Canucks Army GDT #39 – Canucks vs Panthers

Broadcast Info

Lineups

LW	C	RW
Daniel Sedin	Henrik Sedin	Alexandre Burrows
Chris Higgins	Nick Bonino	Radim Vrbata
Shawn Matthias	Brad Richardson	Zack Kassian
Derek Dorsett	Bo Horvat	Jannik Hansen

Defensive Pairings
Alexander Edler	Chris Tanev
Ryan Stanton	Kevin Bieksa
Luca Sbisa	Yannick Weber

Alex Burrows will continue to skate on line 1. Radim Vrbata will return to the lineup, taking Linden Vey’s place on line 2. Brad Richardson will play after leaving last game with an injury. Frank Corrado has been recalled from Utica, but will not play. Dan Hamhuis is getting closer to returning from injury as he practiced with the team on Thursday. Ryan Miller gets the start in net.

LW	C	RW
Jonathan Huberdeau	Nick Bjugstad	Jimmy Hayes
Sean Bergenheim	Aleksander Barkov	Brad Boyes
Jussi Jokinen	Vincent Trocheck	Brandon Pirri
Scottie Upshall	Dave Bolland	Derek MacKenzie

Defensive Pairings
Brian Campbell	Aaron Ekblad
Willie Mitchell	Dmitry Kulikov
Shane O’Brien	Dylan Olsen

Al Montoya has re-joined the team after the birth of his child and will back up tonight. Some guy named Roberto Luongo will start for the Panthers. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Head to Head

Storylines

• Youth Movement – The Florida Panthers have been playing some solid hockey of late and look to be in the mix for a playoff spot in the Atlantic division, sitting just three points behind Boston with four games in hand. Most of this has to do with the play of their young core. Aaron Ekblad is the likely Calder trophy favourite and on pace for a staggering 50 points – nearly unheard of for a 19-year old defenseman – and Alex Barkov is playing tough minutes against top competition and still managing to carry a 54.8% Corsi. 22-year old Nick Bjugstad, who Mike Gillis desperately wanted as a part of the return for Roberto Luongo, is leading the team in scoring with 15 goals and 9 assists in 37 games played.
• Special Teams – The Vancouver Canucks have struggled at even strength this season, but have been able to remain competitive thanks to an elite penalty kill and an improving power play. Their division-leading +12 goal differential can be attributed almost entirely to special teams too, as Vancouver is +13 at 5-on-4 and 4-on-5 combined. Removing their +6 empty net goal differential, they’re a minus-7 in all other situations.
• Return of the King – Of course, all the above is just window dressing for the main show tonight: the return of Roberto Luongo to Vancouver. Luongo is indisputably the best goaltender that the Vancouver Canucks have ever had, leading the franchise in all-time wins and shutouts, while trailing only Cory Schneider (who played fewer than 25% of the games Luongo did) in save percentage. Luongo also holds the single season records for most wins (47), most games played (76), most shutouts (9), and longest shutout streak (242:36). He also played a major role in carrying Vancouver to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, tying Kirk MacLean’s records for most playoff wins (15) and shutouts (4) in a single playoff run. Tonight marks his first game in Vancouver since being dealt last season, and he is sure to be warmly welcomed back.

Gameday Reading

• Canucks.com’s Tale of the Tape
• CBC chronicles Roberto Luongo’s tenure with the Canucks
• Rob Williams counts down his favourite top-10 Luongo moments in Vancouver at Vancity Buzz
• Ben Kuzma speaks with another former Vancouver favourite in Panthers’ captain Willie Mitchell
• Botchford looks at this year’s bizarre goalie controversy. Or more accurately, how there isn’t one
• An oldie but goodie: 5 minutes of Jim Hughson and “GREAT SAVE LUONGO!”