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. ... Goalie Tristan Jarry was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on a conditioning loan Saturday. … Glass, a forward, left the game at Edmonton after two periods because of illness, but there was no update after the game and Puustinen, who has played one game this season, is the only extra Pittsburgh forward. … Forbort, a defenseman, is away from the Canucks for a fourth straight game for personal reasons but coach Rick Tocchet said he was expected to rejoin the team later Saturday.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

After a day of listening to music from teenagers around me, I miss the 90s and the rock that came out of that era. Strong voices, great guitar rhythms and powerful drums. I think if you need a song to get your heart pumping, this would be a good time period. So let's hear it from one of the main voices...Chris Cornell and Audioslave.

Go Canucks Go!

After a bit of a clunky start, the Canucks appear to be figuring things out. After easily their best game of the season, the Canucks head to Chicago to take on Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks.

Vancouver Canucks (2-1-2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks  (2-3-1)

5:15 pm PST; 8:15 EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

Following a thrilling OT win against the defending Cup champs, the Canucks made their way up to Philly Saturday night and rattled off their best performance so far this season in a 3-0 win over the Flyers. Making amends for the shootout loss to the same Flyers team just over a week ago, the Canucks got a stellar night of goaltending from Kevin Lankinen, who went back to back for the first time this season. Goals from Nils Hoglander in the first, and then Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood fifty seconds apart in the second helped the Canucks cruise to the victory in Philly. It was also game number 1000 for Tyler Myers, and he had a nifty between the legs pass assist to set up Boeser for his goal, nice that he was able to do that with his parents in the crowd.

They can finish up this road trip strong with a win tonight in the Windy City. While the future may be bright for the Blackhawks with the lottery win that brought them Bedard, the Hawks are still far from a contender, and while they're likely to be better this season, this is still a game that should be looked at as very winnable. The Canucks are 9-1-0 in their last 10 against Chicago, and there's no excuse for a team that considers itself a contender to drop points to teams like this.

One way they can do this, is playing a disciplined game that doesn't give Chicago a ton of power play chances. Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen have been ripping it up with the man advantage so far this season, so it would help the Canucks immensely to keep this from being the story of the night. And while much of the discussion around the Canucks centres on Elias Pettersson sputtering out of the gate, he did look much better against Philly. He's showing real chemistry with Jake DeBrusk, and the goals will come. In the meantime, it's a good thing that they're getting goal support from guys like Conor Garland, Brock Boeser and Nils Hoglander. Any panic about this team's start was premature, and they're figuring it out.

LINEUPS

Scrawled on the back of a flyer for a Texas Toast Chainsaw Massacre gig, we found this set of lineups, but I am also hearing it came from nhl dot com...

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Pius Suter -- Nils Aman -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Arshdeep Bains, Derek Forbort

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Blackhawks projected lineup

Nick Foligno -- Connor Bedard -- Teuvo Teravainen

Taylor Hall – Andreas Athanasiou -- Tyler Bertuzzi

Ilya Mikheyev -- Jason Dickinson – Ryan Donato

Patrick Maroon -- Lukas Reichel -- Craig Smith

Alex Vlasic -- Seth Jones

Wyatt Kaiser -- T.J. Brodie

Nolan Allan -- Connor Murphy

Petr Mrazek

Arvid Soderblom

Scratched: Isaak Phillips, Philipp Kurashev, Joey Anderson

Injured: Alec Martinez (lower body)

Miller will be a game time decision, but Coach Tocchet says he's probable. Miller was banged up in the game against Philly on a play that still doesn't sit right with me. Really looked like a butt end.

Lankinen gets the start against his former team, as the Canucks ride the hot hand.

GAME DAY CHATTER

Personally, I don't believe anything Frank says, but if it's actually true, this is good news for him and for the Canucks. Dak was a big part of their success last season, and it will be awesome to have him back in the lineup.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Today's battle hymn is a solemn one, as a legend in the metal world has left us with the news that Paul Di'Anno, vocalist on the first two Iron Maiden releases, died yesterday at age 66. Di'Anno had been struggling with health issues for years, but was still releasing albums and trying to tour when his health would allow it. The impact of the self titled debut and the follow up 'Killers' not just on the metal world, but pop culture and how the rest of the music industry viewed heavy metal cannot be understated. Paul's street punk look, attitude and vocal style helped Maiden stand far above the pack that was the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and he will be missed by fans worldwide, and the countless bands inspired by their sound.

From that first album, here's one of his finest performances: 'Remember Tomorrow'. RIP, Paul.

