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 |
 BO HORVAT |
 JAKE VIRTANEN |
|
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN |
 ELIAS PETTERSSON |
 BROCK BOESER |
|
 MARKUS GRANLUND |
 ADAM GAUDETTE |
 JOSH LEIVO |
|
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL |
 JAY BEAGLE |
 TYLER MOTTE |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER |
 CHRIS TANEV |
|
 BEN HUTTON |
 ERIK GUDBRANSON |
|
 DERRICK POULIOT |
 ALEX BIEGA |
|
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 |
 SEAN MONAHAN |
 ELIAS LINDHOLM |
|
 MATTHEW TKACHUK |
 MIKAEL BACKLUND |
 SAM BENNETT |
|
 ALAN QUINE |
 MARK JANKOWSKI |
 JAMES NEAL |
|
 MICHAEL FROLIK |
 DEREK RYAN |
 GARNET HATHAWAY |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MARK GIORDANO |
 T.J. BRODIE |
|
 NOAH HANIFIN |
 TRAVIS HAMONIC |
|
 OLIVER KYLINGTON |
 RASMUS ANDERSSON |
|
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.
Wonder why teams don’t allow injured players a couple games in the AHL on a conditioning assignment to get up to speed? Bart has a ton of skill but will be a few steps behind for a few games, so why not in Utica?
It’s a respect thing with veteran players..if he was in his first couple seasons that likely would have happened, especially with our following game being in Jersey.
A lot of optimism. This is going to be a tough game. Fortunately the Canucks have been playing well and not giving up against tough opponents this year.
Two players returning from concussion with nothing done by the NHL. ? was out 2 months! Just like the EP throw down, NHL won’t protect its players.
The Canucks look like they are on an upswing and back to getting healthy. Hmmmm how did the season start with a healthy squad?. With Q added later this Spring and Thatcher next fall… the future is bright
I got a good feeling about this one, although Flames are playing some good hockey, unlike their sad sack neighbor to the north. 6 – 3 – 1 in their last 10, Flames are beatable and tonight is the night.
Welcome back Sven and Stech. Canucks are getting back to good health and it shows. Once Sutter is back, Canucks have two elite scoring lines, one scoring/checking line and one dedicated shutdown line. Strong down the middle, our forward group looks really good. On the back, Quinn Hughes could be that desired puck mover that’s been missing.
Lots of positive stuff going on here in Canucks nation.
CAL is a good team but if they have an Achilles heel it’s in net. Smith wasn’t really playing like Smith can and I don’t even know who this new guy is in goal for the Flames. Stay out of the box, take lots of shots and pull further ahead of EDM.
Meet David Rittich, Aka Big Save Dave. 21gp 9.26 save percentage.
Also 3rd in the nhl in sv% and 2nd in goals against.
Yet,Markstrom is the far and away star after one period in this game.
Markstrom is tied for 6th amongst all NHL goalies in the win category.
That will happen in games. Both goalies played well. I want trolling you. I just noticed someone who didn’t know who he was and decided to educate him on Google.
Also 12th in the loss category lol.
If Stecher is with Hutton, does that mean Pouliot and Gudbranson are together? Yikes…
Granlund is a Green favourite. After one period he leads Canuck forwards in TOI including the second PP unit that gave up the SH goal.
2 shorties against that’s the type a play we had when we went 1-9
Yes two shorties …but we won