Remember last year when the Canucks gave us hope for Christmas last year? Well, I hope you didn't get used to that, because it's a throwback Christmas! Inconsistency, drama and struggles for all, and for all a good grief! Oh, and we have to listen to Mark F'ing Messier tonight. Merry Christmas!

Vancouver Canucks (16-10-7) vs. San Jose Sharks  (11-19-6)

6:00 pm PST; 9:00 pm EST

TV: Amazon Prime

Radio: Sportsnet 650

I don't blame you if you're pissed off after Saturday's loss to Ottawa. I mean, for me I think the thing that makes me the most angry, is that I feel as though I am losing my mind, because I swear these kinds of losses simply didn't happen last season. It's like the Canucks went back in time a couple years, and are back to the inconsistent, frustrating efforts. I'm so tired of this. We've been watching this garbage for over a decade now, we saw a good chunk of Prime Sedinery wasted on Canucks teams that played like this, and I have zero tolerance for it anymore.

So fuck it.

If there's a problem in this dressing room, fix it. If these two extremely well paid players cannot function together enough that it is actually bringing the rest of the team down, then change things up because we're running out of time on this season, and if you think that this management team is going to accept missing the playoffs, you're kidding yourself. There's a painful move that should be coming, and if they don't make it, it will require an even more painful move in the offseason. The Canucks have the best defenceman in the NHL, and that's not hyperbole. Build a fucking team around him that is going to win a Stanley Cup already. We've been extremely patient and loyal for over 50 goddamn years now, and it's time this team actually showed like it matters.

The stakes are getting dire, and the Canucks absolutely need to not just go on a bit of a run here, but they need to start playing like Rogers Arena is their home, because we've seen it maybe twice this season so far. The next four games are all against Pacific Division opponents, and they cannot afford to give up a single point to any of them, especially with the three following tonight's contest.

Normally, we'd look at a game like this and just assume this was an easy two points. The San Jose Sharks are years away from being good, and while they have a potential future star in hometown boy Macklin Celebrini, they're a mere shadow of the Sharks teams that gave the Canucks so much trouble in the years following 2011. And yet, with the way the Canucks have played of late, the confidence level that they're going to stomp a mudhole in these guys is pretty low at the moment.

To make matters worse, tonight's game is on Amazon Prime, which means two things: One) we're going to see a lot of people complaining about the fact that they don't have Prime and therefore, cannot watch the game, and Two) it means those of us who are able to watch it have to endure Mark Messier talking about the Canucks. In a just world, there would be someone who slaps him anytime he utters their name, but as we know, this world is a cruel one, and as Canucks fans, we are born to wear the sin of something or other til the end of time. Then again, it could be worse. We could be Sabres fans.

The Bottom line, is that apart from Quinn Hughes, Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser (who gets a pass after recovering from a concussion), the Canucks elite players need to step up in a big way for the rest of the season, or we're going to be looking at another springtime of utter disappointment, and there's no way that this should be happening at this stage of the rebuild.

LINEUPS

Written in white chocolate on the back of a vest of one of Santa's elves at Metrotown, you'll find the lineups for tonight's contest, though it would be easier to just go to nhl dot com...

Sharks projected lineup

Mikael Granlund -- Macklin Celebrini -- Tyler Toffoli

William Eklund -- Alex Wennberg -- Will Smith

Nikolai Kovalenko -- Luke Kunin -- Fabian Zetterlund

Barclay Goodrow -- Nico Sturm -- Ty Dellandrea

Henry Thrun -- Cody Ceci

Mario Ferraro -- Timothy Liljegren

Shakir Mukhamadullin -- Jan Rutta

Yaroslav Askarov

Alexandar Georgiev

Scratched: Carl Grundstrom

Injured: Vitek Vanecek (head), Jake Walman (lower body)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Nils Hoglander

Phil Di Giuseppe -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua -- Pius Suter -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Kiefer Sherwood

Quinn Hughes -- Tyler Myers

Carson Soucy -- Noah Juulsen

Derek Forbort -- Vincent Desharnais

Thatcher Demko

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Erik Brannstrom, Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson

Injured: Filip Hronek (upper body)

Demko is back in after back to back starts by Kevin Lankinen. And Nils Hoglander is back in the lineup after riding the press box pine for the past two games. Maybe the break is going to shake him up that we see the Hoglander from last season? Other than that, no other changes from Saturday, so I am hopeful that the complete and utter lack of defensive help that Lankinen saw Saturday doesn't happen again tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

Thatcher Demko's gonna be sporting a new mask tonight, and it is immaculate... Sara Civian absolutely nails the EP40/JT drama... Here's Coach Tocchet after yesterday's practice... and JT Miller...

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

One of the legendary bands in Canadian metal is back, and holy hell is this gonna be good! SACRIFICE have been building towards a new album, their first since they released 'The Ones I Condemn' in 2009, called 'Volume VI', due out Feb 21, 2025 on Cursed Blessings Records. The first single off the album is 'Antidote Of Poison', and if the rest of the album is like this, what an absolutely massive return to form for this legendary Canadian act.

Enjoy the game, fuck Messier, and Go Canucks Go!