CANUCKS ARMY GDT 48 – CANUCKS VS. KINGS
By Always90four
6 years agoThe bye week is over, the Bo week has begun and if the Canucks get even the slightest bit of luck this evening, they might even win. Vancouver welcomes* the Los Angeles Kings to Rogers Arena tonight although, it’s unlikely the Canucks will be very courteous. The Kings and Canucks have gone back and forth in their last 11 meetings with the Canucks succeeding just under half of the time with five wins. Tonight is a chance to even it up.
Let’s Do This!™
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: SN650
PUCK DROP: 7:00 PM
LINE COMBINATIONS
The top line has been reunited and if anyone can score, it’s them. Jake Virtanen and Ben Hutton were healthy scratched last game in favour of Derrick Pouliot and Brendan Gaunce. How does a rebuild happen when the coaching staff continues to burn the instructions? Nic Dowd will continue to see ice time and Loui Eriksson will be trotted out like a prized pony. This is getting ridiculous.
Jacob Markstrom should get the net back this evening.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 SVEN BAERTSCHI |  BO HORVAT |  BROCK BOESER |
 DANIEL SEDIN |  HENRIK SEDIN |  THOMAS VANEK |
 MARKUS GRANLUND |  BRANDON SUTTER |  SAM GAGNER |
 BRENDAN GAUNCE |  NIC DOWD |  LOUI ERIKSSON |
Jeff Zatkoff has been traded to Columbus for future considerations. He’ll do ok over there. No other lineup news to report at this time.
Jonathan Quick will get the start.
Los Angeles Kings lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 ALEX IAFALLO |  ANZE KOPITAR |  DUSTIN BROWN |
 TANNER PEARSON |  ADRIAN KEMPE |  TREVOR LEWIS |
 KYLE CLIFFORD |  NICK SHORE |  TYLER TOFFOLI |
 MARIAN GABORIK |  MIKE AMADIO |  TORREY MITCHELL |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- The last time the Canucks and Kings met, Drew Doughty was walked by former Canuck** Nikolay Goldobin before breaking a 3-3 tie and winning the game for the Kings on an impressive shot, rebound, goal sequence. Limiting Doughty this evening will give the Canucks a remote chance of victory. (**If Nikolay Goldobin hasn’t already shown the Canucks he can work, they should cut their losses while they can. Sure, it’s a brash move but looking at Travis Green’s decisions, when would he actually fit in again? Time for yet another deadline deal for Goldobin)
- Derrick Pouliot, Ben Hutton, and Henrik Sedin: all three of these men lead the Canucks with two whole points against the Kings this season. Henrik is the only one with a goal and that friends, should shock you. These three names are not who you would expect to lead the Canucks against a strong Kings team. The other point to this is Pouliot and Hutton have both been healthy scratched this season. Commence head-scratching. For the sake of watching one of them, pick Hutton to rebound.
- Jake Virtanen needs to be given a chance, a real chance. He currently leads all Canucks with nine rush attempts and is tied for 27th in the league, all situations; Thomas Vanek and Bo Horvat are tied for second on the Canucks with eight. The one guy that has tried to show his worth is being blocked from creating scoring chances. His TOI is the lowest of any player over 30 games with 452:36. He isn’t Bo Horvat or Brock Boeser but the way he’s being utilized, we may never know for sure.
- Motion creates emotion – Jake Virtanen is also driving play with his body as is Markus Granlund. Both players lead the Canucks 5v5 in hits and hits taken. Tonight would be a great night to see how they match up against the Kings bullies.
- Brock Boeser hasn’t scored in six games. The calm before the storm?
THE TWITTER TAKE
Whichever way the Canucks are going, they need to make their move sooner than later. They can’t have a GM take them through the trade deadline only to be let go. Time’s ticking.
MY 94 CENTS
Dustin Brown is fresh off a suspension and is no stranger to the Canucks. Tyler Toffoli is another player who really makes me worry about the Canucks’ safety. I think Vancouver scores a few goals this evening but I’m not sure at what cost. The magic hasn’t returned to the Bo Horvat line yet but if there was a game to step it up, everyone can agree, this is it. The goaltending has started to come back for Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson but unless they have a wicked 200 ft wrister, Travis Green needs to figure out how to promote goal scoring.
OVER / UNDER
Alex Edler First Assist (+/- 0.5) The Canucks aren’t scoring goals in any capacity so that means they aren’t setting any up either. Edler has four assists in his last five games but all of them were the setup pass before the puck went in. Take the over.
Canucks Goals of Any Kind (+/- 0.5) They can’t be shutout in two straight games, can they? Take the over. Bo Horvat would be a great candidate.
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