CANUCKS (1-1-2) at FLYERS (1-2-1)

7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, SNP

Coming off a victory against the Stanley Cup Champs on the road, can the Canucks get some momentum going against a Flyers team that has only beaten the Canucks this year?

What else can be said about J.T. Miller? He is the anger thermometer of this team. He is the guy that could make 5 giveaways in a game and still end up winning it. He is the guy that will tell the other guys to get off their ass and play better. He is the guy who's contract we all now love. Noe can he please lead this team to a victory over a Philly team that is average at best, but he found a way to beat the Nucks way too often.

Lineups

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Pius Suter -- Nils Aman -- Daniel Sprong

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Arshdeep Bains, Derek Forbort

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Flyers projected lineup

Owen Tippett -- Morgan Frost -- Matvei Michkov

Joel Farabee -- Jett Luchanko -- Travis Konecny

Tyson Foerster -- Sean Couturier -- Bobby Brink

Scott Laughton -- Ryan Poehling -- Garnet Hathaway

Cam York -- Travis Sanheim

Erik Johnson -- Jamie Drysdale

Egor Zamula -- Rasmus Ristolainen

Samuel Ersson

Ivan Fedotov

Scratched: Emil Andrae, Noah Cates, Nicolas Deslauriers

Injured: Nick Seeler (leg)

Status report

Joshua practiced for the first time since the forward had offseason surgery as part of his treatment for testicular cancer; there is no timetable for his return to the lineup, coach Rick Tocchet said. ... Lankinen will start for the second straight game; the last time he started consecutive NHL games was April 25-27, 2022, with the Chicago Blackhawks. ... Forbort remains away from the Canucks for personal reasons; Tocchet said he did not have an update on when the defenseman could rejoin the team but was planning on speaking to him Saturday. ... Demko watched the Canucks morning skate from the bench; the goalie has been skating recently on his own but Tocchet said there is no timetable for his return. ... The Flyers did not hold a morning skate Saturday. ... Seeler, who has not played because of a nerve issue in his right leg sustained during a preseason game Oct. 1, skated on his own before a 6-4 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and is day to day; if the defenseman plays, it's likely he would replace Johnson in the lineup.

Game Day Chatter

People on Twitter want others to lay off Petey....Sportsnet doubled-down the other way.

Game Day Battle Hymn

I am wondering if this song is used by any team...in any league as the song players come out to. Because the opening 30 seconds would be worth it, just to get the fans going. Did you know that Sloan has been together since 1992....holy shit we are all old. I hope Sloan brings the Nucks a win in the Giraffe's 1000th game.

Go Canucks Go!

CANUCKS (0-1-2) at PANTHERS (3-2-0)

7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNP

The Canucks continue to look for their first win of the year. Maybe they should start playing well instead of just looking for the win.

Who predicted this start? Kent...put your hand down.

The Canucks have played worse in every game and tonight they skate into the home of the Stanley Cup Champs. And while the Canucks were undefeated against the Panthers last year, I don't have high hopes today, as this Canucks team really struggles to get any offence going. The Nucks are 31st in the league when it comes to shots for/game. (25.7) Want to see some fun numbers over 3 games....

Petey 5 total shots

Huggy 4 total shots

Sprong 2 total shots

Heinen.......0 shots....playing with J.T. and Brock

So, I am no expert, but to win games you need to score goals and to score goals, you need people to shoot the puck on the net. (Or have the other team "Loui" pucks in to their own net.) I wouldn't hold my breath for the 2nd option, so maybe the practices should focus on getting the puck towards the net and getting some dirty goals.

I could into the stats for 5vs5 points....but why pour more salt into the wound.

LINEUPS

Canucks projected lineup

Danton Heinen -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Daniel Sprong

Nils Hoglander -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Aman -- Pius Suter -- Kiefer Sherwood

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Arshdeep Bains, Derek Forbort, Noah Juulsen

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Panthers projected lineup

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Evan Rodrigues

A.J. Greer -- Jesper Boqvist -- Mackie Samoskevich

Jonah Gadjovich -- Patrick Giles -- Uvis Balinskis

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola -- Dmitry Kulikov

Adam Boqvist -- Nate Schmidt

Sergei Bobrovsky

Spencer Knight

Scratched: None

Injured: Aleksander Barkov (lower body), Matthew Tkachuk (illness), Tomas Nosek (upper body)

Status report

The Canucks did not hold a morning skate Thursday. ... Lankinen is expected to start after Silovs made 23 saves in a 4-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. … Brannstrom was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Thursday after forward Aatu Raty was reassigned to the AHL on Wednesday. ... Forbort, a defenseman, is away from the team for personal reasons. … Barkov, a center, could be out as long as two weeks, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. ... With Barkov and Tkachuk, a forward, not playing, Florida has had to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen the past three games. ... Balinskis, a defenseman, has been playing right wing on the fourth line.

