CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 71 – CANUCKS @ OILERS
By Always90four
7 years ago
Oct 28, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller (30) stops a shot on net by Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Edmonton Oilers won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Bizarro world is officially here! The Oilers are battling for a playoff spot and the Canucks are playing for a good seat at the NHL Draft. Both teams will face off tonight for only the third time this season, feels weird, doesn’t it? Connor McDavid is playing for the NHL scoring lead and is a heavy favourite to win the Hart trophy as well.
On the Canucks side, roster spots are up for grabs and Willie Desjardins may just be playing out his contract before his inevitable firing is official. I think if the Canucks get blown out like the Bruins and Stars have, it might be curtains for Willie by Monday morning.
They still play the games and after Nikita Tryamkin’s physical side was unearthed, we may be cheering for more than just goals and wins, we might have an enforcer.
LINE COMBOS
Nikolay Goldobin is still out, as is Chris Tanev. The nice thing about being out of the playoffs is letting the guys rest that actually need it. A game without the Sedins would be ok but they never take a night off. Pretty much the same cast of characters going into this one.
Richard Bachman is starting. This confirms the Canucks indeed have two available goalies.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Daniel Sedin |  Henrik Sedin |  Markus Granlund |
 Sven Baertschi |  Bo Horvat |  Reid Boucher |
 Joe Labate |  Brandon Sutter |  Drew Shore |
 Joseph Cramarossa |  Michael Chaput |  Jayson Megna |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Edler |  Troy Stecher |
 Luca Sbisa |  Nikita Tryamkin |
 Ben Hutton |  Alex Biega |
I can only imagine the ugly things the Oilers top line could do to the Canucks tonight but it’s probably better to leave that alone. Strolling down to line two and it’s still ugly. The Canucks can only hope to see a lot of the bottom six of the Oilers tonight. Maybe they’ll just save their stars for the postseason, who knows?
Cam Talbot should start tonight. His team needs him.
Edmonton Oilers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Patrick Maroon |  Connor McDavid |  Leon Draisaitl |
 Milan Lucic |  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins |  Jordan Eberle |
 Benoit Pouliot |  David Desharnais |  Zack Kassian |
 Drake Caggiula |  Mark Letestu |  Anton Slepyshev |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Oscar Klefbom |  Adam Larsson |
 Andrej Sekera |  Kris Russell |
 Darnell Nurse |  Matt Benning |
GAME NOTES, STATS, AND OTHER INTERESTING INFO
- The Pacific division no longer has the Canucks at the top. The Oilers are now fighting to win this crown. The world is over as we know it. I’m pretty sure the last time the Oilers played meaningful hockey was 2006 and 90% of their current team were borrowing money from their parents for slurpees at the corner store across the street from their middle schools. This is not interesting nor is it a fact. I’m not even sure if it’s worth noting.
- Sven Baertschi has felt comfortable in March. In eight games this month, he has four goals and an assist. As much as Markus Granlund has become this year’s smart pickup, Baertschi might be one of Benning’s best moves.
- Speaking of Granlund, he’s right behind Baertschi this month in a few categories. I like him on the Sedin line as “the finisher”. He has a better shot than Anson Carter did on that line and he’s getting the same kinds of goals. Too bad the Sedins are at the end of their careers instead of the middle.
- You may have read some articles this week about Loui Eriksson, like this one from our own, J.D. Burke. What most of us have focused on is the obvious stuff like goals and assists but Eriksson’s advanced stats have painted him in a pretty fair light. With a coach that trusts him more and proper contributing linemates, Eriksson could salvage his contract in year two.
- Richard Bachman will play in his 10th career game tonight. Seven of those were with the Oilers and his career SA% is a beautiful .922. I’m excited to see that number climb tonight. He’ll need to turn it into overdriv….I’ll stop. Enjoy the game.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Did you really expect a “great” prospect to be ready to lose?
MY TAKE
I’m happy to see Richard Bachman in net to give Ryan Miller a break. I’d also love to see Jacob Markstrom if he’s ready. I want to see opportunity at this point. Wins are great but it’s not about that anymore. Get the next generation more ice time and let them earn their spots. Put Horvat, Eriksson and Boucher on the top PP unit and let er’ rip.
I just don’t want to see this chance to end the season with some positives, thrown away.
WHY DID WILLIE THROW TRYAMKIN UNDER THE BUS?
This is quite unlike Willie and you have to wonder if he’s finally hit his breaking point. There have been plenty of other players to point that finger at so it’s kind of strange he chose Tryamkin to be the goat.
Recent articles from Always90four
