Payback is a bitch, and the Canucks can return the favour to the team whose win on Wednesday night sealed the fate of the Canucks. Seems appropriate.
Vancouver Canucks (37-29-13) vs. Minnesota Wild (43-30-7)
7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet, CBC, CITY
Radio: Sportsnet 650
If you're gonna miss the playoffs, you might as well go out all guns blazing, making life miserable for the rest of the teams you face as you exit. The Canucks did exactly that over the last two games, stunning Dallas with that last minute comeback on Tuesday night, then being fully deserving of a 4-1 win in Denver over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. And while both of those teams had already solidified their playoff tickets, tonight's opponent is still very capable of missing the postseason, and if the Canucks were to have a hand in their demise, that should bring you a measure of joy.
After riding the high of that amazing win on Tuesday night, we came crashing back to reality when the Minnesota Wild won 8-7 in OT over the San Jose Sharks. That win eliminated the Canucks, and while the Canucks reasons for missing the postseason were numerous and well documented, getting a chance to return the favour on the team that pushed them over the proverbial edge would be sweet indeed. And yes, I say this knowing that the end result could be the Calgary Flames getting in to the playoffs. I want as many Canadian teams vying for the cup this spring, even if they're Canadian in location only (looking at you, Oilers).
And in a season that's been filled with drama, heartache and injuries galore, surely we can look forward to the end of the season as a finale on all this madness. Haha, you're kidding right? The hockey gods laugh at your ridiculous optimism!
This morning, the Canucks recalled G Nikita Tolopilo and F Ty Meuller from Abbotsford of the AHL for tonight's game. Thatcher Demko is ill and unable to go, so Tolopilo will back up Kevin Lankinen, who had one of his best performances all season in that win over Colorado on Thursday night. Mueller, a 4th round pick of the Canucks in 2023, will make his NHL debut tonight, on a line with Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk. It speaks volumes about the development going on in Abbotsford that they've had so many guys come up and slot in for the Canucks this season. And despite all the call ups, the Baby Canucks are rolling, having just had their 13 game win streak snapped in a 5-4 SO loss to Calgary last night.
LINEUPS
Thanks to the ol nhl dot com for this potential lineup thingy...
10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, FDSNNO, FDSNWI
Wild projected lineup
Kirill Kaprizov -- Marco Rossi -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Marcus Johansson -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Gustav Nyquist
Yakov Trenin -- Ryan Hartman -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Jonas Brodin -- Brock Faber
Declan Chisholm -- Jared Spurgeon
Jon Merrill -- Zach Bogosian
Filip Gustavsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Justin Brazeau
Injured: Jacob Middleton (upper body)
Canucks projected lineup
Nils Hoglander -- Pius Suter -- Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk -- Ty Mueller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O'Connor -- Teddy Blueger -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Elias Nils Pettersson
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Derek Forbort -- Victor Mancini
Kevin Lankinen
Nikita Tolopilo
Scratched: None
Injured: Thatcher Demko (illness), Max Sasson (undisclosed), Tyler Myers (undisclosed), Filip Chytil (concussion), Noah Juulsen (lower body), Elias Pettersson (upper body), Nils Aman (upper body)
That third line of Aatu Raty, Kiefer Sherwood and Dakota Joshua have been an absolute menace since they were formed when Raty was recalled from Abbotsford, and they were fantastic in both Dallas and Colorado. Sherwood can hit the 20 goal mark with a goal in the final three games, which is impressive for what seemed like an uneventful free agency signing last summer. The Canucks officially shutdown Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil for the season, and it's safe to assume we won't see Tyler Myers either. Aman could possibly be back, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's also finished. We don't know much about what happened to Sasson on Thursday, but it was serious enough to warrant the Mueller call up.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Stumbed across the long out of print debut EP from MONSTER VOODOO MACHINE. 'Burn' created a stir in the underground, thanks to the video for the single "3 Year Plan" which got airplay on MuchMusic and some dumb video show in Kamloops back in the day. Kickass punk infused industrial metal from one of the nicest guys in the biz (and if you didn't get a chance, Adam Sewell's book on his life in the music industry HOWL LIKE A WOUNDED ANIMAL is going into a second printing. It's a fantastic read with some truly hilarious tales of life on the road.
Enjoy the game. Fuck Trump, Musk, Polieivre, and fascists world wide. Go Canucks Go!
