CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 6 – CANUCKS @ DUCKS
By Always90four
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Today’s game between the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks will be the first regular season game played at the Honda Center. Something tells me the good people of Anaheim haven’t noticed the Ducks absence, though.
The Canucks lost a back-and-forth tilt last night against the Los Angeles Kings. It looked over early, but they found a way to claw back from a 3-0 deficit and get a bonus point, dropping the contest in a shootout.
Tonight, the Canucks make their way to Anaheim to face a dismal Ducks squad that has barely shown up this season. It feels weird to say that considering that line should normally be reserved for our current Canucks team. That’s not the case as the Canucks are the best* team in the NHL. I bet Ryan Kesler wishes he hadn’t left Vancouver now.
BROADCAST INFO
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 5PM
LINEUPS
Thankfully, the Canucks’ line combinations aren’t as predictable as my game day previews so even though we have what we BELIEVE is the lineup going into tonight, who really knows anymore? What we DO know is that Jack Skille most likely slots in for an injured Derek Dorsett (shoulder).
Ryan Miller starts? All the websites say so and Jacob Markstrom although pretty darn good isn’t ready for the California double up. yes, Ryan Miller is back and that probably won’t be the big story this evening.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Sven Baertschi |
 Markus Granlund |  Brandon Sutter |  Jannik Hansen |
 Loui Eriksson |  Bo Horvat |  Jake Virtanen |
 Alexandre Burrows |  Brendan Gaunce |  Derek Dorsett |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Chris Tanev |
 Ben Hutton |  Erik Gudbranson |
 Luca Sbisa |  Philip Larsen |
Shea Theodore was recalled. Kevin Bieksa will mentor him on the third pairing.
John Gibson will start in net unless he gets injured in practice which is entirely possible when you know you’re playing the Canucks.
Anaheim Ducks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Nick Ritchie |  Ryan Getzlaf |  Corey Perry |
 Andrew Cogliano |  Ryan Kesler |  Jakob Silfverberg |
 Ryan Garbutt |  Antoine Vermette |  Chris Wagner |
 Emerson Etem |  Michael Sgarbossa |  Jared Boll |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Cam Fowler |  Josh Manson |
 Clayton Stoner |  Sami Vatanen |
 Shea Theodore |  Kevin Bieksa |
REASONS TO WATCH THIS GAME
- Apparently, Philip Larsen is better at the power play thing than people are giving him credit for. He tallied two assists last night versus the Kings and even I wondered why Troy Stecher still wasn’t the guy there. From shift to shift he isn’t intimidating and that seems to be where the big difference would be. It’s painfully obvious the power play is set up to get Larsen the shot at the point like he’s Sami Salo or something but maybe tone it down a bit so it doesn’t look quite so predictable. So watch for that.
- Jake Virtanen didn’t exactly play a full game yesterday. He logged 10:15 of ice time and was a ghost for most of the 3rd period and OT. He needs time to make mistakes and learn game situations; you can’t do that sitting on the bench “taking it all in”. This Ducks matchup is suited for him so look for Jake to get some bigger minutes and make an impact. With my luck, he’ll be scratched by the time this goes live.
- Has the Jannik Hansen to the top line petition started? The Sedin line hasn’t really exploded yet this season and Willie Desjardins has already taken Loui Eriksson off the top line. It’s been 4 games. This storyline feels like it was taken right out of a Hollywood romance movie where the girl that the main character is best friends with is obviously his true love instead of the flashy supermodel-type girl he starts the movie with, you know except Jannik Hansen is the friend and… you know what, I think I lost everyone. Basically, put Hansen with the Twins.
- Scoring first can be a pretty novel concept when it happens. The Canucks have scored first once this season and have 9 of a possible 10 points to show for it. Playing with fire is fun the first few times but they shouldn’t expect to keep that trend going for their own well being. Scoring first also spreads the ice time around a bit better instead of shortening the bench to play for the comeback.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
How soon can he suit up? This guy is going to be awesome!
MY TAKE
This season could go a few different ways but coming back from 3-0 twice already this year is something worth talking about. Things like that may not happen later in the year if injuries start creeping up but aside from the lack of entertainment overall, this team can win games the hard way. The Ducks always seem to play the Canucks hard and I don’t think this one will be any different.
Thankfully, the Canucks have had slightly better success at the Honda Center than the home team in the past 2 years. Vancouver went 2-1 in Anaheim last year and that was a pretty awful team. Tonight would be a good night to keep that going and help the Canucks chances of winning the President’s Trophy.
WILL THE CANUCKS WIN?
The critics WANT you to believe they’ll start losing a lot more but I still feel good about this little run they’re on. I am going out on a ledge (not literally gang, they’ve only lost one) and I’m going to say the Canucks do in fact beat the Ducks. I’m saying it goes to the shootout and Brandon Sutter is back in the hero circle.
You’re definitely not reading for my stellar predictions so I don’t feel bad being wrong. Pretty sure it says that in my bio.
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