THE INTRO
It’s goal season again at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks peppered the Panthers net on Sunday for five goals (sure a few were of the empty net variety) and it’s time to show the visiting Edmonton Oilers that it wasn’t a mirage. Zack Kassian is coming off an epic two-goal performance, same can be said for Milan Lucic. Vancouver can boast their underachievers as well with Ben Hutton, Loui “all the dangles” Eriksson, and Markus Granlund all lighting the lamp last game.
There is a pileup of disappointment meeting tonight but thankfully someone has to win. Sven Baertschi has Canuck’d pretty hard lately and may continue his impressive run while Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser would be wise to start their engines again.
If the Oilers lose, that Bagged Milk character eats beets. That’s reason enough for the Canucks to win. Canucks Army doesn’t have anything that is embarrassing to eat, maybe a bagel. Bagels are popular at the Rog lately.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Josh Leivo made his way to the top PP unit, Tim Schaller takes Nikolay Goldobin’s spot and Thatcher Demko will sit again. Probably good for him to not play to further his development.
Recap: No Goldy, more Leivo, Schaller Time and same net protector. Pettersson is supposed to skate today but it’s a stretch to believe he’ll play tonight.
Jacob Markstrom by the rule of Demko not starting is the starter.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 75.0#33 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.4#46 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.4#6 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.25#19 FL1 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.2#88 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.9#144 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.5#82 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 71.20#28 FL2 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 69.8#112 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.3#155 C |  JOSH LEIVO Rating: 72.9#59 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.01#24 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.4#101 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.4#195 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.6#118 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.81#30 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.5#24 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.7#58 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.64#23 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.3#110 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.5#47 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.38#26 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.5#105 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.2#105 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.35#30 DL3 |
Kailer Yamamoto could return from the IR tonight so there could be some crafty play entering the Oilers lineup. Andrej Sekera and Oskar Klefbom are both out still with various injuries and the Oilers made a waiver claim and were awarded Colby Cave. He will suit up. Big news… big news.
Mikko Koskinen has been announced as the confirmed starter. Clarity.
Oilers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 LEON DRAISAITL Rating: 79.7#19 LW |  CONNOR MCDAVID Rating: 90.3#1 C |  TY RATTIE Rating: 69.0#117 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.65#8 FL1 |
 MILAN LUCIC Rating: 68.7#131 LW |  RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS Rating: 74.8#51 C |  ALEX CHIASSON Rating: 70.3#98 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 71.27#27 FL2 |
 RYAN SPOONER Rating: 69.7#117 LW |  KYLE BRODZIAK Rating: 69.7#169 C |  JESSE PULJUJARVI Rating: 70.1#101 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 69.83#31 FL3 |
 TOBIAS RIEDER Rating: 69.0#126 LW |  JUJHAR KHAIRA Rating: 68.5#134 C |  ZACK KASSIAN Rating: 68.6#119 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.69#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 DARNELL NURSE Rating: 73.6#46 LD |  KRIS RUSSELL Rating: 71.8#80 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.66#27 DL1 |
 CALEB JONES Rating: 72.0#7 LD |  ADAM LARSSON Rating: 71.2#69 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.59#24 DL2 |
 BRANDON MANNING Rating: 68.9#122 LD |  MATT BENNING Rating: 70.9#77 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.92#26 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Despite being fourth in team scoring, Nikolay Goldobin hasn’t put the puck in the net. To be precise, he’s scored one goal in his last 20 games. Not good. Tim Schaller is in the lineup once again but he’ll have to make an immediate impact or he’ll be joining Goldobin when Pettersson comes back. Did I say they had a shot at the playoffs with this team? I apologize.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, and Pat Maroon. These are the names of the leading scorers for the Oilers against the Canucks since the beginning of last season. With four, three, and two goals respectively, not one of those players is named Connor McDavid. Travis Green has been able to contain the top-10 talent to one goal and seven assists in six games played since the beginning of the 2017 season. Bo Horvat has been Vancouver’s leading scorer against the Oilers in that same timeframe with three tallies, however, Brock Boeser has two but both players are tied with five points against the Oilers.
- Sven Baertschi seems to have returned to an effective role for the Canucks. He has four goals in his last 10 games combined with two assists, four of those points were scored on the power-play. Of the disappointment taking over this team, he has been one of the more consistent feel-good stories this season. True story.
- Antoine Roussel might be in line for a feisty evening. He’s four minutes away from 900 career PIM and one point away from 160 for his career. He’ll be ready to agitate Lucic and probably McDavid. Roussel scored in the last meeting between both teams and I like his chances tonight.
- Empty net goals usually mean a team is ahead while their opponents risk it all to get to OT. Without spending the better part of a month looking into this further, goalies have been pulled a lot earlier than the last version of the league prior to a few lockouts. The Canucks have 10 ENG this season, six back of the Flames for first, and six ahead of the Oilers who have only four to talk about. They don’t mean you have an amazing team but there have been some slump busters lately and scoring an empty net goal has meant a lot more to a good portion of the Canucks which might just help turn a few things around.
MY 94 CENTS
I’ve been saying this for years: the Oilers need defensemen and they need a goaltender. Somehow, they continue to draft forwards and take the best possible one when they’re at the top of the draft. They could have moved down, added picks, and addressed their growing needs. This has not happened and because of their inability to build, they’re in this mess.
The Canucks have managed to address their own needs a bit better but in a not so glamorous fashion. They’ve gone through fewer coaches and first overall picks but the misery is still there.
Pettersson is unlikely to play so I have to give the edge to the Oilers. Connor McDavid has proven he’s a legit top-five player in the league and he can carry his team without any of their help.
It’ll be close but I think the Oilers want it more because the Canucks haven’t wanted much lately.
THE FINAL WORD
"I saw you that last game, you fucking suck!" – Max Domi to Mike Matheson#Canucks #Habs pic.twitter.com/IUiHZSRnTc
— PUCKS ON NET (@Pucksonnetca) January 16, 2019
It’s a day late to be relevant and yet it feels pretty good.
