7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, Prime
After the worst morning game loss in the worst place on Saturday, it was also the worst time to lose EP40 and Hoagie. As well as losing that little sliver of possible round one bouncing hope, some (delusional) enthusiast might still hope for a turnaround on this road trip through eastern hell.
As Nucks fans we know hope is overrated. So, in that spirit of hope-free hoping, we're hoping that Demko plays this game, shuts out the wee Devils and plays lights-out for the remaining games and the Nucks still miss the playoffs. By a single point.
Our new #1 line, centered by 20-goal scorer, Suter, will have to score at least one goal to make our faint hope-free dream seems less feverish.
While the Nucks have had some bad seasons wrestling with the dock workers of BC Faeries, this season of injuries, adversity and horrible Nucking luck, might rank up there with the tumultuous time of Iron Mike and that potato chip head. Just kidding. This season is much worse.
GAME DAY CHATTER
Hey #NJDevils Fans! I might be going to tomorrow's game so stay tuned! Another big opportunity against a #Canucks team fighting as well for a playoff spot. Excited as always for another GameDay! #THPN
— Neil Villapiano (@thenvpshow.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 10:21 AM
That's the spirit!
Taco practice talking points.
GAME DAY LINEUPS
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Pius Suter -- Brock Boeser
Jonathan Lekkerimaki -- Teddy Bleuger -- Conor Garland
Drew O'Connor -- Nils Aman -- Kiefer Sherwood
Dakota Joshua -- Aatu Raty -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Derek Forbort -- Elias Nils Pettersson
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Victor Mancini, Arturs Silovs
Injured: Filip Chytil (concussion), Noah Juulsen (lower body), Elias Pettersson (undisclosed), Nils Hoglander (undisclosed)
Devils projected lineup
Erik Haula -- Nico Hischier -- Timo Meier
Stefan Noesen -- Cody Glass -- Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat -- Dawson Mercer -- Tomas Tatar
Nolan Foote -- Justin Dowling -- Paul Cotter
Luke Hughes -- Brett Pesce
Brian Dumoulin -- Jonathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Dennis Cholowski
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Daniel Sprong, Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, Simon Nemec, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Dougie Hamilton (lower body)
Status report
The Canucks did not hold a morning skate. ... Demko practiced in full Sunday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Feb. 8 and could return; Lankinen wasn't feeling well during a 5-3 loss at the New York Rangers on Saturday, per coach Rick Tocchet. ... Pettersson and Hoglander, each a forward, are questionable after each missed the third period Saturday. ... Raty was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Sunday. ... Palat will play after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
Pre-Game Taco gives us the great news about Petey and Hoagie's travel plans.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
This isn't just a tough Nucking road trip... this is the road, this is the road...
Go Canucks Go! (But PLEASE, don't hurt yourselves!)