Canucks Army Game Day 26 – Canucks @ Kings (Royally Hopeful Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
It’s the first meeting of the season between the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings. The Canucks are closing in on a calendar year since they last scored on the Kings. It was a 6-2 Canucks victory on January 23 when Loui Eriksson put up two goals as did Brock Boeser and gave the Canuck faithful something to cheer about after a dreadful month.
These teams split their preseason series 1-1 in September but the Canucks roster hasn’t changed a whole lot since then. Vancouver will need a perfect road game if they want to have a chance in this. This game also is the best chance at a trap game. The Kings have to expect the Canucks are feeling quite low and that might be the Canucks opportunity to make something of it.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
CBC / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
OK, all signs point to Alex Edler getting back into the lineup tonight. It’s been a long road but the return is upon us. Reid Boucher wasn’t able to get into the lineup last night due to travel so he’ll most likely be in today. Tim Schaller or Tyler Motte would be the guys to scratch… the obvious ones anyway.
Sven Baertschi is flying to Detroit to see a concussion specialist so his return won’t be anytime soon.
Jacob Markstrom will start tonight after Anders Nilsson played last night in San Jose. Markstrom will need to curb those soft, early goals if he’s going to give the Canucks a chance tonight.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.6#105 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.8#44 C |  SAM GAGNER Rating: 71.2#134 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.55#31 FL1 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 70.8#99 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 75.5#47 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.7#100 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.31#28 FL2 |
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.3#128 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.9#139 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.6#85 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.59#28 FL3 |
 BRENDAN LEIPSIC Rating: 71.7#85 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 71.4#121 C |  TIM SCHALLER Rating: 69.1#129 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.76#15 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO Rating: 71.7#78 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 70.6#88 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 71.14#29 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 69.7#118 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.3#104 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.02#31 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.3#112 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.7#64 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.00#22 DL3 |
The Kings are as banged up as the Canucks as both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are out with knee injuries. Jonny Brodzinski is out until at least after Christmas with shoulder surgery, and Trevor Lewis has a broken foot so he won’t be in the lineup either. That being said, this Kings team still finds ways to give the Canucks fits.
Peter Budaj will get the start tonight as there aren’t really any other options. Who is Cal Petersen? Does anyone know?
Kings lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ALEX IAFALLO Rating: 71.3#91 LW |  ANZE KOPITAR Rating: 79.4#25 C |  DUSTIN BROWN Rating: 77.2#19 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.00#24 FL1 |
 ILYA KOVALCHUK Rating: 73.8#46 LW |  JEFF CARTER Rating: 75.9#43 C |  TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 74.4#37 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.69#10 FL2 |
 CARL HAGELIN Rating: 71.9#83 LW |  ADRIAN KEMPE Rating: 71.3#130 C |  MATT LUFF Rating: 73.5#49 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.22#11 FL3 |
 KYLE CLIFFORD Rating: 70.3#110 LW |  NATE THOMPSON Rating: 67.8#186 C |  AUSTIN WAGNER Rating: 72.6#68 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.20#23 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 DEREK FORBORT Rating: 71.9#74 LD |  DREW DOUGHTY Rating: 79.6#11 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.75#14 DL1 |
 JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 75.8#19 LD |  ALEC MARTINEZ Rating: 73.3#42 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.56#14 DL2 |
 DION PHANEUF Rating: 70.9#97 LD |  OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 71.5#71 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.22#19 DL3 |
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND A LITTLE YOU DON’T
- Scoring first seems to be a smart play in the NHL this season, case in point: this matchup. The Kings have the most losses, 9 when trailing after the first period but the Canucks aren’t far behind with 8. Whoever has the lead after one period tonight is money in the bank. It’s gonna be the Canucks, isn’t it?
- All but one of Vancouver’s regulation losses have come with the Canucks being outshot. They have a team that looks like they are shooting more but that isn’t the case, unfortunately. Oddly enough, the Canucks and Kings are tied with 28.2 shots/game which is terrible enough for second-worst overall. I smell a barn-burner.
- With Antoine Roussel’s biting incident yesterday, there’s a chance we may not see him for a while, kind of like the situation with romaine lettuce, until they can prove it can’t hurt anyone it needs to take a break.
- Thatcher Demko isn’t going to make this Canucks team a contender this season which is a shame because Vancouver currently is 2nd in GA at 5v5 and 1st at 4v5. They’re allowing 3.60 GA/GP and even if stats aren’t really your jam, that is not a good number. The Senators are first with 4.35. Imagine how bad things have to be going to achieve that number. Maybe this slump isn’t over.
- With Edler coming back his goaltending skills will be welcomed with open arms. His blocked shots per game is still tops in the league with 3.9. Godspeed Mr. Edler.
- If Bo Horvat could be cloned the Canucks would be in a great position. Horvat leads the NHL in FO (635), FOW (352) and FOL (283). Brandon Sutter is mostly to blame for that with his injury. No one is even close, like… not even remotely close by 146 faceoffs! Travis Green needs to recognize this team is probably going to lose their fair share of games and rest his horses. Bo is a machine but his hands are going to break if this continues.
MY 94 CENTS
As I stated in the intro, this is the perfect trap game for the Canucks, I mean I would even think they’re ripe for the picking. Reid Boucher and Alex Edler have to give the Canucks something to look forward to and I can’t imagine this team can get any worse, or maybe they can? Anyway, eight is enough and I say Vancouver bounces back in OT.
THE FINAL WORD
The winner is this tweet.
Recent articles from Always90four
