Canucks Army GDT #62 – Canucks vs. Blues

Broadcast Info

Lineups

LW	C	RW
Daniel Sedin	Henrik Sedin	Zack Kassian
Derek Dorsett	Nick Bonino	Radim Vrbata
Chris Higgins	Shawn Matthias	Linden Vey
Ronalds Kenins	Bo Horvat	Jannik Hansen

Defensive Pairings
Dan Hamhuis	Yannick Weber
Luca Sbisa	Chris Tanev
Ryan Stanton	Alex Biega

Same lineup tonight as the one that lost to Buffalo. Brandon McMillan cleared waivers, but remains with the team. Eddie Lack starts in goal.

LW	C	RW
Alex Steen	David Backes	T.J. Oshie
Jaden Schwartz	Jori Lehtera	Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund	Paul Stastny	Dmitrij Jaskin
Steve Ott	Marcel Goc	Ryan Reaves

Defensive Pairings
Carl Gunnarsson	Alex Pietrangelo
Petteri Lindbohm	Jay Bouwmeester
Barret Jackman	Ian Cole

Kevin Shattenkirk is on IR and will not play. Jake Allen gets the start in goal.

Head to Head

Storylines

• Bounce Back Lack – The Canucks will turn back to Eddie Lack tonight after the de-facto starter had a tough night against the Buffalo Sabres in his last outing. The NHL’s worst team managed to put an embarassing five pucks past Lack on just 23 shots, including one play in which Lack misplayed the puck terribly, giving the Sabres an open net. Another tough night for Lack will be a disaster for the Canucks, as they face the West’s second most potent offensive team in the St. Louis Blues.
• Walking Wounded – The Canucks are missing Alex Edler and Chris Tanev, but their impact isn’t being felt where you’d expect. Since both have left the lineup, Vancouver is a bottom-10 puck possession team in the NHL, but their CorsiAgainst/60 is one of the best in the league since mid-February. Instead, they’ve been missing the good first pass that Edler and Tanev provide, as their offensive opportunities have absolutely cratered. The penalty kill has also been obliterated in their absence, as Vancouver is allowing 15 more shots against per 60 minutes of PK TOI than they were with Edler and Tanev in the lineup.
• Not Singin’ the Blues – St. Louis has been a dangerous squad all season, sporting a +39 goal differential which is tied for the second highest mark in the entire NHL. Their powerplay has been especially dangerous, and the line of Jaden Schwartz-Jori Lehtera-Vlad Tarasenko has been lethal at 5-on-5 too. David Backes has been moved into a primarily defensive role, freeing up the middle of the Blues roster to eat opponents alive. It’ll be a tough test for Vancouver’s hobbled depth group to keep the Blues in check.