Canucks Army Game Day 3 – Canucks @ Hurricanes (Storm Watch Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
It only took three games to get into the very much hated “4 PM” starts and here we are. The Canucks face the Hurricanes this evening and will do so riding the coattails of their super rookie Elias Pettersson. Vancouver has a 1-1-0 record thus far while Carolina is at a surprising 2-0-1 record. The Canucks would sure like to come out of this extended road trip with a few W’s and tonight would be a good start.
A little bit of defense might help achieve that goal.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNV / SN 650 / 4:00 PM
LINEUPS
Tim Schaller took reps on Monday on the fourth line; Tyler Motte Michael Del Zotto and Alex Biega will be the healthy scratches for tonights game. Only a few games into the season and there are some impressive storylines to follow.
The top line sees Brendan Leipsic debut with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser while Sven Baertschi falls to the Brandon Sutter/Jake Virtanen line. It’s a brave new world.
Jacob Markstrom, despite a few bad goals, should start.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 BRENDAN LEIPSIC Rating: 72.6#64 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 74.9#48 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 79.8#6 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.76#20 FL1 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 71.9#76 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 73.3#50 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.60#25 FL2 |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 72.5#66 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 72.3#100 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.5#90 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.77#21 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 68.9#128 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.7#173 C |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 71.7#75 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.96#13 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.1#31 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.4#72 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.76#26 DL1 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 71.2#85 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 70.2#88 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 70.69#30 DL2 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.7#98 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 70.6#83 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.62#25 DL3 |
Micheal Ferland is on the top line and that should almost tell you everything you need to know about this team but they’re semi-undefeated so maybe he’s better now? This Hurricanes roster is not a who’s who of the NHL, but a band of castoffs much like a lesser version of the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s early but statistically, this team has a good thing going.
Curtis McElhinney, of Tabasco game, will be the likely starter.
Hurricanes lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MICHEAL FERLAND Rating: 72.8#59 LW |  SEBASTIAN AHO Rating: 78.7#14 C |  TEUVO TERAVAINEN Rating: 75.6#28 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.68#22 FL1 |
 WARREN FOEGELE Rating: 74.2#40 LW |  JORDAN STAAL Rating: 76.9#32 C |  JUSTIN WILLIAMS Rating: 76.4#23 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.85#10 FL2 |
 BROCK MCGINN Rating: 72.9#54 LW |  MARTIN NECAS Rating: 72.4#99 C |  PHIL DI GIUSEPPE Rating: 71.5#77 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.26#15 FL3 |
 JORDAN MARTINOOK Rating: 69.8#115 LW |  LUCAS WALLMARK Rating: 72.8#82 C |  ANDREI SVECHNIKOV | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.33#10 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 JACCOB SLAVIN Rating: 76.9#11 LD |  DOUGIE HAMILTON Rating: 79.0#13 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 77.96#4 DL1 |
 CALVIN DE HAAN Rating: 74.4#30 LD |  JUSTIN FAULK Rating: 76.9#17 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 75.61#7 DL2 |
 TREVOR VAN RIEMSDYK Rating: 73.4#44 LD |  BRETT PESCE Rating: 74.6#33 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 74.03#2 DL3 |
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND SOME THAT YOU DON’T
- Stating the obvious but Elias Pettersson may feel quite comfortable already in the NHL. He’s scoring at an impressive 2.50 pts/game clip. Unless he’s “Wayne Gretzky“, it’s not sustainable and things will slow down at some point. What Pettersson is, however, is a dynamo the Canucks haven’t seen in many years, if ever. Game after game, practice after practice, his teammates find new ways to stand in awe of his talents. Travis Green doesn’t want Elias exposed too much but if he continues to play the way he has, it’s probably not going to be an issue.
- Speaking of Micheal Ferland, he has four points in three games thus far and is probably channeling his inner 2015 playoff self when he owned the Canucks for the same point total over six games. Containing Ferland (yup, I said it) will be on Travis Green’s game notes but he’s up against the Horvat line so most of the arena will probably be watching Brock Boeser score his first goals of the season instead.
- Loui Eriksson leads the Canucks in Corsi through two games at an eruptive rate of 61.76%. He can’t be stopped and riding shotgun with Pettersson is proving to have some trickle-down effects on his linemates. There is a chance he could even start scoring, yup, Eriksson. Loui hasn’t seen a percentage like this (YES, I know it’s early still) since his 2013/14 season with Boston when he played 61 games and had a CF% of 58.56 at 5v5. Things were a bit better back then. Go get ’em Loui!
- The Canucks have taken a few penalties to start the season and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. What Brandon Sutter did against Calgary was show that he’s focused on the battle. Check out the PK at work:
- Jay Beagle hasn’t been a world-burner quite yet but he’s probably getting used to playing on a non-Stanley Cup team, so that’s fair. The checking line thankfully hasn’t been the focus yet so Beagle not standing out is a good thing. A goal would be nice. Just one.
MY 94 CENTS
The Hurricanes haven’t lost in regulation yet, the Canucks lost a gunslinging battle late in Calgary; so far Vancouver has made the masses believe they can win games. Tonight is Brock Boeser’s first big game of the season and I predict it will be kinda memorable, like set your PVR’s memorable. If Del Zotto does sit this one and Ben Hutton slots in, Hutton better produce. If the uprising of youth is to succeed, Travis Green is going to need some serious proof he should stick with the revised look.
THE FINAL WORD
JPat keeping us informed of a potential postponed game on Saturday.
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