Well, that was an ugly one, eh? The Canucks, coming off what could fairly be called two decent performances, got their lunch fed to them in Utah Monday night. One last chance to get into the win column in Vegas before the Olympic break starts.

Vancouver Canucks (18-32-6) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (25-16-14)

T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

After getting absolutely clowned in Salt Lake City on Monday evening, the Canucks head into the Olympic break with one last game tonight in Vegas. Kind of strange that they've yet to play the Golden Knights thus far, but I suppose if there's a time to face them, it's when they're mired in a streak where they've lost seven of their last eight.

Are Vegas for real? It's hard to say. Sure, they're near the tops of the Pacific Division, but they'd be a Wild Card team in the Central. Those 14 OT points are screaming out at me as well. With this division being as bad as it is, the likelihood that the Golden Knights are frauds are definitely higher than your odds of beating the house in the Sin City casinos.

As for the Canucks, the bad news just keeps on delivering the hits. Filip Chytil is back out, having left the third period of the game Monday with migraines. Given the number of serious concussions the guy has suffered, that is extremely concerning. Hopefully, with some time off for the next three weeks, that will allow him to get back to feeling well enough to play, but goddamn has this been a miserable season injury-wise for the Canucks.

LINEUPS

Courtesy the ol' nhl dot com thing, here's tonight's potential lineups:

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Drew O’Connor

Jake DeBrusk -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Max Sasson -- Aatu Raty -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

P.O Joseph -- Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Nikita Tolopilo

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Victor Mancini

Injured: Filip Chytil (migraines), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Brock Boeser (concussion protocol), Zeev Buium (facial fracture), Thatcher Demko (hip surgery), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Alexander Holtz

Pavel Dorofeyev -- Mitch Marner --Mark Stone

Reilly Smith -- Tomas Hertl -- Keegan Kolesar

Cole Reinhardt -- Kai Uchacz -- Branden Bowman

Jeremy Lauzon -- Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson

Ben Hutton -- Kaedan Korczak

Akira Schmid

Adin Hill

Scratched: None

Injured: Carter Hart (lower body), Brett Howden (lower body), William Karlsson (lower body), Brayden McNabb (upper body), Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body), Brandon Saad (undisclosed), Colton Sissons (upper body)

Aatu Raty will get back into the lineup with Chytil out, other than that it doesn't look like there's any other changes. That Ohgren/Blueger/Garland line was the lone bright spot Monday night, so let's see if they can recreate some of that tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Not a huge LAMB OF GOD fan, but this new track is pretty catchy. Check out the title track from their upcoming album 'Into Oblivion'!

Enjoy the game, folks. Fuck fascism! Go Canucks Tank!

Coming off what was likely their worst defensive effort of the season, the Canucks found a way to put together easily their best. And in true Canuck fashion, something happened that kept Nikita Tolopilo from being credited with his first NHL shutout, because of course it did.

Vancouver Canucks (18-31-5) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (24-21-9)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

It was definitely one of the more entertaining games of the year, and that had a lot to do with a total team effort and some solid defensive play.

Look, tank or no tank, the Canucks, and the fans, really needed that win Thursday night. And it goes without saying that a win over the Leafs, especially after how that game went down a few weeks ago, would be awesome. But should we actually be concerned about the Leafs losing too many games? I think if you can't picture a scenario where the Canucks lose the first overall pick to the Leafs, you haven't been a Canucks fan for very long.

With a couple road games coming up before the Olympic break, getting a win on Hockey Night In Canada and contributing to the outright panic in Leafs Nation (I mean, what the hell did you think was going to happen hiring Brad Treliving?) is definitely appealing. I mean, much like anything that franchise, their media and their fan base freak out about, so much of it is also overblown. If they could win in OT a little more often, they'd probably be fine, honestly. If they can get healthy, they can still scrap for a playoff spot, but you'd never know it by watching/listening/reading any hockey media right now.

