Canucks Army Game Day 47 – Canucks Vs. Panthers (The Last Lu Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
Remember last game? Pepperidge Farm remembers. I sure don’t. The Sportsnet debacle kept many of our eyes away from what sounded like a very unexciting match. Tonight, the Canucks welcome the Panthers and an old friend, Roberto Luongo, to Rogers Arena. Both teams are wedged in the bottom-five of their respective conferences and a playoff run from either team is a pipe dream.
A renewed energy will be in the arena tonight as it may very well be Luongo’s final game in Vancouver as an active NHLer.
Oh, and there will be some kind of retribution for the Mike Matheson incident when he tried to dismantle the only good thing the Canucks have held onto this season. These previews are sure getting dark.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 4:00 PM
LINEUPS
Josh Leivo skated yesterday and has a shot to play tonight. He was on the 2nd PP unit so that’s a good sign right there. Elias Pettersson skated as well but Travis Green said he isn’t suiting up. Adam Gaudette, Michael Del Zotto, Tim Schaller, and Alex Biega were all extras. At least Nikolay Goldobin gets to hang around but continuing to aid and abed Markus Granlund’s progression seems a bit rich.
Might this be the first Thatcher Demko start of the season? Wait and see.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaeoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 69.9#115 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.2#46 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 82.1#3 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.76#25 FL1 |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 73.9#37 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 71.3#127 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.4#79 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.20#25 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.8#100 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.9#146 C |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.4#94 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.67#28 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.6#103 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.4#193 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.6#118 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.89#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.8#22 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.6#65 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.70#22 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.1#112 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.4#102 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.24#30 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.3#107 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.8#62 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.05#23 DL3 |
Derek MacKenzie is out with a bum shoulder; surgery will keep him out for some time. Vincent Trochek is also out long-term, potentially the season after a serious leg injury in November. Nick Bjugstad is still out and isn’t likely to play tonight. Mike Matheson is in but maybe not for long.
Roberto Luongo will start for the Panthers.
Panthers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JONATHAN HUBERDEAU Rating: 78.0#17 LW |  ALEKSANDER BARKOV Rating: 81.1#15 C |  EVGENII DADONOV Rating: 78.3#17 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.15#9 FL1 |
 MIKE HOFFMAN Rating: 75.2#31 LW |  HENRIK BORGSTROM Rating: 73.0#83 C |  DENIS MALGIN Rating: 71.8#73 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 73.34#16 FL2 |
 FRANK VATRANO Rating: 73.2#81 LW |  JUHO LAMMIKKO Rating: 71.2#133 C |  TROY BROUWER Rating: 68.8#115 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.06#26 FL3 |
 JAYCE HAWRYLUK Rating: 73.3#49 LW |  COLTON SCEVIOUR Rating: 71.0#141 C |  MICHEAL HALEY Rating: 68.5#119 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.93#10 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MICHAEL MATHESON Rating: 72.3#64 LD |  AARON EKBLAD Rating: 74.2#30 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.24#23 DL1 |
 KEITH YANDLE Rating: 76.8#14 LD |  MARK PYSYK Rating: 70.9#81 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.80#16 DL2 |
 BOGDAN KISELEVICH Rating: 72.7#59 LD |  MACKENZIE WEEGAR Rating: 71.0#76 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.87#14 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Since the Christmas break, goal scoring has been a problem for the Canucks. Elias Pettersson leads the team with five goals, Baertschi has returned and put three on the board but it gets grim after that. Only five other players have scored in these past seven games with Brock Boeser netting two of the remaining six goals that were scored. Yikes!
- Even with a better than expected start, like many players on the Canucks this season, Erik Gudbranson has returned to form and has once again become a major liability to the Canucks. Combined with Ben Hutton, they have been on the ice for the most goals-against of any defensive pairing in the league at 5v5 with 35 GA. 315 possible defensive pairings and that is hands-down the worst. The eye test and the analytics are saying the same thing: please trade Guddy.
- Getting back to Christmas, the Canucks are tied with the Ducks with 14 goals-for, worst in the NHL since Dec 25. Vancouver has won 3 of 7 in that time and has been shutout for the identical amount of games. The Canucks are one confusing club. Travis Green has an uphill battle until season’s end. Good luck.
- Vancouver is 27th in the league for team giveaways with 340, not the kind that comes out of a t-shirt cannon. It’s an impressive number because their CA is in the top third for most allowed so they don’t have the puck that often but apparently they aren’t forcing it over either.
- The Canucks are still one of the NHL’s best in the 2nd period. That is where Vancouver does their business in the net. The Capitals lead the league with 62-second period goals while the Canucks tied for eighth with 49. Florida also does their best work in the 2nd frame and are tied for fourth with 54 tallies. Don’t worry if you miss the first period tonight, all the action will happen in the middle of the game.
MY 94 CENTS
I’d be happy actually seeing tonight’s game if Sportsnet would be so kind, maybe they’ll even have it on a backup channel, you know, just in case. If this truly is Roberto Luongo’s final game in Vancouver and one of his final games in the NHL then it was a run we’ll never forget. He was a superstar when he got to Vancouver and he became All-World thereafter.
The contract, the double-OT “stinker”, the dragon, and everything else in between, Roberto Luongo was a legend in B.C. and as his time winds down we can only cherish the final moments he shares with us.
As far as the game goes, goals are seemingly hard to come by lately unless your name is Sven Baertschi. It’s time to see a change with this team because Elias Pettersson isn’t playing tonight and when he comes back it’s unlikely he scores every remaining goal for the Canucks.
I’ll be happy with OT in this one.
THE FINAL WORD
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