A loss keeps the Canucks microscopically slim Draft Lottery hopes alive. A win could help keep Calgary from making the playoffs. How the hell are we supposed to choose here?
VANCOUVER CANUCKS (35-36-7) vs CALGARY FLAMES (37-27-15)
7:00 PM PST
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
TV: SN, CBC, CITY TV. RADIO: SN650
Talk about a difficult choice. On the one hand, we have an outcome that could lead to the hockey gods finally deciding that the Canucks have suffered enough, and allow them to win the coveted first overall pick in this summer's entry draft, allowing hometown boy Connor Bedard to play for the team he loved growing up. On the other hand, we get a moral victory wrapped in a real one, as we give the Flames just two opportunities to try and overtake the Winnipeg Jets for the final wild card slot in the Western Conference.
There's a genuine appeal to helping hammer a nail on the coffin of this season for the Flames. They might be the closest thing the Canucks have to a bitter rival, given the number of epic playoff battles they've had. Honestly though, if losing this game (and the remaining three on the road next week) results in the Canucks winning the draft lottery, it would all be worth it.
It's getting harder and harder to stay tuned in to what they're doing on the ice right now. So much of what they do over the course of sixty minutes is just so uninspiring and unwatchable, save for a few moments of brilliance from the usual suspects. As a fan base we've been suffering for years now, going through a drought that is the worst in this team's existence. I don't think this even gets talked about enough, that there isn't a ten year stretch at any point in the history of the Canucks where they miss the playoffs eight out of those ten times. I'm tired of this shit, and pissed off that they continue to do what amounts to nothing year after year after fucking year.
So while it would be delicious fun to spoil the night for Jacob Markstrom, and see Milan Lucic pout and whine even more than usual, I really don't wanna see it. They need to just roll over, take the L and hope for a miracle, because unless there's an ownership change this summer, that's the only way we'll see meaningful change come to the Vancouver Canucks.
LINEUPS
Courtesy of nhl.com, this is what we might see on the ice at the Rog tonight:
Flames projected lineup
Andrew Mangiapane -- Elias Lindholm -- Tyler Toffoli
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman
Nick Ritchie -- Nazem Kadri -- Dillon Dube
Milan Lucic -- Trevor Lewis -- Walker Duehr
MacKenzie Weegar -- Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov -- Troy Stecher
Scratched: Jakob Pelletier, Adam Ruzicka, Matt Coronato, Michael Stone, Dennis Gilbert
Injured: None
Canucks projected lineup
Vitali Kravtsov -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Nils Aman -- Jack Studnicka
Andrei Kuzmenko -- Sheldon Dries -- Anthony Beauvillier
Quinn Hughes -- Kyle Burroughs
Scratched: Aidan McDonough
Injured: Guillaume Brisebois (undisclosed), Filip Hronek (shoulder), Vasily Podkolzin (hand), Christian Wolanin (lower body), Noah Juulsen (lower body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ankle), Travis Dermott (undisclosed), Ilya Mikheyev (torn ACL), Tanner Pearson (hand), Tucker Poolman (upper body)
Well, those are... lines. I don't think anyone anticipated Kuzmenko and Beauvillier on the fourth line, but here we are. Akito Hirose and Cole McWard get a chance to play again on Fan Appreciation night, and Thatcher Demko will try and keep his shutout streak going after a solid performance against the woeful Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
The word legendary gets tossed around in the music industry, but when it comes to punk, you better believe it when they attach it to the Dayglo Abortions. Victoria's controversial, and immensely influential hardcore act are still going strong, and with the news of original member Murray 'Cretin' Acton's recent cancer diagnosis, showing them some support would be a good thing, like snagging a copy of this Dayglos tribute album, featuring DEICIDE, GWAR, SNFU, MUNICIPAL WASTE, GHOUL, AGNOSTIC FRONT and others. So from that album, here's MUNICIPAL WASTE with 'Black Sabbath'.
Enjoy the game. Go Canucks Go, I guess.