This whole wasted season has to have some meaning at the end of the day. The changes have to start happening, to build a new core that these kids can develop with, figuring out which pieces to keep and which ones can help the Canucks draft a ton of potential for the future. There is nothing in the present but misery and losses, but if they do things right, there is hope down the road.

LINEUPS

From the nhl dot com place, this is what they think is gonna shake down this afternoon...

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Bobby McMann -- Auston Matthews -- Max Domi

Matias Maccelli -- John Tavares -- William Nylander

Matthew Knies -- Nicolas Roy -- Nicholas Robertson

Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo

Jake McCabe -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Marshall Rifai -- Troy Stecher

Joseph Woll

Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Jacob Quillan, Philippe Myers, Simon Benoit, Easton Cowan

Injured: Chris Tanev (groin), Dakota Mermis (lower body), Dakota Joshua (kidney)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Filip Chytil -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson

Drew O’Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Jake DeBrusk

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Marcus Pettersson -- Tyler Myers

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

P.O Joseph -- Tom Willander

Nikita Tolopilo

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Max Sasson, Victor Mancini

Injured: Nils Hoglander (lower body), Brock Boeser (concussion protocol), Zeev Buium (facial fracture), Thatcher Demko (hip surgery), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Looks like the Canucks will reward Tolopilo with another start, and with Kevin Lankinen the likely starter for Finland at the Olympics, I am sure they'll be happy to see him getting some rest. There was a little concern with Teddy Blueger and Filip Hronek missing practice yesterday, but they both should be good to go today, but Boeser is not expected to join the team for their trip to Utah and Vegas before the Olympics start.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Finnish anarcho-thrashers NECRO WEASEL are back with a kickass new track, and I am pretty sure you can tell what this one's about without reading the lyrics.

Enjoy the game, folks. Fuck fascism! Go Canucks Go!

It started good, but that didn't even last a minute. You couldn't get a better example of where the Canucks need to be by watching that Sharks team dismantle them. And now they have the Ducks to deal with tonight. It's just not gonna get any better, is it?

Vancouver Canucks (17-31-5) vs. Anaheim Ducks (28-22-3)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

When people ask how bad are the Canucks right now, is this a good example?

Generationally bad.

It's got to be hard right now, for a team that just can't get a break, and plays like they wouldn't know what to do with it if they got one. That game against the Sharks saw them come out all guns blazing, and rewarded for it with an early goal. Less than half a period later, it was 3-1 San Jose and Kevin Lankinen was heading for the showers. Nikita Tolopilo turned in a fine performance, giving up a couple power play goals, but the Canucks were never gonna come back in this one.

And now, having lost 16 of their last 18 games, they have to face a team that just had a 7 game win streak stopped as they welcome the Anaheim Ducks in the second to last game of this disastrous 8 game home stand.

I was hoping to say we'd come out of that game unscathed, but no. Nils Hoglander was injured in the loss to the Sharks,and will not play this evening. Filip Chytil continues to get better, so I am sure he'll score at some point over these next two games, this one and the struggling Leafs who visit for another pandering early start on Saturday afternoon. Then, they hit the road for games in Utah next Monday and Vegas Wednesday before mercifully shutting down for the Olympic break. They'll return on the 25th with a visit from the Winnipeg Jets, before finishing the month in Seattle.

March will feature 10 of 14 games at home, and it's a very real possibility this team won't crack 25 wins this season. Think about that for a moment. We knew they weren't going to be good, but I don't think there's anyone out there who seriously saw them being quite literally one of the worst teams this franchise has iced in its 56 year history.

LINEUPS

From that nhl dot com racket, here's the potential lineups for this shitshow on ice...

