10:30 p.m. ET; SNP, ALT
While the conversation should be about the 4 game winning streak the Canucks are on, of course it will quickly turn to how great Casey DeSmith needs to be over this next 2-3 week period. The Canucks have 7 games over the next 3 weeks, with 2 of them against division opponents. Realistically, the Nucks need to win 4 of them to stay in the conversation for 1st overall in the division. the Canucks have been playing some very stingy defensive hockey, but have also enjoyed the brilliance of Demko when the 5 on the ice fuck up coverage or there is a penalty to kill. We all know that DeSmith is not Thatcher, so I wonder how Taco approaches these next couple weeks? Does he continue to preach a tight neutral zone and wait for the right counter-attack opportunity, or does he give the forward a green light to try and create more offense by taking chances and throwing stretch passes to spring players....maybe like...I don't know.....Miky? Man, he needs to score soon.
I guess Taco doesn't like the last idea.
How do you slow down the speed of Nate and the Avs? Maybe have Zadorov hit him hard a few times.
Canucks may have to set the tone early...hitting...fore-checking...stepping up at the blue line to stop the rush.
This is a big game in the sense that the Canucks have not beat the Avs in the 2 meetings so far. It would be nice to get some confidence with a win in case the Nucks do the unthinkable and make it to a Western Conference final and have to meet the Avs.
Avalanche projected lineup
Valeri Nichushkin -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Brandon Duhaime -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Jonathan Drouin
Miles Wood -- Ross Colton -- Yakov Trenin
Andrew Cogliano -- Fredrik Olofsson -- Joel Kiviranta
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson
Jack Johnson -- Sean Walker
Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen
Scratched: Caleb Jones
Injured: Artturi Lehkonen (illness), Logan O'Connor (lower body), Zach Parise (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Ilya Mikheyev -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Pius Suter
Vasily Podkolzin -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Noah Juulsen
Ian Cole -- Carson Soucy
Casey DeSmith
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Dakota Joshua (upper body), Tyler Myers (lower body)
Status report
The Avalanche did not hold a morning skate Wednesday following a 6-2 win at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. ... Georgiev is likely to start after Annunen made 25 saves at Calgary. ... Lehkonen, a forward who normally plays on the top line, will miss a second straight game but could return at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, coach Jared Bednar told Altitude 92.5 FM sports radio in Denver on Wednesday. ... Parise, a forward who skated on his own Wednesday morning, will miss a third straight game but also could return Saturday. … DeSmith will start with Demko week to week after being injured in a 5-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. ... Silovs was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions Tuesday to back up DeSmith. ... Joshua, a forward who has missed 12 games, was retroactively placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday. ... Myers, a defenseman who has missed four games, returned to practice Tuesday but is more likely to return against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. - NHL.com
Game Day Battle Hymn
Need a little metal in your life...fine. Need something to get your old heart pumping...ok. I need a band I know.
Go Canucks Go!