Imagine a world where the NHL played 25 preseason games and then the last 57 mattered. Would the Canucks be one of the best teams in the league then? The last time the Canucks came out of the gate (first 25 games) with a winning record (more wins than actual losses) was 2014-15. This team has found 9 different ways to dig itself a grave by the start of December.
Hey....wait....didn't the Nucks get into the playoffs that year (WD yr 1) without the help of a play-in series?
The Canucks are a team that have perfected "Tanking the Tank".
It's frustrating to no end that Canucks management can make the right choice for a coach at the wrong time. Firing Travis after 25 games last year was the right time and the team almost put things together to make the playoffs. Keeping Bruce after game 25 was a weird choice if making the playoffs was the goal. Of course the love affair with Bruce blinded many. Statistics are non-judgmental and therefore hard for us to embrace. Me included.
The Canucks play an average Blues team that has won 4 out of the last 5 against Vancouver. The last game went to the Canucks though as Kuz scored a last minute goal to send it to overtime and then Petey skated end to end and ripped one past Binnington, then yelled "Calder!" as the Canucks won 3-2.
I'm sure the Blues organization is sitting there running an autopsy of what the hell happened this year. They got rid of some big contracts and have also signed some new ones for next year. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou will both make over $8 million/yr starting next year. The one thing the blues have that the Canucks don't is three 1st round picks in this draft. The one thing the Blues are saddled with is a psycho goalie for the next 4 years.
Game Day Chatter
Andrei Kuzmenko -- Elias Pettersson -- Dakota Joshua
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Anthony Beauvillier -- Sheldon Dries -- Conor Garland
Vitali Kravtsov -- Nils Aman -- Jack Studnicka
Guillaume Brisebois -- Filip Hronek
Scratched: Aidan McDonough, Jack Rathbone
Injured: 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), Vasily Podkolzin (undisclosed)
Blues projected lineup
Jake Neighbours -- Robert Thomas -- Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad -- Pavel Buchnevich -- Kasperi Kapanen
Sammy Blais -- Brayden Schenn -- Jakub Vrana
Alexey Toropchenko -- Nathan Walker -- Tyler Pitlick
Marco Scandella -- Justin Faulk
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Calle Rosen, Logan Brown
Injured: None
Game Day Battle Hymn
If i had to stick myself into a category of music listener, it would probably be rock...medium style...with a taste of Canadian sound. Joel Plaskett fills that criteria nicely. This eastern rocker is also worth a listen on the West Coast or Central America even. Put on the headphones to get the full effect.
Go Canucks Go!