Ducks projected lineup

Alex Killorn -- Mikael Granlund -- Beckett Sennecke

Jeffrey Viel -- Ryan Poehling -- Cutter Gauthier

Chris Kreider -- Jansen Harkins -- Sam Colangelo

Ross Johnston -- Tim Washe -- Ian Moore

Jackson LaCombe -- Jacob Trouba

Pavel Mintyukov -- Drew Helleson

Olen Zellweger -- Radko Gudas

Lukas Dostal

Ville Husso

Scratched: Ryan Strome

Injured: Troy Terry (upper body), Leo Carlsson (thigh), Mason McTavish (upper body), Petr Mrazek (undisclosed), Frank Vatrano (undisclosed)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Filip Chytil -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Jake DeBrusk

Marcus Pettersson -- Tyler Myers

Elias Nils Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

P.O Joseph -- Tom Willander

Nikita Tolopilo

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Max Sasson, Victor Mancini

Injured: Nils Hoglander (lower body), Brock Boeser (concussion protocol), Zeev Buium (facial fracture), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

You have to feel for Hoglander, having missed so much time already, just a frustrating couple seasons for him after that breakthrough campaign a couple years ago. The Ducks are pretty banged up themselves, but that hasn't seemed to stop them too much as their record over the last while would indicate. No surprise that Nikita Tolopilo gets the nod tonight, and I would expect Kevin Lankinen to go Saturday if they don't win tonight, but if they do... I could see Tolopilo riding the hot hand.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

'Prejudice is just another way of saying ignorance'. NUCLEAR ASSAULT, proving all the 'Metal wasn't woke in the 80's!!1!" wrong yet again. From the 'Fight To Be Free' ep, this is 'Equal Rights'.

Enjoy the game. Fuck fascists worldwide! Go Canucks Go!

Another frustrating loss, both because of how it played out, and because of the devastating injuries that followed. One dumb luck, the other a maddeningly dirty cheapshot that might go unpunished.

Vancouver Canucks (17-30-5) vs. San Jose Sharks (26-21-3)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

To say that one of the reasons that this season's been so frustrating has been the constant deluge of injuries suffered by the time is putting it mildly. And that's why what happened to Boeser is so rage inducing. The way the Canucks have suffered injuries this year is just insane, and they don't need any helping adding to the totals, let alone one on a completely unnecessary hit at the end of the game. The above video states he feels the hit isn't predatory, but given the horn goes essentially as he makes the hit, and Boeser isn't able to make contact with the puck or the goalie, why is he running at Boeser to lay him out in a game they've won? Sadly, the NHL's Department of 'Player Safety' has been an utter disappointment time and time again, and I am certain we'll get a slap on the wrist for Rust for this chickenshit head shot.

And then there's the injury to Zeev Buium, taking a puck to the face that at first didn't seem to bad, as he'd returned to the game wearing a full face shield. But the news the next morning that he and Boeser were both added to the IR confirmed the worst, and the Canucks put out the call for Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Victor Mancini from Abbotsford.

At least, you're probably telling yourself, that things can't get much worse. And if you're saying that, you must be new around here.

Yeah, that feels about right. Par for the course for this season, for sure. And it's not just about this season. Let's face it, we need to come to terms that once again, the goalie that was supposed to lead us out of the dark times is broken, and we need to find a new option. It's never gonna get better.

So with Boeser out just as he was heating up with that dreadful goal drought snapped, a team that struggles to score at the best of times now has to take on the up and coming San Jose Sharks once again with good portions of their best players out of the lineup. And with the way Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks are playing of late, if they can hang close to the playoff line and get a goaltender better than the ones they have right now, that's a fun little dark horse in the West that can create some first round chaos.

And in keeping with the theme, tonight will not be the awkward reunion we'd hoped for, as Kiefer Sherwood is not in the lineup for the Sharks, so I guess that gives them more time to work on the tribute video...

