Canucks Army Game Day 6 – Canucks @ Penguins (Lucky Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
Don’t look now Canucks fans, but your team went undefeated in Florida and they’re a win back of third place in the conference. The Vancouver Canucks are in Pittsburgh tonight to take on Sidney Crosby of Tim Hortons fame and his Pittsburgh Penguins. Brock Boeser is once again the big star leading the Canucks hype train and you can bet your bottom dollar Matt Murray, Penguins top goaltender, will have studied up on the man that effortlessly burned him a season ago.
We’re ready for this, we all need a feel-good story tonight.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SN1 / SN 650 / 4:00 PM
LINEUPS
Vancouver called up Adam Gaudette from Utica after an impressive start to the season of 2G/2A through four games. Welcome back, Adam! Tyler Motte will get back in after Jay Beagle went down with a broken wrist blocking a shot on Saturday. How does it get any worse after the Elias Pettersson injury? That’s how. Everything else looks the same.
Anders Nilsson has to be the guy still, right?
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 73.6#44 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 74.2#58 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 78.5#13 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.43#25 FL1 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 71.5#88 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 72.4#101 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 72.8#60 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.20#30 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.8#102 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.2#134 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.2#91 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.71#28 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 69.3#133 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 71.6#123 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.7#110 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.85#25 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.0#35 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.1#75 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.52#28 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.0#107 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.9#94 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.42#30 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.6#98 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 70.3#84 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.45#27 DL3 |
The Infirmary didn’t pass over the Penguins, either. Justin Schultz is out for nearly four weeks, maybe longer with leg fracture surgery. Matt Murray is finally back in the Penguins lineup but will back up Casey Desmith. That also could change though. Derek Grant was recalled from Scranton-Wilkes Barrie.
Is it Murray or Casey? Mike Sullivan might want to protect his goalie and play the backup to save Murray from embarrassment.
Penguins lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JAKE GUENTZEL Rating: 79.5#13 LW |  SIDNEY CROSBY Rating: 86.6#4 C |  DERICK BRASSARD Rating: 73.9#65 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 80.00#7 FL1 |
 CARL HAGELIN Rating: 72.2#81 LW |  EVGENI MALKIN Rating: 85.4#6 C |  PHIL KESSEL Rating: 79.0#11 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.86#1 FL2 |
 PATRIC HORNQVIST Rating: 77.9#20 LW |  RILEY SHEAHAN Rating: 69.8#162 C |  BRYAN RUST Rating: 73.1#58 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 73.60#4 FL3 |
 DOMINIK SIMON Rating: 70.7#105 LW |  MATT CULLEN Rating: 68.7#175 C |  DANIEL SPRONG Rating: 75.2#30 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.56#10 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 BRIAN DUMOULIN Rating: 74.7#28 LD |  KRIS LETANG Rating: 81.5#4 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 78.10#6 DL1 |
 JACK JOHNSON Rating: 71.0#90 LD |  JAMIE OLEKSIAK Rating: 71.2#72 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.11#26 DL2 |
 OLLI MAATTA Rating: 72.9#49 LD |  JUUSO RIIKOLA | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.86#8 DL3 |
INFORMATION YOU NEED AND SOME YOU DON’T
- No Pettersson means Sven Baertschi and Alex Edler are the leading Canucks scorers still in the lineup. Baertschi will get a chance to re-ignite the chemistry he, Bo Horvat, and Brock Boeser celebrated one season ago. All eyes will be on this line now that the Sedins no longer patrol the second line and Loui Eriksson doesn’t scream “contain me”.
- A season ago in Pittsburgh, Loui Eriksson scored his second goal of the season, one night after scoring a goal and an assist in Philadelphia. In fact, Eriksson had quite the November last year putting five goals and five assists on the board. For a player that three registered shots on goal this season through five games, he’ll need a miracle to even get an assist tonight. He does have Adam Gaudette and Nikolay Goldobin as linemates so it’s possible.
- While Brock Boeser was lighting the lamp against the Penguins last season, Bo Horvat had a run himself. Bo put up four points himself but went scoreless in the final meeting. Time to do Captain things, Captain Bo.
- Since the last time these two teams played, the Canucks only have 11 of the 18 players from that game in the lineup. The Sedins retired, Sam Gagner was waived, Alex Biega was waived, Brendan Gaunce as well, Michael Del Zotto is still a healthy scratch, and Thomas Vanek has moved on to greener pastures. This may play in the Canucks favour this evening with a handful of new faces that the Penguins don’t have a book on.
- Travis Green needs to embrace the win and you stay in mentality for his goaltenders. Through two games played, Anders Nilsson is among the league-leaders in both GAA and SV%. Jacob Markstrom is not. He isn’t even close. Markstrom has the seventh-worst GAA and ranks 32nd of 45 goaltenders that have played so far for save percentage. Again, it’s very early in the season but one goalie has embraced the challenge and one hasn’t. Everyone was shocked when Cory Schneider was shipped off to New Jersey and furious when Roberto Luongo was dealt back to Florida but would anyone have guessed Anders Nilsson could back up the eventual starter, Thatcher Demko? Could we see Jacob Markstrom waived and have a Demko/Nilsson tandem? Makes you think.
MY 94 CENTS
Elias Pettersson is on the shelf so the Canucks have to respond with the guys that are still there. Brock Boeser had his way with the Penguins last season and I guess we’ll find out how “lucky” he really is. Brock’s shot is a piece of art and the Canucks need Bo Horvat to get him the puck tonight. There are times to step up and tonight is the first chance the Canucks will get to prove that they aren’t a one-man team (they kinda are, but work with me here).
Canucks hang in this one. To what degree is anyone’s guess.
THE FINAL WORD
Read this thread. Take a minute and read this. Carcillo was a gong show from time to time and he has a great response to Saturday’s incident. The NHL missed on this one and who knows when they get it close enough. You can’t have a league if you don’t have players.
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