CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 4 – CANUCKS VS. SABRES
By Always90four
7 years ago
Once again, the Canucks enter yet another game undefeated. Who would have thought that a Canucks/Sabres matchup would have so much riding on it? OK, it’s only the 4th game of the season but how often do the Canucks open the year without a loss after 3 games?
Sure, but how many of those seasons included an undefeated record without leading for a single second of a game? Exactly. This Canucks team has been pleasantly surprising to watch and it feels like anything that happens now is gravy. Watch out Buffalo, this Canucks team is shooting for 82-0.
BROADCAST INFO
TV: SN360
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 7PM
LINEUPS
Brandon Sutter looks to be paired with Markus Granlund and Jannik Hansen again. It’s a good line to keep together and with Sutter gaining confidence in this lineup, having a guy like Hansen there will make his job easier. Jannik is a hard worker and that will probably amount to a few more scoring chances for those two.
Bo Horvat could be playing with two dead fish on his line and somehow manage to get pucks on net. Keeping Sven Baertschi with Horvat is still a great idea and something we should give Willie Desjardins more credit for.
Jacob Markstrom will get his 3rd straight start and Ryan Miller will be in the backup role. At least we know Miller is almost ready to take the net back but it doesn’t hurt to have the obviously more healthy guy in net.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Loui Eriksson |
 Markus Granlund |  Brandon Sutter |  Jannik Hansen |
 Sven Baertschi |  Bo Horvat |  Jack Skille |
 Alexandre Burrows |  Brendan Gaunce |  Derek Dorsett |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |  Erik Gudbranson |
 Luca Sbisa |  Philip Larsen |
The Buffalo Sabres aren’t exactly a frightening team and there are maybe one or two guys that will threaten to open this game up. No Jack Eichel, no Evander Kane and for some reason, Brian Gionta is still hanging around. Ryan O’Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen have started their respective seasons on a hot note and it looks like the Sabres spread the scoring around.after that. It looks like this will be a team that rolls four lines tonight.
Robin Lehner should start in net.
Buffalo Sabres lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Sam Reinhart |  Ryan O’Reilly |  Kyle Okposo |
 Brian Gionta |  Johan Larsson |  Marcus Foligno |
 Tyler Ennis |  Zemgus Girgensons |  Nicolas Deslauriers |
 Matt Moulson |  Derek Grant |  Nick Baptiste |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Josh Gorges |  Rasmus Ristolainen |
 Jake McCabe |  Zach Bogosian |
 Dmitry Kulikov |  Cody Franson |
REASONS TO WATCH THIS GAME
- It’s been repeated ad nauseum but did I mention the Canucks are still undefeated? They are and you might want to tune in and find out the absolutely ridiculous way they manage to squeak out yet another 2 points. I’m sure it will be interesting.
- Saying the Sedins are worth watching every game seems unoriginal. The thing is, they manage to surprise and entertain almost every night. Watching Daniel Sedin tough out the entire OT frame was a thing to behold and at the same time, expected. There will be a day where Henrik and Daniel aren’t playing for the Canucks anymore and you will regret saying you missed out.
- Luca Sbisa hasn’t cost the Canucks a game yet and he’s being praised on Twitter. I don’t know what world we are currently living in but as long as Luca Sbisa is an effective member of the Canucks, it’s probably worth seeing what he can do.
- There are a few players that are about ready to see their names on the score sheet: Alex Edler, Sven Baertschi and Alex Burrows are just a handful of players that need to break out right away. The Canucks are oddly well rounded and getting these guys scoring might indeed be the spark to keep this unusual fire burning. If it’s a clutch goal late in the game, Burrows might be the guy to call upon and with a healthy Alex Edler (and hopefully a solid stick) getting involved there may be hope yet.
- If you’re having goal problems I feel bad for you son, Jannik Hansen has 99 goals and he needs just 1. Hansen is sitting at, as the clever lyric suggests, 99 goals. As referenced in an earlier article this season on Canucks Army, that should have come against the Carolina Hurricanes. It did not. It also didn’t happen against the St. Louis Blues. So here we are today wishing that Jannik Hansen puts that historic puck in the back of the net. Good luck Jannik!
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
This is great. Just enjoy it.
MY TAKE
Watching Jacob Markstrom get these early starts is good for the team. There may be longer stretches in the near future where the Canucks will lean heavily on him. If he can get some all-around good defense in front of him, things might not be so bad this year.
WILL THE CANUCKS WIN?
You would think the Canucks are due for their first loss but they’ve actually played pretty well and if a bit of luck goes their way, guys like Bo Horvat or Brandon Sutter could be in store for a two-goal night. Canucks win in regulation, finally.
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