LINEUPS

From the nhl dot com site on the world wide webs, this here's the story we'll see play out tonight:

Sharks projected lineup

Collin Graf -- Macklin Celebrini -- Will Smith

Pavol Regenda -- Alexander Wennberg -- Tyler Toffoli

William Eklund -- Michael Misa -- Adam Gaudette

Barclay Goodrow -- Zack Ostapchuk -- Ryan Reaves

Dmitry Orlov -- John Klingberg

Mario Ferraro -- Timothy Liljegren

Sam Dickinson -- Vincent Desharnais

Yaroslav Askarov

Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: Jeff Skinner, Vincent Iorio

Injured: Kiefer Sherwood (undisclosed), Ty Dellandrea (lower body), Philipp Kurashev (upper body), Shakir Mukhamadullin (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson

Drew O’Connor -- Filip Chytil -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- David Kampf -- Evander Kane

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

P.O Joseph -- Tyler Myers

Kevin Lankinen

Nikita Tolopilo

Scratched: Aatu Raty, Max Sasson, Victor Mancini

Injured: Brock Boeser (concussion protocol), Zeev Buium (facial fracture), Thatcher Demko (hip surgery), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Going back to 'Spreading The Disease', the second album from ANTHRAX. While most think about 'Madhouse' when they think of this album, there's some great cuts on there, including this one. This is 'The Enemy' from the NYC thrash kings.

Enjoy the game, everyone! Fuck fascism! Go Canucks Go!

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Canucks probably deserved a better fate than they got on Friday night. Full marks for battling back after spotting a three goal lead to the Devils, though.

Vancouver Canucks (17-29-5) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (25-14-11)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

3:00 pm PST; 6:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet

Radio: Sportsnet 650

Another day, another one goal loss for the Canucks. I would be shocked to discover they weren't leading the NHL in that stat. Again, it's the way they allow early goals and oftentimes multiples, forcing them to play from behind from essentially the opening whistle that is once again their downfall. It's not a recipe for success. Not that scoring first has been any kind of a guaranteed win this season, but it's far better odds than trying to pull off a multi-goal comeback.

So they face another Metropolitan team tonight, this time it's the Pittsburgh Penguins, who currently sit second in their division. But are they as good as their place in the standings would suggest? With 11 OT and SO points, they have less actual wins than the Islanders and New Jersey, and the same number as Washington. The Islanders and Devils have both feasted in extra time though, garnering 9 wins a piece, so there's that. Still, without the Bettman points, the Pens would likely be out of a playoff spot.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, Sidney Crosby comes into this game on an absolute heater, with 3-5-8 in his last 5 games. It has the makings of a long afternoon if the Canucks don't find a way to kill some bloody penalties and tighten up defensively. They're also gonna need a better performance from today's likely starter Nikita Tolopilo. With Lankinen getting off the ice early for what the Canucks called 'load management', they recalled Tolopilo and sent Jiri Patera back to Abbotsford.

LINEUPS

From the nhl dot com thingy... here's the lowdown:

Penguins projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov -- Tommy Novak -- Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha -- Ben Kindel -- Justin Brazeau

Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Noel Acciari

Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson

Brett Kulak -- Connor Clifton

Ryan Shea -- Jack St. Ivany

Stuart Skinner

Arturs Silovs

Scratched: Kevin Hayes, Ilya Solovyov, Ryan Graves

Injured: Filip Hallander (blood clot), Kris Letang (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk

Drew O’Connor -- Filip Chytil -- Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson

Elias Nils Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Nikita Tolopilo

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: P.O Joseph, Aatu Raty, Max Sasson

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

There's a chance that Willander sits tonight as he's reportedly battling an illness, and that would see Joseph get back in tonight. Other than that, it doesn't appear there's any changes, but I wouldn't be too shocked to see one of Raty and Sasson get back in tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

We outnumber them. And we will defeat them.

Enjoy the game, folks. Fuck all fascists! Go Canucks Go!

Our long regional nightmare is over! It wasn't pretty (was that even an option?), but the Canucks found a way to hang on and get a win over the Caps after 11 straight losses. So, we're all fine if they don't make it two in a row tonight? That first overall pick isn't gonna manifest itself, y'know.

