THE INTRO
Tonight the Canucks strut into Calgary to face an equally hot Flames team (no pun intended). Vancouver has been matched up well against most of the Canadian teams and tonight’s game could end up being an old-time matchup between the two storied rivals.
Super rookie Elias Pettersson will try and add to his impressive point totals against the Flames (3G / 2A) through two games while the Canucks themselves will be in a better mood as Sven Baertschi and Troy Stecher are back in the lineup.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
CBC / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Today, the Canucks become a better team. Sven Baertschi was a full participant in practice yesterday as was Troy Stecher so both will suit up tonight. Baertschi will be centered by Markus Granlund and Josh Leivo while Stecher is paired up with Ben Hutton.
Brandon Sutter seems close as well and he could be in as soon as next game. Don’t expect the world from Baertschi tonight after being out for a significant amount of time. Also expect a roster move today
Jacob Markstrom should get the start.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.7#76 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 76.8#38 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 72.3#73 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.57#29 FL1 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 69.9#102 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.0#36 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 82.3#4 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 76.44#5 FL2 |
 MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.8#95 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 72.2#101 C |  JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.3#43 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.11#17 FL3 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.3#84 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.4#193 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.8#112 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.17#27 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.2#27 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.9#53 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.51#21 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.7#99 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.4#101 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.53#29 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.4#106 LD |  ALEX BIEGA Rating: 70.8#80 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.61#25 DL3 |
Michael Stone is out indefinitely with a blood clot in his arm. Michael Frolik has been removed from the IR but will not play tonight. Travis Hamonic and James Neal will both play.
David Rittich should be the starter tonight. Mike Smith just doesn’t seem like a good idea against a streaking Canucks team.
Flames lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JOHNNY GAUDREAU Rating: 80.7#8 LW |  SEAN MONAHAN Rating: 79.5#22 C |  ELIAS LINDHOLM Rating: 77.8#33 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.34#13 FL1 |
 MATTHEW TKACHUK Rating: 79.4#11 LW |  MIKAEL BACKLUND Rating: 73.6#67 C |  SAM BENNETT Rating: 71.8#116 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.92#14 FL2 |
 ALAN QUINE Rating: 68.9#124 LW |  MARK JANKOWSKI Rating: 71.6#124 C |  JAMES NEAL Rating: 72.0#77 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.84#25 FL3 |
 MICHAEL FROLIK Rating: 72.4#71 LW |  DEREK RYAN Rating: 71.6#121 C |  GARNET HATHAWAY Rating: 68.6#113 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.89#9 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MARK GIORDANO Rating: 79.8#5 LD |  T.J. BRODIE Rating: 76.5#17 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 78.14#4 DL1 |
 NOAH HANIFIN Rating: 75.5#22 LD |  TRAVIS HAMONIC Rating: 72.4#46 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.94#13 DL2 |
 OLIVER KYLINGTON Rating: 72.0#66 LD |  RASMUS ANDERSSON Rating: 70.5#88 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.26#19 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Elias Pettersson hasn’t lit the NHL on fire lately, despite his moves deking in and out of trouble, he’s been held pointless twice in his last 10 games. He does have 15 points in that time but it feels like he’s holding out on more. Expect a big game from him tonight.
- Sven Baertschi is back! His last game was against the Golden Knights back in October and he’s been out with a nagging concussion ever since. He’ll make his return against his former club and with Josh Leivo on his line, there might be some chemistry right away. It happened with pretty much everyone else so it’s not a stretch to believe that could be a good combo.
- With a Flames win tonight and a Jets loss, the Flames would jump into first place in the Western Conference. A far cry from their Provincial opposition, the Oilers, who are neck and neck with the Canucks for 8th.
- Markus Granlund has had some decent success against the Flames since 2015. In 11 games, he has 3G / 3A with two of those goals coming on the PP. The line of Granlund/Baertschi/Leivo might be a surprise one tonight.
- Bo Horvat has also had success against Calgary. Since 2015, he has amassed four power-play goals and six PPP. Only Daniel Sedin had more points (9) so Bo should be poised to take the lead soon, possibly tonight.
MY 94 CENTS
The addition of Sven Baertschi up front tonight will begin to smooth out the lineup going forward while Troy Stecher gives the Canucks a little more reliable back end.
Calgary has been a tough opponent for the Canucks in the last few years but the tables seem to be turning again. The sky is the limit for Pettersson and Boeser and when things are working for them, they’re unstoppable. The Flames top line will also be a handful so don’t be surprised to see Travis Green line match to keep them at bay.
THE FINAL WORD
It appeared as if he was playing at about 75% effort level too. USA was in a different league than Kaz. Hughes was in a different league than the US players. https://t.co/0TYhNtJbDE
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) December 29, 2018
Hughes is a special player and this should get you excited to see him this spring.
