CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 16 – CANUCKS @ BLUE JACKETS

8 years ago

This used to be us, but now we’re playin’.

This game preview section sure has been a bummer the last few games and rightfully so, we’ve been let down. This is also the first time we get to see Ol’ Torts behind a bench again. Crazy to think he’s being paid by both teams. Anyways, there’s a game to play and it’s about time we see a Canucks win…in regulation. A rumour has also spread that Jacob (pronounced Yaw keeb) Markstrom gets the start, good for him.

BROADCAST INFO

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC

RADIO: TSN 1040

PUCK DROP: 4 PM

LINEUPS

Henrik and Daniel need to Sedin again. They haven’t Sedin’d in awhile and I’m worried. What I’d LOVE to see is Virtanen on that top line, Vrbata moved to the Sutter line and productivity resulting from that. No doubt Alex Biega is not Chris Tanev but the D corps needs to pony up a bit more as well. This team isn’t playing to their ceiling right now, which isn’t terribly high, but there’s more than what they’ve shown.

Jacob Markstrom is supposed to start.

Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW	C	RW
Daniel Sedin	Henrik Sedin	Radim Vrbata
Alexandre Burrows	Brandon Sutter	Jake Virtanen
Sven Baertschi	Bo Horvat	Jannik Hansen
Chris Higgins	Jared McCann	Derek Dorsett

Defensive Pairings
Alexander Edler	Alex Biega
Dan Hamhuis	Yannick Weber
Ben Hutton	Matt Bartkowski

Quick note: the BJ’s haven’t won at home this year so that either means the Canucks finally do the opposite of normal and win to continue that streak or its the obvious and they blow it somehow in OT or a shootout. Fatty Ryan Johansen will be ready to take on his hometown team with his awful hair cut in tow. Coach John Tortorella benched that bag of potatoes for not being in shape. The whip was cracked and he responded. This is still Canucks vs. Blue Jackets, don’t expect a thriller.

Officer Bobrovsky is in the pipes.

Columbus Blue Jackets lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW	C	RW
Boone Jenner	Ryan Johansen	Nick Foligno
Scott Hartnell	Brandon Dubinsky	Brandon Saad
Matt Calvert	William Karlsson	Cam Atkinson
Gregory Campbell	Alexander Wennberg	Jared Boll

Defensive Pairings
Jack Johnson	David Savard
Ryan Murray	Dalton Prout
Kevin Connauton	Fedor Tyutin

REASONS TO WATCH THIS GAME

2 words: John Tortorella locker room fight….you know what that’s 5 words but the impact is there when you say 2 words. Willie D isn’t the fighting kind of coach but then again, Medicine Hat is a pretty awful place and I wouldn’t blame him if all those years of frustration caught up today.
Jacob Markstrom is back and not a moment too soon. Dicky Bachman kept a warm bench and in all one of his games he did well. Its time to fire up the goalie controversies again. Man I love the holidays.
A successful Canucks powerplay would be something to talk about instead of a shorty against, so a goal by Yannick Weber or Ben Hutton would help lessen the blow in this string of suck they’ve been having. Also, no more predictable drop passes. This isn’t 2006.
Apparently, Jeff Paterson of 1040 fame wants the Sedins to split, maybe he’s right?
This could end up being a trap game for the Jackets with the Penguins up next. Hahaha, a trap game with the Canucks as the trap? Are we at this point now? Uh boi. If this was the Wild, it literally would be a trap game and the final score would be -2 to -3.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

I find this hard to believe, but then I think about it and they hired Torts because they hadn’t won. They hired Torts…because they hadn’t won. If you don’t win at all, you don’t go to overtime or shootout. Simple math.

MY TAKE

If you’re still paying attention, I’ve said some things you might agree with, some things you disagree with and I’ve mentioned John Tortorella a few times. Finding a reason the Canucks on paper should win is easy, the reality is it could be a melt own. Still, I’m picking the Canucks to the Tortorellas by a 4-1 margin and BOTH Sedins get a point.

David Clarkson just fell.