Canucks Army Game Day 70 – Canucks Vs. Rangers (Rebuilding For Beginners Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
13 games to go!
The Canucks enter tonight’s game against the New York Rangers with a lot of questions. The obvious news is that Quinn Hughes is officially a Canuck but the fans will need to temper expectations because he isn’t going to single-handedly turn this team around, even Elias Pettersson hasn’t etched his name on the mount quite yet.
There has been a lot of anger regarding the direction of the Canucks going forward and depending on how porous this team looks in the final 13 games, there may be big changes coming even before the Draft in June. The Rangers, on the other hand, have bought into the rebuild and will probably have it figured out before the Canucks do.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN -125/NYR +105 ) courtesy of OddShark
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Ryan Spooner is still out but returned to practice so he may suit up. No updates on Sven Baertschi’s return. Guillaume Brisebois was at practice with Troy Stecher as a battery partner, Ashton Sautner and Chris Tanev partnered up as well. It’s highly unlikely Quinn Hughes will make his debut tonight with the ankle injury he sustained with Michigan.
Ben Hutton is still sidelined after blocking a shot which gives the Sautners and Brisebois’ more opportunity to showcase themselves for next season.
Soon though, soon.
Jacob Markstrom should see a start tonight and hopefully, he’s shaken off that rough first period against Vegas where he let in five goals on 16 shots. It was his only sub.700 Sv% game and only his second game below .800. Add to that, 29 of his 52 starts have resulted in an Sv% of .920 or higher.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 72.2#83 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.7#48 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.5#84 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.16#29 FL1 |
 JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.7#51 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.7#34 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.1#7 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.48#5 FL2 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 70.7#102 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 71.7#113 C |  TANNER PEARSON Rating: 72.3#71 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.53#23 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.3#108 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.5#186 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.2#120 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.32#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 76.5#18 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.9#52 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.71#16 DL1 |
 ASHTON SAUTNER Rating: 73.2#58 LD |  LUKE SCHENN Rating: 68.6#98 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 70.90#30 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 71.0#100 LD |  ALEX BIEGA Rating: 71.8#74 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.37#18 DL3 |
Brendan Lemieux had a Gordie Howe Hat-trick last game in a losing effort against the Oilers in OT. New York is fairly healthy aside from their team being in the midst of a rebuild but they’ll battle and based on this little clip, the Canucks will need to protect down low:
King Henrik Lundqvist will be in the starter’s net for the Rangers.
Rangers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 VLADISLAV NAMESTNIKOV Rating: 74.1#64 LW |  MIKA ZIBANEJAD Rating: 79.5#19 C |  FILIP CHYTIL Rating: 70.3#158 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 74.66#27 FL1 |
 CHRIS KREIDER Rating: 76.8#23 LW |  RYAN STROME Rating: 72.1#104 C |  JESPER FAST Rating: 70.8#96 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 73.24#25 FL2 |
 BRENDAN LEMIEUX Rating: 72.8#74 LW |  BRETT HOWDEN Rating: 71.4#124 C |  PAVEL BUCHNEVICH Rating: 72.6#80 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.25#19 FL3 |
 JIMMY VESEY Rating: 71.8#96 LW |  BOO NIEVES Rating: 70.6#153 C |  CONNOR BRICKLEY Rating: 71.5#86 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.28#12 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MARC STAAL Rating: 68.5#129 LD |  BRADY SKJEI Rating: 73.1#62 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 70.79#31 DL1 |
 BRENDAN SMITH Rating: 70.1#121 LD |  KEVIN SHATTENKIRK Rating: 74.5#32 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.32#26 DL2 |
 FREDRIK CLAESSON Rating: 70.2#117 LD |  NEAL PIONK Rating: 70.3#90 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.23#26 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Since the beginning of the 2014/15 season (when Benning began his decline), the Canucks have the fewest PPG of any team in the NHL with 202. The Vegas Golden Knights have only been around for just under two seasons and they already have 88. Vancouver’s conversion rate in that time is 17.2%. Is it because they’re too slow moving the puck? Do they not have players that can shoot? Is it the drop-pass plague? They need to watch one game of Penguins hockey and see how easy it can be.
- Both the Canucks and Rangers have blocked a supreme amount of shots this season. Vancouver with 1034 and the Rangers with 1027. Does it mean there will be next to zero shots on goal? No. It does mean the goals will be at a premium, well that, and the fact Vancouver has only scored 184 to the Rangers 192. Buckle up!
- Elias Pettersson is only two points away from tying Pavel Bure’s rookie record of 60 with the Canucks. It sure felt like he was going to have this wrapped up sooner but it’s been a bit of rough stretch lately. He has assisted in his last two games but it’s the goals the fans have fawned about this year. If Pettersson notched both points on the power-play he could pass Rasmus Dahlin in that category. Pettersson is the leader in almost every other category for rookies and has a healthy 21 point lead on his rival countryman.
- Brock Boeser will eclipse his season totals for games played and assists but he’ll need a spark to get to his rookie-high of 29 goals and 55 points. Boeser is sitting at 22 goals on the year and 47 points. Eight points in his final 13 games? No big deal, right?
- Jake Virtanen has returned and his complete game is what the Canucks will be happy to have back. His 39 total takeaways lead the Canucks with Elias Pettersson coming a close second with 32. The only meaningful takeaways this season have been that the Canucks power-play needs serious work. But you knew that already.
MY 94 CENTS
Just win tonight. Just win.
I don’t care if it takes a comeback, I don’t care if it’s the scrubs that score, just win. Elias Pettersson also needs to get back on the horse. If he’s going to lock up the Calder (which shouldn’t be in question but it is a bit now) he needs a few games down this final stretch that make everyone remember why he stole the show in the first place.
Mathew Barzal did it last season and don’t you think Pettersson has more to offer?
THE TWITTER TAKE
Ugh, we’re guilty too!
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