CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 57 – CANUCKS @ PENGUINS
By Always90four
7 years ago
Photo Credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA TODAY Sports
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Hot off of an impressive win versus the Sabres, the Canucks fly into Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. It’s been a topsy-turvy road trip for the Canucks and a win against a strong Penguins team could help Vancouver’s chances of staying in the playoff race.
Plenty of storylines to go around for this one and something about Sidney Crosby on the brink of 1000 points or something? Don’t forget about yet another early start time, as most of you will probably have to skip out of work early.
Let’s do this!
LINE COMBOS
Bo Horvat is questionable after blocking a shot against Buffalo. Brendan Gaunce has been recalled after an impressive stint in Utica (2G, 1A). Reid Boucher is still in the lineup so far. Willie Desjardins keeps everyone guessing so honestly, I have no idea what he’ll do. Yes, we’re aware Loui Eriksson isn’t on the top line.
Ryan Miller should start based on the rotation but there are some big conference games coming up and Jacob Markstrom earned at the very least another start. Wait and see.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Loui Eriksson |
 Markus Granlund |  Brandon Sutter |  Jannik Hansen |
 Jayson Megna |  Bo Horvat |  Alexandre Burrows |
 Reid Boucher |  Michael Chaput |  Jack Skille |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Troy Stecher |
 Luca Sbisa |  Chris Tanev |
 Nikita Tryamkin |  Ben Hutton |
Sources say Evgeni Malkin will be back in the lineup this evening after being out with a lower-body injury. Nick Bonino is on a line with Phil Kessel so it’s safe to say that line will give Vancouver a run for its money.
Matt Murray should be the goalie of record tonight.
Pittsburgh Penguins lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Chris Kunitz |  Sidney Crosby |  Jake Guentzel |
 Matt Cullen |  Nick Bonino |  Phil Kessel |
 Scott Wilson |  Evgeni Malkin |  Patric Hornqvist |
 Tom Kuhnhackl |  Eric Fehr |  Josh Archibald |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Brian Dumoulin |  Kris Letang |
 Olli Maatta |  Trevor Daley |
 Ian Cole |  Justin Schultz |
GAMES NOTES, STATS, AND OTHER INTERESTING INFO
- There is a remote chance Sidney Crosby scores two points against the Canucks tonight. He has scored in five of the seven games he’s played against Vancouver since October 2010. Only two of those same games has he scored more than a point. It’s possible, not likely, though.
- Daniel Sedin is playing in his 1200th game tonight. No doubt Henrik isn’t all that jealous as he did it awhile ago. Daniel has four points in his last five games and two PPP so 1200 might be a rewarding occasion.
- Michael Chaput found his way into the news after his two-goal outing against Buffalo. Don’t expect a repeat of a player that has five career goals now. It was only a matter of time before he saw his name in lights and maybe now he can pass that mantle on to say, Eriksson or Brandon Sutter?
- Rumours are mounting about the final destination of Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen but it doesn’t seem to phase them. Burrows has turned off his Twitter and stuck to ESPN (I don’t even have that channel) and Hansen basically said don’t worry about it. What’s the consensus on these two regardless of what the market may hold?
- Eriksson has been ice cold in his last six games. If there is a cure for this aside from being traded to Arizona, it doesn’t seem to be in the cards for him. There was a fair amount of hype leading into his big six-year deal but he might just need to find himself. Unfortunately, the Joshua Tree is in California so it will have to wait.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
I agree, Jeff. I agree.
MY TAKE
Sort of a weird spot for this one; Canucks play quite well against Boston and lose late, don’t play as well IMO against the Sabres and win convincingly. I suppose this one will be an OT affair? That’s my guess.
WHO DOESN’T GET ENOUGH LOVE ON THE CANUCKS?
My vote goes to Markus Granlund. I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical about the trade that sent away Hunter Shinkaruk but it’s not even close anymore. Looking back after each stretch and wondering what the Canucks would look like had Granlund or Troy Stecher or Ben Hutton or even Gaunce were not there can get pretty scary.
Having depth middle-six forwards that you can rely on isn’t always a walk in the park. Granlund should be getting more love and in Vancouver, they need to realize how bad this team could actually be.
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