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!