Vancouver Canucks (17-28-5) vs. Washington Capitals (26-22-2)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

While it was hardly a dominant win by any stretch, it was deserved, as the Canucks put in the work, and got rewarded for a change, as they snapped that horrendous 11 game losing skid, garnering just their 5th home ice win of the season. I think what was the most impressive part of that game, was the way they just decided that even after giving up two goals on that terrible 5 on 3 for Washington early in the game, that they were not going to roll over and die. If you had told me that they'd end the first back at evens, I would have a hard time seeing how that was possible.

Hard work, a great performance from their top players, and actually giving some support to Kevin Lankinen, who had a solid performance in the crease helped them hang on for the victory, but there's no time to rest on those laurels as they face another team battling for one of those Eastern Conference wild card slots: the New Jersey Devils.

There was a time when this was one of the highlights of the season, the visit from other Hughes boys, and now, it's just another game. One of the things we need to get used to in the post-Quinn era, I suppose. The Devils have been playing well, winners of 2 straight and 4 of their last 5, having bested Minnesota, Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton in that time.

LINEUPS

From the mothership (aka nhl dot com) this is the purported alignments of these teams this evening:

Devils projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Jack Hughes -- Jesper Bratt

Ondrej Palat -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer

Evgenii Dadonov -- Paul Cotter -- Conner Brown

Arseny Gritsyuk -- Cody Glass -- Lenni Hameenaho

Jonas Siegenthaler -- Brett Pesce

Brenden Dillon -- Dougie Hamilton

Simon Nemec -- Johnathan Kovacevic

Jacob Markstrom

Jake Allen

Scratched: Luke Glendening, Juho Lammikko, Colton White

Injured: Luke Hughes (shoulder), Zack MacEwen (ACL), Stefan Noesen (knee)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk

Drew O’Connor -- Filip Chytil -- Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Kevin Lankinen

Jiri Patera

Scratched: P.O Joseph, Aatu Raty, Max Sasson

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Yes, you read that correctly. After 44 games, Filip Chytil is returning to the Canucks lineup tonight, and that's great, because I am sure we all want to watch this game whilst holding our collective breaths every time someone bumps him. In all seriousness, it's good that he's back, and let's hope he can stay healthy for a while. That does mean an odd man out situation, and tonight it's Max Sasson. With Teddy Blueger returning on Wednesday against Washington, and David Kampf really starting to gel on that fourth line, it's gonna be tough for Sasson to get back into the lineup. Lankinen gets the start again tonight against former Canuck Jacob Markstrom, who doesn't wanna talk about that game, probably.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

'Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!' In solidarity with the people of Minnesota as they battle the fascist invasion of their state, some Minneapolis metal for you today. The title track from their debut album, this is 'Absolute Power' by POWERMAD.

Enjoy the game. Fuck fascists, every last one of them. Go Canucks Go!

Unlike pretty much every other game in this historic losing streak, the Canucks probably deserved a better fate than they were dealt on Monday night against the Islanders. The problem is, things are so bad with the Canucks that they simply cannot make a mistake, because when they do, it ends up in the back of their net.

Vancouver Canucks (16-28-5) vs. Washington Capitals (24-20-6)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

Honestly, it's hard to be mad at the Canucks over that loss to the Islanders on Monday evening. They fought hard, and gave the Islanders all they could handle. In the end, mistakes made were costly, and ended being the difference, as well as another failure from one of the NHL's most inept penalty kills. I though overall it was a much better effort team-wise, but still, we're at 11 games and counting right now, and something has to give.

The last time these teams met was a fairly eventful contest. Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist, Elias Pettersson got his first of the year, as did Teddy Blueger. Blueger's goal put the Canucks up 4-0, and they were able to hang on for the 4-3 win. It was a costly one, though. Tom Wilson's garbage hit on Filip Chytil went unpunished, and Chytil is still out of the lineup, recovering from concussion issues.

