1:30 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN
Let's get the jinx right out of the way...the Canucks have not lost three in a row all year. There I said it.
They shouldn't have lost two in a row. Losing a 2 goal lead in the 3rd is something that is new to this team and now they have two things to rebound from...or is there more than 3? This team hasn't had to face much adversity this year, so maybe this road trip is the bump in the road and they need to figure out whether to go through it, around it or just spend the money and pave it.
The Canucks go into Washington to face a Caps team that is not that good. 7th place in the Metro and they struggle to score goals...especially that one Russian guy. Of course there is the fact that the Canucks are only 5-9--2 against the Caps over the past 10 years, including losing the past two games last year by a wide margin. Can't forget the game last year, where the Canucks had a 4-2 lead going into the 3rd and lost 6-4.....classic.
The Canucks will be without Nikita Zadorov, as he takes a 2 game vacation after mistiming a hit and giving Raymond a shot to the head. I won't argue the suspension, I would hope the league makes it the norm. They won't. Mark Friedman gets a chance to tryout for next year's spot in Nikita's spot.
Good news for all of us...Canucks still first in the division....still first in the league.
Bad news: If playoffs started today, I think they would face the Blues. They haven't beat the Blues.
One side point, whoever is the NHL schedule maker must be making routes for teams to see how many possible miles they can rack up in a year. This trip could have been cheaper if the team went Bos, Wash, Car, Det and then Chi. Crazy miles
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Lindholm -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Pius Suter
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Nils Aman -- Ilya Mikheyev
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Ian Cole -- Tyler Myers
Mark Friedman -- Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Sam Lafferty
Injured: Carson Soucy (hand)
Suspended: Nikita Zadorov
Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Max Pacioretty -- Mike Sgarbossa -- Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha -- Connor McMichael -- Aliaksei Protas
Beck Malenstyn -- Nic Dowd -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin -- Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson -- Ethan Bear
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Alexander Alexeyev, Matthew Phillips
Injured: Sonny Milano (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (illness)
Game Day Battle Hymn
Early Sunday game, after a loss on the road. I think it might be time to turn the volume as loud as it can go and play some Zep. The Canucks need to find a way to play fast and loose.
Go Canucks Go!
