Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks @ Canadiens
By Always90four
4 years agoTHE INTRO
The trade deadline has come and gone and both the Canucks and Canadiens faired quite well. Sadly, the Canucks will have to prove they are just as worthy of the playoffs as they were Saturday night against the Bruins as they’ll have to win without him for the foreseeable future. Tonight, the Canucks will take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre in the first of four Eastern road games.
Vancouver hasn’t exactly lit the lamp against the Canadiens lately, well for a while to be honest, so a win against the bleu, blanc, et rouge would be huge.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN +103/ MTL -127) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 4:00 PM
LINEUPS
Where do you wanna start? Brock Boeser is still week-to-week with the whole rib fracture thing, Josh Leivo is still out as well for the rest of the season but Tyler Motte is back and owning every shift.
Oh, Jacob Markstrom is now out for at least 3-4 weeks with a meniscus injury. It’s Thatcher Demko’s net now. Go get it bud!
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.3#52 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.4#27 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 69.3#133 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.68#28 FL1 |
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 77.4#10 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.3#18 C |  TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 76.0#19 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 76.91#2 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.8#110 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 71.0#106 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 72.2#73 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.35#21 FL3 |
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.8#138 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.2#165 C |  ZACK MACEWEN | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.49#30 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.3#29 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 70.9#93 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.59#25 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 77.3#6 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.6#72 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.49#8 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 71.1#103 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 72.9#43 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.00#17 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 THATCHER DEMKO Rating: 67.1#39 G1 | |
Victor Mete is day-to-day with an LBI and Ilya Kovalchuk is no longer with the Canadiens. Good timing, hey Vancouver? Nothing else going on with the Habs but they’re trying to make the playoffs and they’ll need a win tonight to keep that dream alive.
Canadiens lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TOMAS TATAR Rating: 76.1#19 LW |  PHILLIP DANAULT Rating: 74.8#34 C |  BRENDAN GALLAGHER Rating: 77.1#10 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.98#13 FL1 |
 JONATHAN DROUIN Rating: 73.0#60 LW |  NICK SUZUKI |  JOEL ARMIA Rating: 72.7#64 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.84#19 FL2 |
 PAUL BYRON Rating: 71.1#101 LW |  MAX DOMI Rating: 73.4#51 C |  JAKE EVANS | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.27#12 FL3 |
 ARTTURI LEHKONEN Rating: 71.8#84 LW |  JORDAN WEAL Rating: 72.7#68 C |  DALE WEISE Rating: 68.8#138 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.09#6 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 BEN CHIAROT Rating: 74.4#27 LD |  SHEA WEBER Rating: 77.4#9 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.89#8 DL1 |
 BRETT KULAK Rating: 73.3#49 LD |  JEFF PETRY Rating: 76.4#15 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.87#6 DL2 |
 KARL ALZNER Rating: 71.0#104 LD |  CHRISTIAN FOLIN Rating: 72.1#67 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.57#21 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 CAREY PRICE Rating: 68.3#29 G1 | |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- The Canucks haven’t beaten the Canadiens since October 2015 when they blasted them 5-1 in Vancouver. They haven’t had a win in Montreal since December 2011 in a shootout. Does anyone remember that game? Case in point, a win is important for a lot of reasons.
- Thatcher Demko is the number one goalie now and he’ll get his chance to make the Canucks as much his team as it is Markstrom’s. Demko is 2-2 in his last four starts and in both wins he’s only allowed one goal each. The team in front of him is a lot better than it was just over a week ago and there will be a little added pressure to win tonight.
- Vancouver is third in the Western Conference in goal differential with a satisfying +16. Over in the East, the Canucks would be ranked seventh. Colorado is tops in the West with +46 while Tampa Bay is +50. Montreal is a boring -1. Earlier this year, the Canucks were on pace to outscore almost every team in the league and every team but one in the West. They’ll have to go on a goal bender to get close. Considering how the Canucks have played the Canadiens, don’t count on another 9-3 outing.
- Chris Tanev and Alex Edler aren’t on Twitter that we know of but if they were, they’d be in Ryan Kesler territory for blocks. Tanev leads Edler 141-140 and an overly defensive game tonight could both of them in a tie for second in the league. Oscar Klefbom is sore with 172 blocks this season.
- Quinn Hughes is racing towards the Calder. He has points in six of his last seven games for a total of 10 assists. He was held without a point the last time the Canucks faced the Canadiens but he’s seemed to have found his comfort zone on the team. Quinn will get three assists tonight and command respect across the league for the rookie trophy.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
Could you imagine?
MY 94 CENTS
Yet again, the Canucks suffer another injury that creates opportunity for a teammate. Jacob Markstrom’s loss is Thatcher Demko’s gain. If there was a time to prove his ultimate worth, or worse, muddy the waters for the expansion draft after next season, this stretch run to potentially end the season is going to define Demko’s future.
Everyone can relax now that the deadline is over, including Troy Stecher, so jobs are secure and the team can start building more chemistry towards the playoffs.
There might actually be something special happening there.
Canucks pull it off 4-2.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Oh please, let me at this thing
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