If there's a team they might be able to bump the slump against, maybe it's Washington? They've lost 3 straight, are 10-10-3 on the road and have not won a road game this season where their opponents scored first. They're also 0-5 in shootouts this season. I shouldn't have to tell you that it really doesn't matter how they win, but getting one just for everyone's mental health should be the priority.

And while we know it's hard to bring yourself to watch the Canucks right now, what with the at times unwatchably horrid hockey they're playing, world events, and new episodes of The Traitors, but this could potentially be the last visit of Alexander Ovechkin to Rogers Arena, so this one will be worth the watch, I am sure. Oh, and a little payback to Tom Wilson probably wouldn't hurt, while they're at it.

LINEUPS

From that nhl dot com thang, here's what we should likely see on the ice tonight:

Capitals projected lineup

Connor McMichael -- Dylan Strome -- Ryan Leonard

Aliaksei Protas -- Justin Sourdif -- Tom Wilson

Alex Ovechkin -- Nic Dowd -- Anthony Beauvillier

Brandon Duhaime -- Hendrix Lapierre -- Ethen Frank

Jakob Chychrun -- John Carlson

Martin Fehervary -- Matt Roy

Rasmus Sandin -- Declan Chisholm

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

Scratched: Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dylan McIlrath, Sonny Milano, Ivan Miroshnichenko

Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower body)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk

Drew O’Connor -- David Kampf -- Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Kevin Lankinen

Jiri Patera

Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Raty

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

The big news is that Teddy Blueger is good to go and will be in the lineup tonight, which shows you just how badly the Canucks are hurting for good news of any kind at the moment. That means Arshdeep Bains is going back to Abbotsford. With Demko and Forbort likely done for the season, that means Chytil (who could play soon) and Rossi (scheduled to be back after the Olympic break) are the only ones left still hoping to get back in. Washington is mostly healthy, with just Pierre-Luc DBag the only one out at the moment, and it will be Kevin Lankinen vs Logan Thompson in goal.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Yesterday saw a new tune drop from Bay Area thrash pioneers EXODUS, and it's an absolute beast of a track! I know there's a lot of hype for the upcoming Megadeth swan song, but this is the album I will be waiting impatiently for. From the album entitled 'Goliath', this is '3111', featuring Rob Dukes on vocals. Dukes rejoined the band last year, after serving in that role from 2005-2014.

Enjoy the game, folks! Fuck Fascism and Fuck Trump! Go Canucks Go!

After what was quite possibly the most embarrassing period of hockey by this team that I have ever witnessed in over 50 years of punishing myself by following them, the Canucks moved out another big piece as Kiefer Sherwood is a San Jose Shark, thus ensuing games against them are going to go back to being just fucking miserable again.

Vancouver Canucks (16-27-5) vs. New York Islanders (26-17-5)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

Radio: Sportsnet 650

At the end of the day, this is a pretty decent return for Sherwood, and the stockpiling of draft picks shows that they're actually taking this rebuild seriously. And that's good, because that game on Saturday night was one that is going to have a direct impact on butts in the seats for the remainder of the season.

The Oilers, minus Leon Draisaitl, absolutely savaged the Canucks in the second period, and it was difficult to watch. When the Oilers got their first goal, you could literally feel the spirit leaving the collective bodies of the Canucks, and that game was over before they finished announcing who scored. It's reached the point, and dear god I completely and utterly despise the phrase and having to use it, but the fan base would just LOVE a moral victory of some kind, any kind, right now. And it seems so distant it feels as though it's not real.

And it feels like Sportsnet dropping a Quinn Hughes feature where he raves about how good the Wild are compared to the Canucks is pretty cruel. I'll post the link, but honestly, I can't read stuff like this right now, it's just piling on, and this fan base has suffered enough, thank you very much.

