CANUCKS ARMY GDT#1 – CANUCKS VS. FLAMES
By Always90four
7 years ago
THE INTRO
As the Canucks embark on another season, we must all be prepared for the grim reality it could closely resemble last year. There will be high points and low points alike. And if Canucks Head Coach ices lineups similar to the one we’re seeing tonight, you can bet coaching will be a hot topic for much of the season.
The Calgary Flames are coming in cold, suffering consecutive losses to the Edmonton OIlers. They’re also coming to town to play their second game in as many nights. An early ‘W’ isn’t out of the question for the Canucks.
BROADCAST INFO
TV: CBC (HNIC GAME 2)
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 7PM
LINEUPS
Ryan Miller will be the Canucks goaltender for the night. Beyond that, it’s a bit messy. For whatever reason, Bo Horvat is centring the fourth line. Loui Eriksson will play alongside the Sedins, as expected, and if the pre-season is any indication, he could have himself a night. Brandon Sutter is anchoring the second line, which I don’t mind given he missed so much of last season.
Your 2016/17 Vancouver Canucks folks!
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Loui Eriksson |
 Brendan Gaunce |  Brandon Sutter |  Jannik Hansen |
 Sven Baertschi |  Markus Granlund |  Jake Virtanen |
 Alexandre Burrows |  Bo Horvat |  Derek Dorsett |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |  Erik Gudbranson |
 Luca Sbisa |  Philip Larsen |
The Flames have a good looking team on paper. Calgary boasts a fair amount of scoring potential. They’re still the Flames, though. The Canucks could trounce them or find a way to embarrass themselves in front of the hometown crowd. No middle ground! Couple of things to note here: Sam Bennett is a year older, Johnny Gaudreau has a new, expensive contract and Deryk Engelland is likely to fight Derek Dorsett. Brian Elliott started last night, so we’re likely to see Derek Dorsett.
Calgary Flames lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Johnny Gaudreau |  Sean Monahan |  Kris Versteeg |
 Matthew Tkachuk |  Sam Bennett |  Troy Brouwer |
 Micheal Ferland |  Mikael Backlund |  Michael Frolik |
 Lance Bouma |  Matt Stajan |  Alex Chiasson |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Mark Giordano |  T.J. Brodie |
 Dougie Hamilton |  Jyrki Jokipakka |
 Dennis Wideman |  Deryk Engelland |
REASONS TO WATCH THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON
- I really didn’t see much of the preseason — I have kids. The first official Canucks game is always the best. We all have thoughts of “this season will be different, they’ll be better because we have …” At some point, they’ll show how long a season it will be, but until then we can enjoy the honeymoon feeling.
- Loui Eriksson is a Canuck and he plays with the Sedins. I feel slightly better about him than Radim Vrbata but it’s still not the solution to all their problems. Maybe year three Eriksson plays with Horvat but, for now, he’ll score goals on a line that makes them look easy.
- Since becoming a Canuck, Miller has won the opener all two years against the Flames. I’m sure he’ll tell you he didn’t know that but I do and now you do. So winning three straight would be great for morale, wouldn’t you say?
- New Canucks Philip Larsen will be manning the PP1 which we are all confused about but wouldn’t it be wild if for one night the power play just went bananas crazy and clicked? I know I’d pay to see that action. Seeing Ben Hutton continue his dominance would be more favourable.
- Speaking of Hutton, what will we get from him this year? Will a sophomore slump rear its ugly head or is he the real deal and out of nowhere the Canucks have somehow again stumbled upon a defensive gem?
- If you’re at the game tonight, you get a free beer. Thats a great reason right there.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Kind of like an updated reverse Bure highlight. Just great, really great right there.
MY TAKE
The line combos in the bottom six worry me a bit. The real problem is that I’m more focused, as are most of you, that this is the real problem. Maybe focus on the fact our top two lines aren’t all that scary looking. There won’t be much to be excited about after the top line and it really begs the question – what do you find exciting about the Canucks top line on a large scale? HECK YES I LIKE 75 POINTS PER GUY!!!
DO THE CANUCKS WIN?
They sure do, by at least a goal. I repeat, the Vancouver Canucks win their home opener by at least one hockey goal.
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