GAMEDAY CHATTER

This signing and Boston's Swayman, will have repercussions for Demko and the Canucks next year, when conversations turn to an extension.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

I am not sure there is a song that gets me hyped up for another potential loss. But I do have to remember that this is a team that could wake up at any moment and maybe it's better to get the shit play out of the way early. The Canucks have to find a way to learn from these games and roll with it, so they can start playing well. (I still put it at 10% that Oasis ever make it to their tour)

After two inconsistent efforts on home ice saw the Canucks drop both games in extra time, they head out for the first Eastern road swing of the season, starting with the desolate wasteland that is Tampa, Florida.

Vancouver Canucks (0-1-1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning  (1-0-0)

4pm PDT; 7 p.m. ET

TV: Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet One

Radio: Sportsnet 650

Frustration, thy name is the Vancouver Canucks.

I don't know how anyone can be happy with what went down in the season opener against Calgary, or Friday night's Bettman loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Sure, there were moments where we saw things we either hoped or expected to see. And there were also moments, where we saw things we hoping we'd not have to see again.

That's not to say any of us should be pushing the panic button here. I mean, it's not like they're the Edmonton Oilers, right? Maybe it's time they realized they've got the NHL's two biggest coach killers playing on their team, some people might be thinking right now. But that's not our concern.

What the Canucks need is for this year's model to get back into last year's defensive mindset. There was a fair amount of turnover, so perhaps this stutterstep to start isn't totally surprising. The biggest issue heading forward right now, is that they need to start giving Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen some support so they can hold the fort until Thatcher Demko is ready to roll. It's goaltending by committee this season, and if they want a healthy and rested Demko ready for the postseason, they have to get wins out of these other two guys, and that means giving them the chance to get those wins.

As far as the rest, that too will come together. We're seeing signs that Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong are starting to gel, and we've already seen scoring from the bottom six and defencemen, so playing a more complete, 60 minute, 200 foot game will lead to better results. Something, something shots on net.

In Tampa, while I am sure they're just happy the power is on and the arena is able to host a hockey game tonight, they still don't really know what they have this season. I mean, moving out a player like Steven Stamkos is something that can impact a team positively or negatively, depending on who replaces him, and how the remaining players respond to the guy who was the heart and soul of the team for so long, no longer being there.

They looked good in a 4-1 win in their season opener over Carolina, that saw a 3G 1A performance from Nikita Kucherov. He's the guy now in Tampa, and his health will be a bigger factor than ever if the Bolts want to remain competitive in a strong division.

LINEUPS

Inside the discarded box that once contained the lifts that Ron De Santis wears so people won't think he's comically short, we found the lineups for this afternoon's tilt. Or maybe it was nhl dot com?

Canucks projected lineup

Nils Hoglander -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Danton Heinen

Pius Suter -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Nils Aman -- Aatu Raty -- Conor Garland

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Vincent Desharnais

Derek Forbort -- Tyler Myers

Kevin Lankinen

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Arshdeep Bains, Noah Juulsen, Daniel Sprong

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)

Lightning projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Nicholas Paul

Cameron Atkinson -- Conor Geekie -- Michael Eyssimont

Zemgus Girgensons -- Luke Glendening -- Mitchell Chaffee

Victor Hedman -- Janis Moser

Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak

Darren Raddysh -- Nick Perbix

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Jonas Johansson

Scratched: Emil Lilleberg, Conor Sheary

Injured: None

It seems a little crazy to even have it as a possibility, but yes, Tyler Myers may be ready to roll after suffering what appeared to be a pretty serious knee injury when he tried to hit the Flyers' Joel Farabee, but it does appear he will be a game time decision. And the Canucks will go back to Silovs tonight, who will face the Lightning for the first time in his career.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

So, I don't think I can ever hear about Tampa and not think about death metal. The home of Morrisound Studios, the place where some of the metal's absolute classics were recorded. Bands like Obituary, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Atheist, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Kreator and many more forged some of their finest moments there.

And of course, there's the band that started it all: Death.

Chuck Schuldiner's gift to metalheads recorded all but their debut at Morrisound, and left a legacy in the world of death metal that cannot be matched. It's just a shame he was stolen from us by cancer so early, but we do have a wealth of material to enjoy in remembrance. From their fourth album 'Human', this is 'Lack Of Comprehension."

Enjoy the game everyone. Go Canucks Go!

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