Canucks Army Game Day 8 – Canucks vs. Bruins (Cup Still Empty Edition)
By Always90four
5 years agoTHE INTRO
The more it changes the more it stays the same. The Canucks and Bruins have gone in different directions since they faced off in the Stanley Cup Final, neither team winning a Cup after that but they both push to get back and many would have thought the Canucks would have been the team to get back sooner and it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Tonight’s matchup opens up old wounds, ignites old flames and somehow becomes a litmus test for how far the Canucks will need to go before they can compete on the same level again as the league’s elite.
There will be no Elias Pettersson yet again to ask to carry the Canucks but a solid effort against the Jets a few nights ago proved the Canucks could hang with a team poised to make a Cup run this season, even after the Canucks were tired and worn out after finishing off a six-game road trip.
It’s on so…
Let’d Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SN1 & CITY / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Hopefully, this is the last game Elias Pettersson is out with a concussion and everything can go back to normal. Jay Beagle is still out with a broken wrist and will be until late November.
Jacob Markstrom will get the net back tonight after Anders Nilsson played the last four.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
Rating: 70.8#106 LW
BO HORVAT
Rating: 74.9#50 C
BROCK BOESER
Rating: 80.0#7 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 76.49#21 FL1
Rating: 74.5#40 LW
ADAM GAUDETTE
Rating: 73.0#96 C
Rating: 70.1#93 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 71.95#29 FL2
ANTOINE ROUSSEL
Rating: 71.0#104 LW
BRANDON SUTTER
Rating: 71.6#134 C
LOUI ERIKSSON
Rating: 72.0#76 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 70.87#25 FL3
TIM SCHALLER
Rating: 70.4#115 LW
MARKUS GRANLUND
Rating: 71.3#142 C
TYLER MOTTE
Rating: 68.7#111 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 70.13#21 FL4
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.2#33 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.3#72 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.77#28 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.4#106 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.8#92 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.60#30 DL2 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.3#107 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.3#71 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.84#22 DL3 |
Torey Krug is still out with a left ankle injury he received in the preseason. He’s due back as soon as the end of the month. Charlie McAvoy is out after feeling off from his hit against Calgary.
Tuukka Rask will start this evening.
Bruins lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 BRAD MARCHAND Rating: 85.4#4 LW |  PATRICE BERGERON Rating: 87.7#2 C |  DAVID PASTRNAK Rating: 86.1#2 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 86.40#1 FL1 |
 JAKE DEBRUSK Rating: 76.4#23 LW |  DAVID KREJCI Rating: 75.4#45 C |  DANTON HEINEN Rating: 72.1#81 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.65#17 FL2 |
 RYAN DONATO Rating: 73.6#51 LW |  DAVID BACKES Rating: 71.7#131 C |  JOAKIM NORDSTROM Rating: 69.5#102 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.61#19 FL3 |
 CHRIS WAGNER Rating: 68.9#139 LW |  SEAN KURALY Rating: 70.2#167 C |  NOEL ACCIARI Rating: 69.1#184 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.39#28 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ZDENO CHARA Rating: 75.5#24 LD |  CHARLIE MCAVOY Rating: 77.6#16 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.53#10 DL1 |
 MATT GRZELCYK Rating: 72.5#62 LD |  KEVAN MILLER Rating: 73.9#34 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.19#16 DL2 |
 JOHN MOORE Rating: 71.3#91 LD |  BRANDON CARLO Rating: 71.7#62 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.48#17 DL3 |
McAvoy and Miller are injured and will not play – at this moment, the pairings are unclear.
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND DEFINITELY SOME YOU DON’T
- Reading this should make you think. Put the contract aside for a second and tell me who should be in the lineup: Eriksson or Reid Boucher? The Canucks have waived Sam Gagner, they’ve sat Michael Del Zotto, and they’re probably close to pulling the trigger on Loui to send him down or at the very least, scratch him. Eriksson has finally matched his shot per game stat line but like the great NAS once said: “they shootin’, ah made you look”.
- Eriksson has the lowest TOI/GP on the Canucks for players who have played every game so far and his three assists came when Pettersson was still playing. Drop the hammer, Travis. It’s time.
- If and when Brad Marchand tests the Canucks’ patience this evening and doesn’t succeed, he will pass 600 career penalty minutes, no small task. He’s averaged just over two minutes per game against Vancouver in his career, so if you happen to be a gambler, this is easy money.
- Of all the Bruins since the 2011 regular season started, Marchand has the highest SH% against Vancouver with a healthy 31.8%. His next closest teammate having played more than six games against the Canucks is David Kreiji with 15.8%. For all the hate Marchand draws, he backs it up on the ice. Erik Gudbranson better be paying attention tonight, he’s already missed one opportunity.
- Tonight’s battle is lucky number 13 since the start of the 2010/11 season. The Canucks and Bruins have split the series since then 6-6. Vancouver holds the slightest edge in goals by a 38-37 margin. Will Vancouver grab that brass ring tonight?
- The injuries are coming. Vancouver currently leads the NHL in blocked shots with 131. With that being said, the Canucks are also defending the shot more than any other team which means they aren’t the ones shooting. This stat isn’t the be all end all by any means but that number would sink a lot more if the Canucks were the ones doing the shooting more often.
MY 94 CENTS
The players have moved on but there ain’t no way we’ve put this to rest. I feel like this game for whatever reason has a Game 8 part 2 kind of feel. There isn’t any Cody Hodgson 10 am bar-down action, just primetime Boeser and Bo. Brad Marchand has come a long way skill-wise since that series but he’s still public enemy number one as far as I’m concerned.
A win against an excellent Bruins team this evening won’t make it all better but it’s a great painkiller. That being said, tonight isn’t a game to take chances and see what comes up.
This game still matters; it’s mattered as much as every other one since that unfortunate June day.
THE FINAL WORD
THE FINAL FINAL WORD
2011 Never Forget
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