CANUCKS ARMY PLAYOFF GDT #4 – CANUCKS VS. FLAMES

9 years ago

FLAMES LEAD SERIES 2-1

This series has been quite truculent so far and after Game 3, the Flames are the more truculent group. An absolute 180 from Game 2, the Canucks were beyond looking for answers in the first game in Calgary, they didn’t even have tickets to get inside!

It has been a see/saw battle and the way this series has gone, the pendulum SHOULD swing in the Canucks direction come the end of the 3rd period. ‘Nucks just outplayed the Flames in Game 1, dominated them in Game 2, got dummied by the Flames in Game 3 and should get outplayed tonight but will squeak out a win. This has been a phenomenal series and the rivalry is back in a big way.

BROADCAST INFO

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM Pacific (Gloves drop around the 10 minute mark of the 1st)

TV: CBC / HNIC

RADIO: TSN 1040

LINEUPS

LW	C	RW
Daniel Sedin	Henrik Sedin	Alexandre Burrows
Chris Higgins	Nick Bonino	Radim Vrbata
Shawn Matthias	Brad Richardson	Derek Dorsett
Ronalds Kenins	Bo Horvat	Jannik Hansen

Defensive Pairings
Alexander Edler	Chris Tanev
Dan Hamhuis	Yannick Weber
Kevin Bieksa	Luca Sbisa

Either Gary Bettman doesn’t have cable and hasn’t seen Game 3 or the NHL wants to see this series with every available player; Alex Burrows will not be suspended for his hit on Johnny Gaudreau or his instigator penalty, Luca Sbisa and Kevin Bieksa will not be benched for being awful, and Eddie Lack likely starts in goal. Word on the street is Zack Kassian is done-skis for the season which is a real bummer. Line rushes saw Radim “The Dream” Vrbata with the Sedins; sign of change? Hopefully Bo Horvat is ready by puck drop, he’ll be missed if he’s not.

LW	C	RW
Johnny Gaudreau	Sean Monahan	Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett	Mikael Backlund	Joe Colborne
Michael Ferland	Matt Stajan	David Jones
Brandon Bollig	Markus Granlund	Josh Jooris

Defensive Pairings
Kris Russell	Dennis Wideman
T.J. Brodie	Deryk Engelland
David Schlemko	Corey Potter

Jonas Hiller will once again start in net for the Flames. Michael Ferland is the big catalyst in this series for Calgary and despite Canucks best wishes, he’s in the lineup. When you smoke the Canucks like they did, no roster changes needed.

REASONS TO WATCH THIS PLAYOFF GAME

So far every game in this series has been memorable. From hits to melees to “dumb dumbs”, the temperature will only go up.
How will the Canucks respond to the severe waxing they received in Game 3? Hopefully they remembered they set the pace the game before. The energy scaled is tipped heavily in the Flames favour, but the Canucks aren’t done yet.
Two games in a row there has been a game misconduct that’s raised eyebrows. Unlikely we see three, but anything close tonight could trigger either team. It’s been old time hockey at its best. Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows, Michael Ferland and Deryk Engelland will all be on notice.
In case you didn’t know, Sam Bennett is ONLY 18 years old! If you enjoy a good drinking game, take a drink every time Jim Hughson or Craig Simpson brings up how old he is. I do not condone drinking to the point you forget your name but if you start this game, you might end up that way.
The Red Mile was in full force when the series shifted to Calgary; every seat draped in red. It was as loud as a free Justin Bieber concert in 2012 (that’s when he was pretty popular) and Vancouver couldn’t match the intensity that was in that building. It would be in the Canucks best interest to buck the trend and take the crowd out early with a goal or two.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

MY TAKE

My wife asked me if I’m allowed to pick the other team to win the game, sure? I’ll find out if someone else writes the Game 5 preview. The Canucks weren’t even close to equal in Game 3 and quite frankly I’m hesitant to say they’ll bounce back in Game 4. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them lose tonight and claw back to force Game 7, that’s how these guys write these ones up right? Despite my best intentions, Calgary wins by the same score, 4-2.