If there were ever a case for mandatory shootouts, the Canucks would strongly be in favour of this. Kevin Lankinen stole two points last night as he continues to build on a legendary status as the greatest shootout goalie in history. Yay?

Vancouver Canucks (16-19-3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (19-17-7)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet

Radio: Sportsnet 650

They were seriously outplayed in the first period, and let's face it, if they'd been facing an actual NHL team and not their cellar-dwelling pals from down the I-5, this game never would have gotten to OT let alone Uncle Gary's Super Fun Trick Shot Contest. But they did and and it did, and just like in Boston the other night, Kevin Lankinen and Liam Ohgren led the Canucks to a victory in the shootout. Lankinen has now stopped all 17 shootout attempts he's faced this season. With Lankinen and Thatcher Demko both in the top 5 all time for shootout save percentage, if they could just get through the OT they're almost a lock these days. It's not enough to salvage their season, but it sure is nice to have something to feel good about with this team.

Another thing that's been a positive in a pretty rough season? The way they've performed in the back half of back to back games so far. The Canucks are 4-1-2 so far in the tail end of back to backs, and you know they'd love to seal the deal on this one as they welcome back Rick Tocchet to Rogers Arena for the first time since he left to join the Flyers in the offseason. After seeing their 4 game winning streak fizzle out in Philly a week ago, the Canucks can finish the month over .500 with a win in their last game of the calendar year.

The Canucks sent a message to some of their veterans in the last game, sitting Jake DeBrusk and David Kampf, and while that didn't result in goals from guys like Brock Boeser and Evander Kane, Kane did set up Elias Pettersson for a beauty to tie the game in the second, and Boeser had a strong, noticeable performance.

Another message sent last night was all five foot nothin' of Conor Garland getting into a scrap with Seattle's Jared McCann. It had the desired result, as Linus Karlsson scored a dozen seconds later, continuing his torrid play since returning to the lineup.

LINEUPS

From that nhl dot com dealie, here's tonight's purported lineups:

Flyers projected lineup

Trevor Zegras -- Christian Dvorak -- Travis Konecny

Denver Barkey -- Sean Couturier -- Owen Tippett

Matvei Michkov -- Noah Cates -- Bobby Brink

Carl Grundstrom -- Rodrigo Abols -- Nikita Grebenkin

Cam York -- Travis Sanheim

Emil Andrae -- Jamie Drysdale

Nick Seeler -- Rasmus Ristolainen

Dan Vladar

Samuel Ersson

Scratched: Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, Noah Juulsen

Injured: Tyson Foerster (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Jake DeBrusk -- Marco Rossi -- Conor Garland

Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood

Liam Ohgren -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson

Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers

Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Thatcher Demko

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Nils Hoglander, David Kampf

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

Expect DeBrusk back in and Hoglander out, but given Raty's strong faceoff ability, he'll likely be in again tonight. There could be other changes though (see below).

GAME DAY BATTLE CHAT

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

We've got Greek thrashers LEATHERHEAD to wrap up this year with their ode to video taped horror movies, here's 'V.H.S.' Real Flotsam and Jetsam vibe here, might need to check these guys out a little further.

Enjoy the game, and have a happy, safe and sane new year! Thanks from all of us at NM for your continued support. Oh, and fuck fascists and Trump, too! Go Canucks Go!