And then there's the whole making history thing tonight. The Canucks can set a new mark of infamy with a loss as they have dropped ten straight, which they haven't done since the Mark Messier days. They face a team that most times wouldn't be a tremendous threat, as the New York Islanders, while they sit second in the Metropolitan Division, are hardly a team considered to be front runners, and given the log jam over there, could easily drop out of contention with just a handful of losses at the wrong time.

The Isles are without Bo Horvat, who's banged up but should be good to go for Team Canada over in Italy at the Olympics next month. Even then, they still have a decent enough team, in spite of the 4-1 loss at the hands of the Canucks a month ago today. Keep an eye on Matthew Schafer, he's still proving to be one of the front runners in the Calder race, and is a lot of fun to watch.

LINEUPS

From the ol' nhl dot com doodad, here's tonight's supposed lineups:

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Anthony Duclair

Jonathan Drouin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Simon Holmstrom

Maxim Tsyplakov -- Calum Ritchie -- Emil Heineman

Kyle MacLean -- Casey Cizikas -- Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer -- Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech -- Tony DeAngelo

Adam Boqvist -- Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

David Rittich

Scratched: Cole McWard, Max Shabanov

Injured: Ethan Bear (wrist), Pierre Engvall (ankle), Bo Horvat (lower body), Kyle Palmieri (lower body), Alexander Romanov (shoulder), Semyon Varlamov (knee)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Evander Kane -- David Kampf -- Drew O'Connor

Liam Ohgren -- Aatu Raty -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson

Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Kevin Lankinen

Jiri Patera

Scratched: P.O Joseph, Arshdeep Bains

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

So... with Nikita Tolopilo and Victor Mancini headed back to Abbotsford, that means Jiri Patera and Elias Pettersson are back up, but it will be Kevin Lankinen back in the crease for the Canucks tonight. There was some hope that Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil would be ready for tonight, but it does not appear that either of them will be skating tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Going back to the 80's today to check out one of the first wave Bay Area thrash bands that never caught on when the labels started snapping up all the bands of that scene. With a sound not too far removed from EXODUS, your guess is as good as mine why they didn't move to that next level. Maybe it was the 'how the fuck do you pronounce that?' name, but musically it's worth a listen if you dig the old school stuff. Off 'Annihilation Principle', here's a great cover of the Dead Kennedys classic 'Holiday In Cambodia'.

Enjoy the game, if that's possible. Fuck fascism! Go Canucks Go!

Nobody said tanking was easy, and while the benefits are obvious, maybe these guys could throw us a bone? We're used to the losses, but this is getting ridiculous.

Vancouver Canucks (16-26-5) vs. Edmonton Oilers (23-17-8)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet, CBC, City

Radio: Sportsnet 650

There was a point in this season where you could go "Well, at least the Canucks are decent enough on the road, right?" So what do you do when that's no longer a thing?

That road trip couldn't have gone any worse for the Canucks, honestly. Losing every single game, along with another handful of players has sealed their fate, and the rest of the season will just be them riding it out, playing the kids and hopefully, having it all pay off with a top three draft pick come June.

And while that sounds simple, it's really not. There's a lot that needs to be done, selling off of assets, and making sure which ones to keep to build a new core around. And the hardest part? They need to sell the team to new owners. It's not going to be quick. It's going to be painful. But it's the only way out of this godforsaken mess.

And now, with the potential to set a new low with the most consecutive losses, and the penalty kill operating at a 50% clip during that road trip, they return home to face the league's best power play in the Edmonton Oilers. I am already feeling uneasy at just how bad they're going to look tonight.

35 games to go, and most of them are at home. For some teams, that would be reassuring. For the worst team on home ice in the NHL? Not so much. And it's a rough schedule, too. 8 straight at home, a game every second night. No chance to practice in between, really. No extended periods to let nagging injuries heal. This is a nightmare scenario.

