An absolutely brutal road trip beginning with the game that could literally decide their fate this season, no big deal right? If there's any bright spot, it's that they're coming off what was hands-down their best performance of the year. Also, nice!
Vancouver Canucks (32-25-11) vs. St Louis Blues (34-28-7)
4:30 pm PST; 7:30 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: Sportsnet 650
After what was probably the most disappointing game of the season as they gave up another two points to a team desperately trying to overtake them in the standings, the Canucks went into the game against the NHL's best team, the Winnipeg Jets, realizing another loss was going to seriously screw them. And with the memories of their last meeting with the Jets still fresh in their memory, the Canucks came out with a bold approach to the challenge: they went back to what worked for them last season. And damned if it didn't work.
Relentless forechecking against a team that relies on their speed to attack and also force you into mistakes had the Jets scrambling for answers all night long. Add in the bizarre return to average NHL goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck and the Canucks closed out the homestand with an impressive 6-2 win. The biggest part of this was the night that Brock Boeser roaring back to life, with a two goal, one assist night. Boeser hadn't scored in twelve games before potting a couple en route to their victory.
And Boeser wasn't the only one jettisoning proverbial monkeys in that one, as Drew O'Connor scored his first in thirteen to open the scoring on a fantastic rush with Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes.
Add in a couple goals from Pius Suter, who joined the 20 goal club for the first time in his career, and the Canucks were full value for this one. They were missing Conor Garland, who had his team best Ironman streak snapped thanks to a shot block in the loss to Utah. He should be good to go tonight however, but it should be noted that Jonathan Lekkerimaki was outstanding filling in for him.
A regulation win tonight is absolutely crucial, and with the Flames taking on the New Jersey Devils, and Utah battling the Buffalo Sabres, it could be a chaotic night in terms of playoff positioning in the Western Conference. The Blues have been heating up, having won nine of their last twelve, and are currently riding a three game win streak heading into tonight's contest. I wouldn't be surprised if the Blues went with Joel Hofer in net for this one. While Jordan Binnington may have been all world at the Four Nations Face Off for Canada, he's literally been mid this season for St Louis, sporting a record of 21-21-4 with an .897% save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.81. Hofer was the goaltender in two of those three current wins for the Blues.
LINEUPS
Due to the state of Missouri in general and the city of St Louis in particular being a racist hellhole, we're not making a joke about the lineups today. You can find this on nhl dot com, though...
7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SNP
Canucks projected lineup
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk -- Pius Suter -- Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O'Connor -- Teddy Blueger -- Linus Karlsson
Dakota Joshua -- Nils Aman -- Conor Garland
Quinn Hughes -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Derek Forbort -- Elias Pettersson
Kevin Lankinen
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Victor Mancini, Arturs Silovs, Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Injured: Filip Chytil (upper body), Noah Juulsen (lower body)
Blues projected lineup
Jake Neighbours -- Robert Thomas -- Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko -- Radek Faksa -- Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler -- Nick Leddy
Philip Broberg -- Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter -- Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Scratched: Alexandre Texier, Matthew Kessel
Injured: Colton Parayko (knee)
Alright, lots to unpack here. Garland is a game time decision, but as mentioned, Lekkerimaki was solid Tuesday night so it wouldn't suck to see him in if Garland isn't ready to go. The other big news is Thatcher Demko in the backup slot tonight, which raises the possibility that he'll be given the start Saturday morning against J.T. Miller and the Rangers.
It does look as though the Canucks will face Binnington tonight. Binnington was the starter the last time these teams met, and was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 18 shots, as the Canucks cruised to a 5-2 win on Jan 27th in St Louis.
There's not an easy game by any stretch on this six game road swing. Every game they're playing apart from the Devils and Jets are against teams no less than three points back of a playoff spot. The Canucks have been better on the road than at home this season, so if there were ever a time for them to go on a roll, it's now, because banking some points given that frightening April schedule will be the difference between making the postseason and not.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
If you've been with us for a while, you know this is a spot that's always gonna show Ireland's finest some love. And I don't just adore GAMA BOMB because they're one of the best modern day thrash acts, or that they're constantly doing awesome charitable things, but the fact that they have multiple anti-nazi songs over the years just ups their awesomeness. From their 2013 album 'The Terror Tapes', this is a song about kicking nazis in the face. No nazis in our scene, EVER!
You know the drill... enjoy the game, Trump, Musk and the US government can get fucked. Go Canucks Go!
