CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 10 – CANUCKS @ CANADIENS
By Always90four
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Photo Credit: Eric Bolte – USA TODAY Sports
It’s the beginning of a pretty important road trip and the Vancouver Canucks might need to embrace the “team bonding” mentality if things are going to improve. The Canucks went 1-1 with the Canadiens last year and both home teams emerged victorious after 60 minutes. Tough to gauge what this Canucks team is right now, but it’s safe to say the rough patch they’ve hit might not be over.
But hey, Chris Tanev is back!
BROADCAST INFO
TV: SNET (Wednesday Night Hockey – All channels)
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 4:30PM
LINE COMBOS
Unless you somehow got amnesia within the last 25 seconds, you saw Chris Tanev is back in the lineup. He was missed in spirit but Troy Stecher gave us hope that the defense could rest after the first pairing. It looks like Alex Burrows should be back in but with this team, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pre-game skate revealed something new for Burrows.
We all finally got what we wanted with Jannik Hansen starting on the Sedin line (seriously, what took so long?). This makes way too much sense and hopefully, it kick starts something positive. Bo Horvat gets to keep his wingers (Sven Baertschi and Jake Virtanen) a bit longer and for Virtanen’s sake, I hope there’s a spark.
No Stecher as Tanev slots back in so I guess Philip Larsen wins the day for now.
Ryan Miller is in the net tonight. Goaltending has been the least of their worries.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Jannik Hansen |
 Markus Granlund |  Brandon Sutter |  Loui Eriksson |
 Sven Baertschi |  Bo Horvat |  Jake Virtanen |
 Alexandre Burrows |  Brendan Gaunce |  Jack Skille |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |  Erik Gudbranson |
 Luca Sbisa |  Philip Larsen |
This is the first time the Canucks will see Shea Weber live in a Canadiens uniform and there are so many emotions right now (mostly, why did the Canucks never land him?) It’s a lot of the same Montreal team so the Canucks should be ready.
Carey Price gets a chance to put up his sixth straight win which is pretty impressive because he’s only played five games so far this year.
Montreal Canadiens lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Alexander Radulov |  Alex Galchenyuk |  Brendan Gallagher |
 Max Pacioretty |  David Desharnais |  Andrew Shaw |
 Artturi Lehkonen |  Tomas Plekanec |  Paul Byron |
 Phillip Danault |  Torrey Mitchell |  Brian Flynn |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexei Emelin |  Shea Weber |
 Andrei Markov |  Jeff Petry |
 Nathan Beaulieu |  Greg Pateryn |
GAME NOTES, STATS AND OTHER INFO
- Tonight seems like a game Bo Horvat can break out. he leads the Canucks in goals, he’s 3rd on the team in points and for a guy who is down the depth chart slightly, he looks like a star on most shifts. I feel like I’ve said this before?
- It’s no surprise that Jannik Hansen on the Sedin line is happening again. The stats don’t lie. Since Sept 2010 up until the start of this season, these 3 gentlemen have combined for a 103.2 PDO, 55.7 CF% and a GF% of 63.4. I’m impressed, are you impressed, because I’m impressed. If you read into this AT ALL, they’re good together.
- Montreal has won seven straight games, we’ve heard this before. The Canucks are pretty good at being the spoiler and this game should be no different. OK, Jared McCann and Derek Dorsett are not in the lineup for different reasons so the exact result won’t be replicated. That would set the table for Jack Skille or Brendan Gaunce to be the guys that shock everyone with big games. I’m not holding my breath quite yet.
- Loui Eriksson is goalless thus far but it’s fine, it’s not that hard to score when you just believe in yourself. STOP thinking and START doing. The NHL is supposed to be fun. Just do your Swedish goal scoring thing and you know, score goals. I was never a great motivator but this should do the trick. Let the comment section loose!
- Don’t bother watching the Cubs try to win a World Series. If you’re reading this, you are still a Canucks fan and that hurt is too much. Stay here and see the future. Don’t go over to FOX or whatever channel Sportsnet has it on, it can only end horribly.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Like, the VANCOUVER Canucks? Alright, I guess they are dangerous… ly close to another top 5 pick.d
MY TAKE
There’s a chance Nikita Tryamkin plays tonight or so the rumours say, and even if it means we’re a game away from Tanev or that Stecher sits, we need to know what the Canucks have with the big guy. Up front, Hansen finally gets his shot with the Twins and who knows, maybe Loui Eriksson lights a spark with Brandon Sutter. The Canucks and Canadiens usually lives up to the hype so this should be no different.
WILL THE CANUCKS WIN?
This might be repetitive but YES, the Canucks win tonight. There are no real reasons for this but something about streaks and history give me belief that the Canucks pull it off.
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