It only took a year but the Canucks have learned from their mistakes and have a chance to lose to all three California teams and boost their chances of a better pick in June. The Sharks are in town with Jannik Hansen and of course, it would be nice to see a win over that traitor but considering the Canucks haven’t scored more than one goal since last Saturday, it’s unlikely they pull this one off.
Fun fact: The Canucks beat the Sharks in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.
LINE COMBOS
Loui Eriksson may play tonight after not being quite ready on Friday. Michael Chaput is still on the top line so Willie is selling this tank hard. We all complain that he’s up there but if that isn’t ultimate tank than I don’t know what is? Troy Stecher took a shift or two with the Sedins on Saturday but it’s safe to say he’ll be a fixture on defense for some time.
Whatever is left of this team seems to be in the lineup tonight so let’s see what they can do.
You really think they’ll start anyone else? Ryan Miller is in tonight and he’s THE iron man if ever there was one.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |
 Henrik Sedin |
 Michael Chaput |
 Sven Baertschi |
 Bo Horvat |
 Brock Boeser |
 Loui Eriksson |
 Brandon Sutter |
 Reid Boucher |
 Griffen Molino |
 Drew Shore |
 Alex Biega |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |
 Troy Stecher |
 Luca Sbisa |
 Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |
 Nikita Tryamkin |
Jannik Hansen is on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. It’s kind of like playing with the Sedins except they’re not twins and I don’t think either Sedin could grow a beard like them.
No other changes to the lineup to note.
Martin Jones will get the nod for this epic tilt.
San Jose Sharks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Jannik Hansen |
 Joe Thornton |
 Joe Pavelski |
 Mikkel Boedker |
 Patrick Marleau |
 Melker Karlsson |
 Marcus Sorensen |
 Tomas Hertl |
 Joel Ward |
 Joonas Donskoi |
 Chris Tierney |
 Timo Meier |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Paul Martin |
 Brent Burns |
 Marc-Edouard Vlasic |
 Justin Braun |
 Brenden Dillon |
 David Schlemko |
GAME NOTES, STATS, AND TALES OF ENDLESS MISERY
- I don’t know if the Canucks take pleasure in not winning another game this year but it sure looks like it. Vancouver is playing once again for that coveted four-game losing streak but if they pull it off, 71 points are their fate and EA Sports can take their game and shove it.
- Sven Baertschi has a chance to step into the top-3 point leaders for the Canucks by season’s end. It would have to be quite the finish but if he can pull off 6 more points, he would do it having played 12 fewer games than the others. It’s a shame he hasn’t been able to pull it together with Bo Horvat in the last while but a team like the Sharks could bring the best out of them.
- Between Jayson Megna, Philip Larsen and, Markus Granlund only one of them have scored on the Sharks this season: if you said Megna, you’re wrong and quite frankly you should stop reading right now. If you picked Philip Larsen you would be correct. Along with Horvat and Daniel, Larsen is the only other Canuck to score on the Sharks this season. Of course, he’s not playing.
- Since October 2010, only the Sedins and Alex Burrows had more points against the Sharks than Jannik Hansen with 12. He also led the Canucks in that same time with 2 GWG. Not a single current Canuck has even one.
- The Canucks are being sent to China as punishment along with the Kings in the fall. Scary that most of us would choose the current situation over a meaningless game out there. Everything going on RIGHT NOW is better than a game in China. This is reality.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
I’d bet a decent bundle of cash that Stecher with the twins would outproduce chaput with the twins
— Jason Botchford (@botchford) April 1, 2017
Current day Jason King probably could too!
MY TAKE
It would be so Canucks to pull this one off so I think that will happen. Why fall down the standings when they can play spoiler to the Sharks in their drive to get a better playoff matchup? It sure would be nice to see Nikolay Goldobin in the lineup to face Jannik Hansen so we can have, you know, get closure and the like.
Closure, I suppose, would be getting the first overall pick. Might have to wait for that one.
IS ALEX BIEGA THE ULTIMATE CANUCK?
Willie D seems to think so by keeping him as a forward. Sure, there are other options to choose from and calling up Jordan Subban or even Jake Virtanen for the final stretch would be a better use of time but yes, Alex Biega has won our hearts. Exposing him is the best option, obviously. Note the slight sarcasm.
See the Oiler’s game last night? Man are they good!
Took em long enough to be good…
No doubt but they are fun to watch now.
I had a chat with an Oilers fan last week. He had the pained expression of someone who had gotten really drunk and publicly soiled himself the last time I’d seen him. It’s going to be a good decade before the Oilers are going to get past the legacy of the godawful, utter buffoonery of ten years of beyond abysmal, bush league team management and coaching. Remember Dallas Eakins? Hahaha. Bring up anything to an Oilers fan and they literally writhe in embarrassment. Enjoy your team’s success quietly.
and that’s where the nuck’s are now
How old are you? Mommy know you are online? Stick to your games an leave the comments to the adults
“The Sharks are in town with Jannik Hansen and of course, it would be nice to see a win over that traitor”
Calling jannik a traitor? Are you even a Canuck fan?
You realize they are playing the Sharks right? SJ- 8 Nucks-2
This has to do with jannik because…
because you would like a win over the traitor.
Maybe a Biega hat trick. Player of the Year, Unsung Player of the Year and Best Defenceman of the Year.
I’d take Biega over Megna on any line. He hits and and plays with heart. Megna played on all four lines and both power play units and still barely hit the score sheet and certainly didn’t hit any opposition players.
The reason the Canucks are playing Biega at forward is likely because they are seriously considering playing him there next season. If so, he’ll need the practice at that position.
I want the Sharks to win.
Why? Because I want them to be as high in the standings as they can entering the playoffs, so that their first round will be against an easier opponent. This improves their chances (slightly) of winning the Stanley Cup.
And if they win the cup, Vancouver gets a first-round draft pick from them this year as part of the Hansen deal, although it won’t be an early one.
Well it’s your lucky day Nucklesheads can’t beat anyone.
worst draft in a decade
1999 was also a terrible draft year for the league, but that was the year the Canucks picked the Sedins.
Oh the good old days. What happens now with the sisters?
Sorry, my fault for responding to a troll.
non sense
I don’t get that remark. Playing Biega as a forward does not interfere with bringing Subban — a defenseman — up. It’s not an either/or thing. Whatever the reasons for not bringing up Subban, it has nothing to do with Biega.
Tanking is for losers.
Only losers tank.
The players and coaches must/will give 100% every outing. We saw how not doing that and tucking your nards away for awhile can affect people – Edmonton and Toronto.
The only appropriate way to ….. maybe …. move down a spot or two is pull people due to injuries (which Canuck management has done) to sign and play youngsters to ‘see what you’ve got’ (which Canuck management has done) and to expose certain players over others (which Canuck management has done).
So … for all the Canuck management haters here, management has MANAGED this situation very well whilst maintaining the integrity of its coaches and players – unlike Edmonton and Toronto.
So your saying their tanking in other words, for a bad draft year? Sounds right, with the management in place.
You were asleep last year,I take it.
I hope we keep bulldog Biega. He’s a jack of all trades who doesn’t take any shifts off.
I think we’ll see a solid effort. Should be a good game.