Canucks Army Game Day 51 – Canucks Vs. Hurricanes (Rookie Showdown Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
It’s the final game before the All-Star Game for your Vancouver Canucks. They welcome the visiting Carolina Hurricanes and their own rookie phenom Andrei Svechnikov and potential trade target Micheal Ferland. The Canucks are coming off a few impressive victories, winners of three of their last four.
Jake Virtanen is likely a healthy scratch while Nikolay Goldobin will return to the lineup in a switch of pace. The playoff talk is heating up regardless of which side you sit on so sit back, enjoy the EP40 show, and dig in for a nice long week off.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:30 PM (NOTE THE START TIME)
LINEUPS
Read into it what you will but Jake Virtanen will be in the press box tonight while Nikolay Goldobin will suit up for the first time in a while. Tim Schaller was the other likely scratch.
Will Thatcher Demko get a start against the Hurricanes? It would be great to see one more start before the All-Star break.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.4#45 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 79.4#20 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.4#6 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.09#12 FL1 |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 74.5#38 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.8#45 C |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 71.9#75 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.07#18 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.6#99 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.1#137 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.8#92 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.81#26 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 72.2#70 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.0#190 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.2#113 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.79#24 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.5#20 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.7#68 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.57#23 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 71.1#93 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.9#45 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.97#22 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.8#96 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.0#103 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.37#28 DL3 |
Jordan Staal is on IR with an upper-body injury. Clark Bishop may get a shot tonight but other than that, the Hurricanes aren’t getting scorched with injuries. Should be a best on best overall. (Yes, I’m aware of what I said.)
Petr Mrazek may get the start.
Hurricanes lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 NINO NIEDERREITER Rating: 74.3#41 LW |  SEBASTIAN AHO Rating: 81.8#6 C |  JUSTIN WILLIAMS Rating: 75.4#34 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.14#17 FL1 |
 MICHEAL FERLAND Rating: 75.5#32 LW |  LUCAS WALLMARK Rating: 71.5#120 C |  TEUVO TERAVAINEN Rating: 76.8#21 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.59#15 FL2 |
 ANDREI SVECHNIKOV Rating: 71.9#76 LW |  JORDAN MARTINOOK Rating: 70.1#163 C |  BROCK MCGINN Rating: 71.5#85 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.19#22 FL3 |
 WARREN FOEGELE Rating: 72.3#68 LW |  GREG MCKEGG Rating: 69.5#174 C |  SAKU MAENALANEN Rating: 73.7#48 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.87#4 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 JACCOB SLAVIN Rating: 76.2#17 LD |  DOUGIE HAMILTON Rating: 77.6#16 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.92#8 DL1 |
 BRETT PESCE Rating: 73.9#33 LD |  JUSTIN FAULK Rating: 76.0#25 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.93#4 DL2 |
 CALVIN DE HAAN Rating: 73.9#34 LD |  TREVOR VAN RIEMSDYK Rating: 72.9#46 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.40#7 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Straight goods – Pettersson has 5G and 1A in his last five games played. The hat-trick game is in there against Ottawa and upon return last game, he was immediately a difference maker. There have been a handful of Canucks that have had big games against the Hurricanes, might this be one of them for Petey?
- Jake Virtanen is the odd man out and will be scratched this evening. His play as of late has been good but Travis Green wants results. To be fair, we all want results but if he’s willing to sit Jake for Goldy, that’s a big move. These wake-up calls have worked in the past but it’s tough to say if tonight’s will pan out. Then again, Goldobin is the fourth leading scorer on the team.
- Brock Boeser is one goal away from 50 in his young career. His shot has improved as of late and he’s found a bit of that scoring touch again. He has one career assist against Carolina so he’ll need to flip the script to get that marker.
- Back to Virtanen, he has one assist (last game) in 12 games. He has one goal in his last 17. The guy needs to produce. He has been given the opportunity to do so and doesn’t have much to show for it. The Canucks lineup craves production and for someone that had a sample of success, the aftermath was skating 200 feet without a result. Getting scratched before a week and a half break will also give him some time to think while at the same time elevate Goldobin to a position where he needs to give his coach something to remember in that time.
- The box score may not show it but Antoine Roussel has been a monster addition to this Canucks squad in 2019. His agitator style is so reminiscent of Alex Burrows with a slightly more physical edge. His point production is well-received and he seems to be pushing all the right buttons. Roussel’s 19 points are more noticeable than Loui Eriksson’s 20. Think about that.
MY 94 CENTS
Sporting similar records and recent runs, the Canucks could hand the Hurricanes their second consecutive loss while matching one of their season high three-game win streaks. Vancouver is rested and the lineup has been altered to give Goldobin the chance to step up. All things being equal, this feels like a game the Canucks can win.
Pettersson might even do it by himself.
THE TWITTER TAKE
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