7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNP
The Canucks continue to look for their first win of the year. Maybe they should start playing well instead of just looking for the win.
Who predicted this start? Kent...put your hand down.
The Canucks have played worse in every game and tonight they skate into the home of the Stanley Cup Champs. And while the Canucks were undefeated against the Panthers last year, I don't have high hopes today, as this Canucks team really struggles to get any offence going. The Nucks are 31st in the league when it comes to shots for/game. (25.7) Want to see some fun numbers over 3 games....
Petey 5 total shots
Huggy 4 total shots
Sprong 2 total shots
Heinen.......0 shots....playing with J.T. and Brock
So, I am no expert, but to win games you need to score goals and to score goals, you need people to shoot the puck on the net. (Or have the other team "Loui" pucks in to their own net.) I wouldn't hold my breath for the 2nd option, so maybe the practices should focus on getting the puck towards the net and getting some dirty goals.
I could into the stats for 5vs5 points....but why pour more salt into the wound.
LINEUPS
Canucks projected lineup
Danton Heinen -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Daniel Sprong
Nils Hoglander -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Nils Aman -- Pius Suter -- Kiefer Sherwood
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Erik Brannstrom -- Vincent Desharnais
Kevin Lankinen
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: Arshdeep Bains, Derek Forbort, Noah Juulsen
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer recovery)
Panthers projected lineup
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Evan Rodrigues
A.J. Greer -- Jesper Boqvist -- Mackie Samoskevich
Jonah Gadjovich -- Patrick Giles -- Uvis Balinskis
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Dmitry Kulikov
Adam Boqvist -- Nate Schmidt
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
Scratched: None
Injured: Aleksander Barkov (lower body), Matthew Tkachuk (illness), Tomas Nosek (upper body)
Status report
The Canucks did not hold a morning skate Thursday. ... Lankinen is expected to start after Silovs made 23 saves in a 4-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. … Brannstrom was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Thursday after forward Aatu Raty was reassigned to the AHL on Wednesday. ... Forbort, a defenseman, is away from the team for personal reasons. … Barkov, a center, could be out as long as two weeks, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. ... With Barkov and Tkachuk, a forward, not playing, Florida has had to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen the past three games. ... Balinskis, a defenseman, has been playing right wing on the fourth line.
GAMEDAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
I am not sure there is a song that gets me hyped up for another potential loss. But I do have to remember that this is a team that could wake up at any moment and maybe it's better to get the shit play out of the way early. The Canucks have to find a way to learn from these games and roll with it, so they can start playing well. (I still put it at 10% that Oasis ever make it to their tour)