LINEUPS

Via that nhl dot com place, this is what will likely shake down tonight:

Oilers projected lineup

Vasily Podkolzin -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Trent Frederic -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Kasperi Kapanen

Isaac Howard -- Jack Roslovic -- Matthew Savoie

Andrew Mangiapane -- Curtis Lazar -- Mattias Janmark

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Ty Emberson

Jake Walman -- Spencer Stastney

Tristan Jarry

Calvin Pickard

Scratched: Leon Draisaitl, Alec Regula, Connor Ingram

Injured: Adam Henrique (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Liam Ohgren -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Jake DeBrusk -- David Kampf -- Evander Kane

Drew O’Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Conor Garland

Arshdeep Bains -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson

Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Tom Willander -- Victor Mancini

Nikita Tolopilo

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: P.O Joseph, Nils Hoglander

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Kiefer Sherwood (undisclosed), Marco Rossi (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Lots going on here, so let's start with the big news. No Leon Draisaitl, as he's returned to Germany to deal with a sick family member. Unfortunate for him and the Oilers, but potentially a ray of light for the Canucks if they hope to not hit double digits on this losing skid. It's Nikita Tolopilo in goal tonight, as Kevin Lankinen is ill, so much so they had a third goaltender at the morning skate, but he will dress tonight, apparently. Chytil and Blueger are almost ready to return, likely Monday against the Islanders, but not tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Just playing this track from SEPULTURA's classic 'Chaos A.D.' album, for no particular reason.

Enjoy the game, folks. Fuck Fascism! Go Canucks Go!

CANUCKS (16-25-5) at BLUE JACKETS (20-19-7)

7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, SNP

Early games...sheesh.

What can I say about this team that is new and refreshing to read?

They suck?.....no, that's not it. They don't actually suck. They have the same issues as better Canuck teams. They can't score and they have a mental shutdown for 5-10 minutes and teams scores several goals against them. The Canucks might have a shot of a winless 2026.

I will throw my two cents into the trade situation right now.

Trade: Sherwood, Boeser, and Kane now. Hopefully Demko gets back this year and you trade him at the draft. I would keep Garland for now.

You keep Petey for now as well. No, he isn't worth $11.6 million a year, but I would keep him over Boeser just for the two-way play.

Game Day Chatter

Game Day Lineups

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson

Drew O’Connor -- Max Sasson -- Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren -- David Kampf -- Conor Garland

Arshdeep Bains -- Aatu Raty -- Evander Kane

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Tom Willander -- Victor Mancini

Kevin Lankinen

Nikita Tolopilo

Scratched: P.O Joseph, Nils Hoglander

Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Kiefer Sherwood (undisclosed), Marco Rossi (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Cole Sillinger -- Adam Fantilli -- Kirill Marchenko

Boone Jenner -- Sean Monahan -- Kent Johnson

Dimitri Voronkov -- Charlie Coyle -- Mathieu Olivier

Danton Heinen -- Brendan Gaunce -- Mikael Pyyhtia

Zach Werenski -- Dante Fabbro

Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson

Erik Gudbranson -- Jake Christiansen

Elvis Merzlikins

Jet Greaves

Scratched: Zach Aston-Reese, Egor Zamula, Dysin Mayo

Injured: Isac Lundestrom (lower body), Brendan Smith (knee surgery), Miles Wood (lower body), Mason Marchment (upper body), Denton Mateychuk (upper body)

Status report

Bains will enter the lineup for Hoglander, a forward, and Willander will replace Joseph, a defenseman. ... Forwards Chytil, Blueger and Sherwood each skated Thursday. ... Gudbranson will return after missing 38 games because of a hip injury. … Severson will play after missing a 5-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday because of illness. ... Defensemen Zamula and Mayo will come out.

Game Day Battle Hymn

When I think of this season so far, I associate it with the imagery of the following song.

Is it still Go Canucks Go?.....or tank boys tank?

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