DUCKS (9-12-0) at CANUCKS (14-7-1)

10 p.m. ET; SNP, BSSC, BSSD

I had been waiting 21 games for the Canucks of yore to appear and lo and behold, they appeared in San Jose, losing to the last place Sharks. In the last podcast with Jimmi, I bemoaned the tactic of pulling the goalie down 2 goals. While some would say that it has produced results to pull the Canucks back to one-goal deficits with time left, I would say that the team has put itself in the position to have to pull the goalie. There is no way that Vancouver should lose to SJ on paper, and yet this team found a way to do so. The puck luck that appeared so often for the Canucks in the first 10 games has turned on the Canucks. Hitting posts, pucks going through the crease and disallowed goals are now the luck the Canucks have. That was 2 points that the Canucks gave away.

The Canucks face an Anaheim team that was humiliated by the Oilers 8-2 in their last game. The Ducks are a team of promise that are missing some important pieces to make it to the next level. They have some young forwards like Zegras (injured), MacTavish, Terry and Mintyukov, who are surrounded by some vets like Henrique, Killorn and Fowler. Their special teams are middle of the league, but have allowed 12 more goals against than goals for 5vs5.

The Canucks beat the Ducks all 4 times they played them last year and there should be no logical reason for the Nucks to lose any games against them this year....of course logic sometimes disappears when it comes to the Canucks. Petey feasted on the Ducks last year with 11 points and so hopefully he can find his scoring touch. Petey has 1 point in his last 4 games, and while I have said I think he is injured, his faceoffs have actually gone up over the past couple games. You usually wouldn't increase someone's faceoffs if they had a hurt hand or wrist.....so maybe it's a leg. Who knows?

The Canucks injuries have led to another change in the back end as Cole McWard will get the start tonight over Mark Friedman. Hopefully McWard can help get the puck out of the Canucks end faster and limit chances up the middle. Splitting Hronek and Hughes does not help create two better pairings, so keeping them together means the 2nd pairing has to be better at moving out of the defensive zone and not force the forwards to skate it out. I am still not sold on Noah Juulsen being an NHL defenseman, and it shows how bare the defensemen cupboard is.

Ducks projected lineup

Alex Killorn -- Adam Henrique -- Troy Terry

Frank Vatrano -- Mason McTavish -- Ryan Strome

Max Jones -- Benoit-Olivier Groulx -- Jakob Silfverberg

Ross Johnston -- Sam Carrick -- Brock McGinn

Cam Fowler -- Jackson Lacombe

Pavel Mintyukov -- Ilya Lyubushkin

Urho Vaakanainen -- Tristan Luneau

John Gibson

Lukas Dostal

Scratched: Leo Carlsson, Brett Leason

Injured: Radko Gudas (lower body)

Canucks projected lineup

Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Andrei Kuzmenko

Anthony Beauvillier -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander -- Nils Aman -- Sam Lafferty

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen

Cole McWard -- Tyler Myers

Thatcher Demko

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Akito Hirose, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Mark Friedman

Injured: Pius Suter (lower body), Carson Soucy (foot), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion)

Status report

Gudas, a defenseman, is day to day after leaving in the second period of an 8-2 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. … Carlsson appears to be a healthy scratch for a second straight game with the Ducks continuing to manage the rookie forward's workload. ... The Canucks held an optional morning skate Tuesday, but coach Rick Tocchet confirmed Kuzmenko will return to the top line after being scratched the past two games. … McWard will make his season debut in place of Friedman; how the second and third defense pairs are deployed is to be determined. ... Demko is expected to start for the fifth time in six games. ... Suter, a center who has not played since Nov. 12, experienced a setback in his recovery last week, according to Tocchet; there is no firm timetable for his return. … Di Giuseppe, a forward, could be a scratch for the first time this season. - NHL.com

LATE NEWS

Well....that's answers one question about salary cap....but doesn't address the defenseman issue.

Game Day Battle Hymn.

There seem to be a bunch of you guitar enthusiasts on here and while I don't freely listen to some of the same genres, I can appreciate some good guitar pickin'. My tastes tend to move towards from rock to blues and this lady has covered each quite well. Bonnie Raitt is a favorite of mine. Enjoy.

Go Coconuts Go!