Canucks Army Game Day 49 – Canucks Vs. Sabres (Slug Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
The anticipation for the return of Elias Pettersson is almost unbearable but here we are yet again. Tonight the Canucks welcome the Sabres to Vancouver and it’s the first visit for elite rookie Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres beat the Flames in impressive fashion a few nights ago while the Canucks are trying to rebound from a rather mediocre outing against the Oilers.
Vancouver will have to push the envelope a lot sooner if they want to have a shot in any of their games going forward because their shot totals in the first periods have been disgusting. Buffalo is completely healthy so anything less than 100% will result in a loss.
Travis Green needs to decide if he’s going for wins or ties because the final results are proving the rebuild is still right in the thick of things.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
It’s going to take a minute to get caught up with all the news and notes for tonight’s lineup. Michael Del Zotto was traded to the Ducks mid-game on Wednesday, Tanner Kero was recalled as Bo Horvat got a charley horse and may not be able to go tonight, Elias Pettersson is most likely doubtful but the Kero move and MDZ getting dealt keeps the numbers game at bay.
Nikolay Goldobin hopefully gets another shot tonight which would mean Tim Schaller would sit but again, who knows what’s up with that situation?
As far as goaltending goes, might we see Thatcher Demko’s first start of the 2019 season? Stay tuned.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 74.9#34 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.5#47 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.6#6 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.34#19 FL1 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.3#88 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.1#137 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.4#88 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 71.25#28 FL2 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 68.8#125 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.8#147 C |  JOSH LEIVO Rating: 72.7#60 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.78#26 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.8#74 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.2#191 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.4#116 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.79#24 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.8#21 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.9#56 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.85#21 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.8#99 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 73.3#38 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.06#23 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.8#100 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.1#104 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.47#29 DL3 |
Nathan Beaulieu will be a healthy scratch and rumors are swirly he would like to be traded so he can play, similar to the MDZ situation. No injuries to report for the Sabres so the Canucks will face everything Buffalo has to offer.
Carter Hutton seems like the way to go in net tonight but this could be a Linus Ullmark game.
Sabres lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JEFF SKINNER Rating: 80.8#9 LW |  JACK EICHEL Rating: 79.9#17 C |  SAM REINHART Rating: 76.2#31 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.00#11 FL1 |
 CONOR SHEARY Rating: 72.3#65 LW |  CASEY MITTELSTADT Rating: 70.7#151 C |  TAGE THOMPSON Rating: 69.5#176 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 70.81#29 FL2 |
 VLADIMIR SOBOTKA Rating: 68.3#188 LW |  EVAN RODRIGUES Rating: 71.6#124 C |  JASON POMINVILLE Rating: 73.9#45 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.27#23 FL3 |
 ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS Rating: 70.0#163 LW |  JOHAN LARSSON Rating: 69.0#122 C |  KYLE OKPOSO Rating: 71.5#83 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.16#18 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 RASMUS DAHLIN Rating: 74.2#35 LD |  ZACH BOGOSIAN Rating: 70.8#77 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.50#26 DL1 |
 LAWRENCE PILUT Rating: 73.3#53 LD |  RASMUS RISTOLAINEN Rating: 76.6#23 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.96#8 DL2 |
 MARCO SCANDELLA Rating: 72.0#68 LD |  JAKE MCCABE Rating: 71.6#84 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.81#12 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Casey Mittelstadt has one of the highest zone-start ratios in the NHL with a whopping 72.18%, at 5v5. Conor Sheary isn’t far behind with a 71.33% rating. Their point totals don’t exactly reflect this but they’re being utilized to the point where the numbers have to start mirroring the effort, then again, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser are clearly Vancouver’s workhorses and they haven’t had much go their way lately.
- Bo Horvat needs a break. He’s third in the league in Shifts/GP with 27.5, 0.8 off the league-leader Alexander Barkov. He’s playing over 20 minutes a game and everyone knows his faceoff stats. The lack of depth at the center position should be a wakeup call for Jim Benning. He needs to give Horvat some help and Elias Pettersson can’t be the only answer even if he is the only answer.
- On the off-chance Pettersson plays this evening he would have a chance to be the outright leader in GWG in the NHL. Currently, Jeff Skinner is also tied for the top spot with seven game-winning goals. If this one is close late, get the iso-cam out on #53 in white.
- The Canucks haven’t been able to figure out the Sabres since both team’s initial meeting a season ago. Vancouver is in a two-game slump against the Sabres and a win against their expansion cousins would even things up going into next year.
- Here’s the thing: if the Canucks win tonight, they’re in one of the final wild-card spots. I don’t like it, you don’t like it, but it’s the reality. Cheer for the goals and a hard-fought game but this team could really use a high pick, case in point, the current state of the team.
MY 94 CENTS
There have been games where I almost wish Sportsnet lost their feed again. Hoping the Canucks will hang on in the first period lately has become quite mentally taxing. Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat are visibly frustrated with how snake-bitten they have been in the last while and even though hockey is a game of bounces and eventually, they’ll start connecting again, they really need something big to happen.
The rest of the team has been treading water and it can’t be all about the return of EP40. A season ago, Vancouver still had the Sedins but they weren’t carrying the offensive load. The defense is the same and it appears there are no plans to change anything up.
Vancouver needs a miracle.
THE FINAL WORD
Someone needs to have the same talk with the in-arena DJ.
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