CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 27 – CANUCKS @ LIGHTNING
By Always90four
7 years agoLiquor Depot. Best Selection. Best Prices.
Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin
Your Vancouver Canucks are in Tampa this evening to take on a well rested Lightning team. It’s the first of two meetings between the clubs this season and the odds aren’t exactly in the Canucks favour. Former Canuck, Jason Garrison, should be back in the lineup to try and stick it to his old buddies but the Canucks have added a few players to offset the reunion.
The Lightning have a lot of talent at their disposal so the Canucks would be smart to play a clean game. Willie Desjardins may want to consider more ice time for Bo Horvat’s line and heck, why not the Sedins too!
BROADCAST INFO
TV: SNET-VAN
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 4:30 PM
LINE COMBOS
It sounds like Jannik Hansen is close to returning but not tonight. Philip Larsen flew back to Vancouver and is coherent and probably concussed. Chris Tanev apparently is a bit away from his return to action, so Alex Biega gets inserted into the lineup. It’d be good to see Loui Eriksson back on the Sedin line but I’m not the coach so what do I know?
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Brandon Sutter |
 Markus Granlund |  Michael Chaput |  Loui Eriksson |
 Sven Baertschi |  Bo Horvat |  Alexandre Burrows |
 Jack Skille |  Brendan Gaunce |  Jayson Megna |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Luca Sbisa |  Troy Stecher |
 Ben Hutton |  Erik Gudbranson |
 Nikita Tryamkin |  Alex Biega |
No Steven Stamkos still. The Canucks might have a shot tonight. Jason Garrison, Ryan Callahan and Jonathan Drouin will all likely play this evening and are “probable” as coach Jon Cooper said.
If I were a betting man, I’d say Ben Bishop gets the nod. But if you are a regular reader, you have zero confidence in my decisions.
Tampa Bay Lightning lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Alex Killorn |  Vladislav Namestnikov |  Nikita Kucherov |
 Jonathan Drouin |  Valtteri Filppula |  Brayden Point |
 Ondrej Palat |  Tyler Johnson |  Joel Vermin |
 Brian Boyle |  Cedric Paquette |  Ryan Callahan |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Victor Hedman |  Anton Stralman |
 Jason Garrison |  Andrej Sustr |
 Slater Koekkoek |  Braydon Coburn |
GAME NOTES, STATS AND OTHER INTERESTING INFO
- Biega has made his way back to the Canucks lineup. Thankfully, for him, he’ll get to play more than one game. This might be one of the last chances he gets to make an impression. With Larsen out for a bit (maybe not?) and Chris Tanev not quite ready to return, Biega will get some regular, uninterrupted ice time. He’s been through a lot, good luck buddy!
- Bo Horvat briefly took the team lead in points before relinquishing it back to Henrik and Daniel. Many thought Bo had a ceiling of 2nd line centre and he’s proving that it’s only a matter of time before the glass is broken. Horvat hasn’t scored in 3 games, so he’s probably due for some crash the net, dazzle the fans kind of hockey. It’s a hat trick kind of week in the NHL, just saying.
- Henrik and Daniel look like they’ve dusted off a bit of their rust and both had tallies last game. I don’t care what anyone says, they still have it. Maybe not to the degree they used to, but their passing game is unparalleled. Time to try Loui back up there, $6M is a lot to a pay a 2nd liner.
- If this season series follows last year’s results, the Canucks will walk away with a victory. Both teams won on the road last season, and it was brother Daniel with that Mambo #5 blast that won it in Tampa.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
26 years, a Cup and Steven Stamkos. Vancouver has 45+ years of misery, two riots and a 7th man banner somewhere.
MY TAKE
Ryan Miller goes berzerk and plays one of the best games of his life. Sven Baertschi and Alex Burrows have their special skates tonight and have a bit of magic of their own. No one wins the million dollars on Safeway Score and Win.
DO I EXPECT THE CANUCKS TO GET POINTS IN THIS GAME?
The Canucks will get at least one point tonight. This is one of those team’s where the Canucks probably don’t deserve to win or even steal a point, but they always seem to surprise when they’ve been written off. No player predictions but they’ll get a point for sure.
Recent articles from Always90four
