Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks Vs. Avalanche
By Always90four
4 years agoTHE INTRO
The playoff race is heating up for the Vancouver Canucks and a visit from the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make it any easier. Tonight, the Canucks will look to bounce back from their four-game losing streak in which they didn’t score a single point. Injuries are an easy target for why things haven’t gone the way people would like but the ones that are healthy still have a hand in keeping things respectable.
Players like Jake Virtanen, J.T. Miller, Tyler Motte, Tyler Toffoli have all upped their games but the back end needs to be more secure to have a chance at putting up a W this evening.
It’s Friday night and your weekend is just about to begin, take in the Canucks game and read this bad boy before anyone else’s mediocre game-day preview.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN +110/ COL -130) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Stay tuned to see if Tyler Myers checks back into the lineup tonight. There isn’t any other news that should impact the team but knowing the Canucks, this could all be a moot point by the time this goes live.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.2#53 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 76.1#27 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 72.4#75 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.91#25 FL1 |
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 79.0#6 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.9#15 C |  TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 76.7#16 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.88#2 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 69.3#131 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.1#127 C |  ZACK MACEWEN | FL3 Rating Rating: 69.70#29 FL3 |
 LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.3#108 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.5#118 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.3#142 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.01#23 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.3#14 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.1#69 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.71#19 DL1 |
 ⚠QUINN HUGHES Rating: 76.1#7 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 70.7#101 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.36#15 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.0#116 LD |  ⚠TYLER MYERS Rating: 72.8#48 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.40#17 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 THATCHER DEMKO Rating: 66.3#45 G1 | |
Yet another team that has been ravaged by injuries, to key players no less. Cale Makar is day-to-day with a UBI, it would be a big blow if the two lead rookies couldn’t face off against each other. Mikko Rantanen is out weeks with a UBI which is bad, it’s bad and I don’t even like this team. Nazem Kadri is also out until mid-March with an LBI.
Matt Calvert is out a bit as well. Andre Burakovsky is out at least the weekend with an LBI. And finally, Philipp Grubauer is out indefinitely with an LBI.
And you thought the Canucks were in trouble.
Avalanche lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 GABRIEL LANDESKOG Rating: 76.5#16 LW |  NATHAN MACKINNON Rating: 82.6#6 C |  VLADISLAV NAMESTNIKOV Rating: 71.5#93 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.87#7 FL1 |
 MATTHEW NIETO Rating: 69.7#121 LW |  JT COMPHER Rating: 72.5#72 C |  JOONAS DONSKOI Rating: 71.8#91 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 71.37#25 FL2 |
 VALERI NICHUSHKIN Rating: 72.4#72 LW |  TYSON JOST Rating: 72.1#87 C |  MARTIN KAUT Rating: 73.4#51 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.65#7 FL3 |
 VLADISLAV KAMENEV Rating: 69.1#137 LW |  PIERRE-ÉDOUARD BELLEMARE Rating: 70.1#125 C |  LOGAN O’CONNOR Rating: 72.9#62 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.71#15 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 RYAN GRAVES Rating: 75.5#11 LD |  SAMUEL GIRARD Rating: 75.7#19 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.61#10 DL1 |
 IAN COLE Rating: 73.3#45 LD |  ERIK JOHNSON Rating: 73.8#34 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.53#13 DL2 |
 NIKITA ZADOROV Rating: 72.3#65 LD |  MARK BARBERIO Rating: 72.2#68 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.22#9 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 PAVEL FRANCOUZ Rating: 70.0#18 G1 | |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- It only took one game to be the sole-rights holder of the longest current losing streak in the NHL. Vancouver has lost four games in a row and even snagging two OT losses in that time puts the Canucks in a completely different position in the hunt to play game 83 and beyond. At 76 points, the buffer would still remain and the Canucks would be two points clear of three teams currently tied with them. The common theme going forward is winning games.
- Of all the pending RFA/UFA decisions the Canucks will have to make, where do Adam Gaudette and Tyler Motte factor in? The cap is rumoured to be going up in the neighbourhood of 84-88M, so what do the Canucks offer these two? Gaudette has cemented himself as the team’s third-line centre and is going to get a bit of a bump in pay but after his first full season it won’t be much above 1.2M. Tyler Motte has earned himself a raise as well, and he could actually get a chance to play on the third line next season. Motte’s hustle can’t be undermined and there have been games where he has been the straw stir in the drink while the bubbles have gone flat in the rest of the lineup.
- His comments were taken out of context but Quinn Hughes will get to showcase himself to the league tonight and make his case for the Calder, a convincing one. It also might quiet the Makar truthers just a bit. Hughes has a five-point lead on Makar and with his play of late, don’t count him out for at least one more this evening.
- Elias Pettersson has slowed down his goal-scoring pace with a single snipe in his last five games. His power-play numbers haven’t been all that great either. Pettersson has only two PPG in 2020 and before that, his last extra-strength goal was Dec. 3. Petey, we need you. Please come back!
- Loui Eriksson has a 50.00 CF%. I didn’t see this coming, you didn’t see this coming. It’s shocking. Do with this information what you will.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
MY 94 CENTS
Canucks, Avalanche, playoff implications: what could go wrong? Still not convinced the Canucks have figured out the little problem they’ve been dragging along. Travis Green needs to employ a BLA (Best Line Available). Much like BPA in the Draft (Best Player Available), Green needs to read the progress of the game better and realize the best players on the team might be the better choice than sitting on a lead and defending.
Playing to win and playing not to lose can net completely different results. It’s possible the Canucks bounce back and see that their spot in the playoff race isn’t guaranteed and beat the Avalanche handidly.
They haven’t played a complete 60-minute game in over a week.
AND ANOTHER THING…
They have way too much fun
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