8 p.m. ET; Victory+, SNP
Two years ago, the Canucks finished with 83 points as Rick Tocchet finished the year as the coach and the team went 20-12-4 under him and there was hope for the next year. And the team over-achieved last year to such a degree that it made us drunk with dreams of championships. Well, we all should know how to hold our liquor by now. The Canucks have been a hot mess for most of the year and offensively inept.
The Canucks are 2nd to last when it comes to shots for per game, which has led them to being in the bottom third of goals for. As the kids say, you got to shoot your shot to have a chance at success. I guess Taco doesn't have the same ideology. Boomers....or Gen X...whatever. The special teams are actually better this year, so you can look directly at the 5 vs 5 system that Taco has used. Team speed is nullified when the coach wants them to all get into defensive corners.
Speaking of team speed, the Canucks face Dallas today and the Stars are a team that have continuously adjusted their roster to be fast and stay fast. Dallas seems destined to face the Avs in the 1st round and have a long shot of 1st in the Central if they win out and Winnipeg losses all of theirs.
If the Canucks don't get a point today.....they can officially get a tee time on April 17th.
Game Day Chatter
Head Coach Rick Tocchet meets with the media ahead of playing the Stars tonight.#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/LAfvPnOGPA
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 8, 2025
“Make sure you do the little things right.”
🗣 Hear from Pius Suter ahead of tonight's game against the Dallas Stars.#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/LmDjY57X86
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 8, 2025
Positive storylines #Canucks fans can cheer for with playoffs nearly impossible:
- Hughes breaking franchise record for points by a defenceman
- Young guys like Räty, Sasson and DPetey establishing themselves
- Players setting new career bests (Garland needs four goals, etc.)
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) April 8, 2025
Game Day Lineups
Canucks projected lineup
Nils Hoglander -- Pius Suter -- Brock Boeser
Conor Garland -- Teddy Bleuger -- Jake DeBrusk
Dakota Joshua -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O'Connor -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Victor Mancini
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Derek Forbort -- Elias Nils Pettersson
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: None
Injured: Nils Aman (undisclosed), Filip Chytil (concussion), Noah Juulsen (lower body), Tyler Myers (undisclosed), Elias Pettersson (upper body)
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Mikael Granlund
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Mavrik Bourque
Evgenii Dadonov -- Sam Steel -- Colin Blackwell
Thomas Harley -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Esa Lindell -- Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel -- Matt Dumba
Casey DeSmith
Jake Oettinger
Scratched: Oscar Back, Brendan Smith
Injured: Miro Heiskanen (knee), Nils Lundkvist (shoulder), Tyler Seguin (hip)
Status report
The Canucks reassigned forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. … Stars coach Pete DeBoer said there will be a game-time decision among the forward group; if a forward cannot dress, Back is expected to dress and take a spot on the fourth line.
Game Day Battle Hymn.
Since this might be the last game with meaning....it only seems fitting.
Go Coconuts Go!
