With the Division title in their grasp, and a chance at the Conference crown, the Canucks finish their home schedule against the Flames with a healthy Thatcher Demko in the crease tonight.
Vancouver Canucks (49-22-9) vs. Calgary Flames (37-38-5)
7pm PDT; 10 p.m. ET
TV: Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West
Radio: Sportsnet 650
50 wins. Wrap your heads around that one for a moment. Every single point gained of late has been an extra cherry on top of the sundae that has been this unexpected season. To get to 50 wins for just the third time in franchise history is beyond amazing. And while there's still a lot to be decided, it's hard to get mad at any missteps these guys make given the past few seasons of misery.
Now that's not to say they should get ahead of themselves. It's still possible for the Oilers to overtake them in Game 82 should the Canucks lose both games in regulation. Winning out could see them possibly snagging the top spot in the Western Conference, which is great for home ice in the first three rounds, but has you facing Vegas or LA in Round One instead of the preferable Nashville Predators. Not that the Preds are a pushover, they've had a hell of a turn around. But if the Canucks want to get on a roll, this is the best path for them, and letting Dallas and Edmonton deal with the other two doesn't hurt, either.
Tonight they'll meet a Calgary Flames team that once again failed to meet expectations, and wasted another year of prime Jacob Markstrom in the process. Getting Thatcher Demko back, healthy and rested for the playoffs should alleviate some of the fears y'all have been feeling heading into the post-season, and a fairly healthy team to start the playoffs is all we could hope for, really.
An OT loss tonight will clinch things for the Canucks, as they have the tiebreaker over the Oilers, and it'll help ensure they get that first round date with the Preds, too. I know we're not used to things going the Canucks way, but the Rutherford/Allvin/Tocchet era just doesn't do past narratives, I guess.
LINEUPS
Scrawled on a dumpster beside the Costco across the street from Rogers Arena, this lineup may also have appeared on the nhl dot com thingy...
Flames projected lineup
Martin Pospisil -- Nazem Kadri -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Yegor Sharangovich -- Mikael Backlund -- Andrew Mangiapane
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Connor Zary -- Dryden Hunt
Matt Coronato -- Kevin Rooney -- Adam Klapka
MacKenzie Weegar -- Daniil Miromanov
Oliver Kylington -- Rasmus Andersson
Ilya Solovyov -- Brayden Pachal
Jacob Markstrom
Dustin Wolf
Scratched: A.J. Greer, Dennis Gilbert, Walker Duehr, Nikita Okhotiuk
Injured: Blake Coleman (upper body), Joel Hanley (undisclosed)
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Ilya Mikheyev
Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Nikita Zadorov
Thatcher Demko
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman, Noah Juulsen, Phillip Di Giuseppe
Injured: None
No real changes for the Canucks apart from the return of Demko, and man is it nice to see that injured list empty heading into Game One next week. Markstrom will go for the Flames, as we get to see Andrei Kuzmenko one last time this season. If the Canucks check him the way they handled Leon Draisaitl Saturday night, it's gonna be a long one for the Flames.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Although I'm sure you don't need much to get your pulse racing right now, this 3:00 ripper from BAT will get you rarin' to go for the post season! Off their new album 'Under The Crooked Claw' on Nuclear Blast Records, this is 'Streetbanger'!
Enjoy the game, folks! Go Canucks Go!
