There's low bar moments, and then there's only getting 14 shots on Dustin Tokarski. I don't care which team they were playing, that might well be the most embarrassing moment of the Rutherford/Allvin era. Completely and utterly unacceptable.
Vancouver Canucks (18-13-10) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (27-14-2)
4:00 pm PST; 7:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet, CBC
Radio: Sportsnet 650
I mean, seriously.
In less than a season they went from Must See TV to an utterly soul-draining experience. How on earth did a team, this team, with essentially the same players as last season, become so utterly lost and unwatchable?
And before you lump me in with a certain segment of the fan base currently mouth breathing over on that South African Nazi's social media cesspool, I do not think that firing anyone is the answer here. If they're going to make a coaching move, and I don't think they do, it should happen in the offseason, for if they do it now it reeks of desperation, and will not have the desired effect no matter who's behind the bench.
I don't know why this team is as bad as they are right now. It's not just one thing. It's everything. And there may not be a way to fix it before the end of the season. That sucks, because once again, this fan base had been filled with hope after last year. Shame on us, I guess, for letting them do it to us again. We are forever the Charlie Brown to their Lucy.
So, let's see. We've got a team that can't score. Can't get shots. Can't win to save their lives right now. It's their third game in four nights, and they had to delay travel after a severe winter storm kept them from leaving North Carolina last night after the 2-0 loss to Dusting fucking Tokarski. And now they're again playing one of the NHL's best, who are absolute beasts at home this season. This is going to be ugly.
LINEUPS
This was on nhl dot com. Yes, I am so disillusioned by this team right now, I can't even joke about the lineups...
Canucks projected lineup
Jonathan Lekkerimaki -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland
Danton Heinen -- Teddy Blueger -- Phillip Di Giuseppe
Max Sasson -- Pius Suter -- Kiefer Sherwood
Quinn Hughes -- Tyler Myers
Carson Soucy -- Noah Juulsen
Derek Forbort -- Vincent Desharnais
Kevin Lankinen
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Erik Brannstrom, Guillaume Brisebois, Nils Hoglander
Injured: Filip Hronek (upper body), Dakota Joshua (lower body)
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Max Pacioretty -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Bobby McMann -- Max Domi -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Connor Dewar
Morgan Rielly -- Phillippe Myers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit -- Conor Timmins
Dennis Hildeby
Joseph Woll
Scratched: Ryan Reaves, Pontus Holmberg, Marshal Rifai
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Anthony Stolarz (lower body), Jake McCabe (upper body)
So, we do know that Hoglander and Brisebois are in, and Sasson and Desharnais are out. Will this help the Canucks? Who the hell knows? They're going up against Dennis Hildeby tonight, and they're probably gonna make him look like an NHL goaltender.
GAME DAY CHATTER
The coach on tonight's game and the ridiculousness of getting to Toronto today... Some cool news out of Abbotsford last night, as Linus Karlsson is your new all time Abby Canucks scoring leader, passing Sheldon Dries... And in case you missed it, Petey on last night's game...
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
The next entry in our series celebrating metal releases from 1985 is the pride of Guelph, ON: RAZOR. Formed in 1983, the band turned the metal world on its ear with their second release, 'Evil Invaders'. With a sound that was fast, raw, and featured the memorable vocal stylings of Stace 'Sheepdog' McLaren, guitarist Dave Carlo and the band were one of the first metal bands to really make a splash on MuchMusic, as the video for the title track got airplay. One of Canada's Big 4 metal bands, and a serious influence on extreme metal bands around the world, this song was another one that made me a lifer.
I don't know how you can, but try and enjoy the game. Go Leafs Suck! Go Canucks Go!