CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 37 – CANUCKS VS. DUCKS
By Always90four
7 years ago
The Canucks welcome play the Ducks this evening in Anaheim’s second game of a back to back. Can Vancouver take the double dip and go into their New Year’s Eve game on a hot streak? Loui Eriksson is back on the board, Ryan Miller just played an all-world game and Alex Edler just got another batch of sticks so this one is about to be lit as the kids say.
We might even get a 13 round shootout!
BROADCAST INFO
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 7:00 PM
LINE COMBOS
With Jayson Megna now on the top line, the Ducks will have to watch out for the new high-powered offence. If Loui Eriksson can somehow score a few more times (hat trick even?) you have to believe Willie Desjardins will reward him with that Megna spot. The other option is he can cash in his Air Miles, Petro-Points and a month’s worth of tickets from Castle Fun Park for a game up front.
Markus Granlund has shown well on the second line and looks like he belongs (look for positives, look for positives).
Ryan Miller will start because Willie believes in him. He was pretty darn good against the Kings so it’s not like he doesn’t deserve it. Expect to see Jacob Markstrom tomorrow night then. (Reverse these if I’m wrong).
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Jayson Megna |
 Loui Eriksson |  Brandon Sutter |  Markus Granlund |
 Sven Baertschi |  Bo Horvat |  Alexandre Burrows |
 Brendan Gaunce |  Michael Chaput |  Jack Skille |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Troy Stecher |
 Luca Sbisa |  Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |  Nikita Tryamkin |
Look here, Ryan Kesler is a #1 center (that wasn’t a hashtag you millennials!) He’s back to his pesky self and has a goal scoring Jakob Silfverberg (which he may occasionally pass to) to help him out. Shocking that they have split up Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry but I guess things aren’t what they used to be. Richard Rakell is having himself a season so the Canucks will need to watch out.
Jonathan Bernier should start as John Gibson was a beast last night in a 3-1 win against the Flames.
Anaheim Ducks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Andrew Cogliano |  Ryan Kesler |  Jakob Silfverberg |
 Nick Ritchie |  Ryan Getzlaf |  Ondrej Kase |
 Rickard Rakell |  Antoine Vermette |  Corey Perry |
 Joseph Cramarossa |  Logan Shaw |  Jared Boll |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Cam Fowler |  Brandon Montour |
 Hampus Lindholm |  Josh Manson |
 Korbinian Holzer |  Kevin Bieksa |
Lineups courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com
GAME NOTES, STATS AND OTHER INTERESTING INFO
- The Canucks have not beat the Ducks this year but the last time Anaheim was in town Henrik Sedin and Loui Eriksson hooked up for a goal. There is hope.
- Vancouver’s defense has been an issue this year but right now, the current six guys in the lineup are pretty much the best looking group the team has seen to date. A few wins and some key stops could boost the confidence of this group and might allow the forward group to take a few more chances and then they score more goals and then they win more… sorry, got off on a tangent there. Defense has looked alright, all things considered.
- Speaking of the back end, Nikita Tryamkin is starting to warm up to this team and in turn his game has improved. Communication is so important and as the games continue he’ll figure out ways to put his mark on the game. Tryamkin is kind of a wild card because he really could turn out to be something special. For now, he just needs to keep the puck out of the net and I dunno, pummel Kesler or Perry.
- I’m on an Eriksson push right now as you have probably noticed and today folks, is the PP1. The Sedins obviously lead the points here with 7 apiece and Brandon Sutter is hanging around as well mainly because of Willie’s inability to try someone else. However, Eriksson is RIGHT THERE and should be a mainstay and overload it with Bo Horvat. Two faceoff specialists with two goal scoring wingers and Troy Stecher, tell me I’m wrong. Loui is a goal back of the team lead of 4, which Daniel currently owns.
- Stat of the day – the Canucks have the 4th best CF60 of 50.06 at 5v5. They are directing a tonne of pucks to the net and hear me out if they can somehow get a bigger body in front and direct some traffic ala, Todd Bertuzzi, I’m guessing they score a few more goals. Makes sense.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
I just, I don’t even… I just can’t. Don’t hold your breath Ducks fans.
MY TAKE
Is it crazy to think the Canucks can pull off the mini California sweep IN Vancouver? They played a pretty effective game against the Kings on Tuesday and with an All-star performance from Ryan Miller, there was renewed belief that the Canucks might not be that bad.
They still ARE that bad but I believe they can beat the Ducks but they’ll have to be physical.
HOW WOULD JOHN TORTORELLA COACH THE CANUCKS TO A WIN TONIGHT?
Torts would definitely play Markstrom for starters. When it comes to the forward lines, the Sedins would already be on the second line and Bo Horvat would get Loui Eriksson and Sven Baertschi and that would be dealt with. Brandon Sutter would be nowhere to be found on the power play and honestly, this would just make me so happy.
Sadly, he’s coaching the Blue Jackets and going for 15 wins in a row.
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