The sweet, merciful release of death has come. Let us revel in the bliss of not giving a shit about hockey until late September and/or prepare for the eventual invasion of the Nazis living downstairs.
Vancouver Canucks (36-29-13) vs. Colorado Avalanche (48-27-4)
6:00 pm PST; 9:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: Sportsnet 650
It's over.
Thank dog. Honestly, it's a relief. This season has been absolute bloody torture, and I am utterly thrilled to see the back of it. Just three completely meaningless games, and then angst about free agents, a lack luster draft, and then we can begin second guessing the decision to keep a coaching staff that is literally draining the joy of hockey from all of us, players and fans alike. But I guess the captain loves him, so everything's gonna be great, everyone! Francesco's boys will get them next year, I am sure.
To be eliminated by a win from someone else is an entirely fitting end for this team, for they'd been dead for months, really. Slowly bleeding to death from a thousand self-inflicted wounds, the eleven overtime losses having sealed their fate. You can blame JT Miller and Elias Pettersson. You can blame injuries. In the end, it was this team somehow getting worse on defence than they were last year, and that directly translating to overtime losses that led to their demise. This should have been a season where they built on a truly remarkable accomplishment in the last campaign, and the management of this team deserves every bit of criticism they receive on this one.
It's taken a bit of the sheen of that incredible win Tuesday night, though if you didn't see Minnesota sealing their fate after that, you haven't been following the Vancouver Canucks. The hockey gods simply couldn't allow them another step forward, and after shedding the horrid, boring style they subjected us to all year with what is likely the greatest period of hockey we've seen from a Canucks team in the last decade, maybe longer, it was time to not just end it, but have a team whose style makes the Canucks look like they play the way they did Tuesday night all of the time.
Is there hope for this team in the future? Of course. The emergence of Elias Petterson Jr, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and the late season resurgence of Aatu Raty, along with the play this season of Keifer Sherwood and Kevin Lankinen were definite bright spots. There are massive unanswered questions moving forward, though. Are we seeing Brock Boeser's final games for the Canucks? Will they be able to re-sign Pius Suter, who apart from Lankinen was easily the unsung hero of the team this season? Will they be able to fix the defence, with two UFA's that could leave but don't give a ton of salary to bring in a competent D man? Have Max Sasson and Raty earned another deal? And most importantly: Can Elias Pettersson give a season of meaningful hockey to the Canucks next year?
LINEUPS
From that nhl dot com thingy, this is what we should see...
Canucks projected lineup
Nils Hoglander -- Pius Suter -- Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk -- Max Sasson -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O'Connor -- Teddy Blueger -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Elias Pettersson
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Derek Forbort -- Victor Mancini
Kevin Lankinen
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: None
Injured: Tyler Myers (undisclosed), Filip Chytil (concussion), Noah Juulsen (lower body), Elias Pettersson (upper body), Nils Aman (upper body)
Avalanche projected lineup
Artturi Lehkonen -- Brock Nelson -- Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta -- Charlie Coyle -- Martin Necas
Miles Wood -- Parker Kelly -- Jimmy Vesey
Chris Wagner -- Jack Drury -- Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Sam Malinski
Keaton Middleton -- Erik Johnson
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: None
Injured: Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed), Ryan Lindgren (upper body), Ross Colton (upper body), Jonathan Drouin (lower body), Josh Manson (upper body), Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Tucker Poolman (head)
Okay, whenever you want to complain about how hard it's been for the Canucks and their injuries, just remember the Colorado Avalanche. Yeesh. Yet, they persevere. Why? Because they're better. Anyway, as usual, the nhl dot com lineup is incorrect, as Thatcher Demko will get the nod tonight against Colorado, and that means no changes from Tuesday's lineup, it would seem. And yes, that is Nathan MacKinnon out for the Avs, which would be great for Vancouver if this game meant something. Landeskog is on a rehab assignment in the AHL, and will return in time for the playoffs, as well as MacKinnon, I would assume.
GAME DAY CHATTER
The hits just keep on coming...
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Seriously. Just play this, as loud as possible. It will make you feel better.
