Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks Vs. Flames (HNIC)
By Always90four
4 years agoTHE INTRO
Vancouver begins their six-game homestand tonight against the Calgary Flames. The end of their road trip wasn’t something many will want to revisit so it’s time to turn the page and focus on their current challenge: the power play (did you think, did you think I meant the Flames?). Sure, the Canucks can beat the Flames and they might even do that this evening but if the power play continues to freefall in its current state, there is a very real possibility the lottery-protected pick will be forfeited to Tampa Bay come June.
For now, the Flames are the opponent they need to concentrate on… and maybe getting on the scoresheet, too!
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN 130/ CGY +105) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
CBC / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
After the latest round of injuries, the Canucks have recalled Guillaume Brisebois which probably means someone is getting sent back to Utica unless there is more to this callup. Oscar Fantenberg is on IR so maybe Jordie Benn gets to play? That’s possible, right?
Elias Pettersson is day-to-day with an LBI but it might be wishful thinking to see him play tonight.
Thatcher Demko might get the Saturday start but Jacob Markstrom isn’t the problem.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 77.3#19 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.3#146 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 74.5#33 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 74.02#26 FL1 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.8#42 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.7#30 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.0#110 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 73.18#23 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.5#119 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.1#123 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 73.1#54 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.54#18 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 68.6#138 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.4#183 C |  ZACK MACEWEN | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.00#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.0#31 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.0#91 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.50#29 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 76.1#8 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 72.4#57 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.26#4 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 71.2#90 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 73.7#30 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.45#12 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 JACOB MARKSTROM Rating: 71.5#8 G1 | |
Add the Flames to the list of teams that are ready to bounce back from a game that got away from them. No news as to what changes Calgary will make for tonight’s game but right now, the lineup below is what you’ll see.
Flames lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANDREW MANGIAPANE Rating: 72.9#64 LW |  ELIAS LINDHOLM Rating: 76.5#28 C |  MATTHEW TKACHUK Rating: 76.8#14 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.41#17 FL1 |
 JOHNNY GAUDREAU Rating: 75.5#24 LW |  SEAN MONAHAN Rating: 74.7#45 C |  BUDDY ROBINSON Rating: 73.3#48 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.49#12 FL2 |
 MILAN LUCIC Rating: 69.7#129 LW |  DEREK RYAN Rating: 71.5#108 C |  DILLON DUBE Rating: 70.8#96 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.65#26 FL3 |
 TOBIAS RIEDER Rating: 68.7#137 LW |  MIKAEL BACKLUND Rating: 72.5#83 C |  SAM BENNETT Rating: 70.7#97 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.63#15 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 T.J. BRODIE Rating: 73.7#40 LD |  TRAVIS HAMONIC Rating: 73.0#40 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.34#22 DL1 |
 NOAH HANIFIN Rating: 73.3#47 LD |  RASMUS ANDERSSON Rating: 72.4#60 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.82#23 DL2 |
 BRANDON DAVIDSON Rating: 70.6#107 LD |  MICHAEL STONE Rating: 70.7#93 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.66#29 DL3 |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
 DAVID RITTICH Rating: 66.9#41 G1 | |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- Bo Horvat has one lonely assist in his last five games. On a recent Canucks-based podcast, he was labeled a “guy” that needed to step up his actual production not just the “little things”. Bo is due to have a big game and the Calgary Flames always seem to push Captain Canucks to do big things.
- J.T. Miller is two points away from tying his career-best season (56). He is proving his worth to the team that traded for him and it’s possible he could be a Canucks for a really long time. Miller is also one goal away from his career-best (22) which he’s achieved twice in his career so far. Safe to say he’s going to shatter that this season.
- Jordie Benn has an epic beard. Sadly, that’s the only thing really working in his favour this season. He has six assists in 38 games and has been healthy scratched more times than I can count. Loui Eriksson has even turned fans around in that time. With the Fantenberg injury, it should give Benn another shot to prove himself and he’ll need to play a simple, solid game if he wants to stay in the lineup. Brisebois is an easy addition to this roster so he’ll need to watch out.
- Tyler Myers is a big guy and the way the Flames have been playing lately, there could be some fisticuffs in this game. If Myers partakes in hand-to-hand combat this evening, he’ll go over 500 career penalty minutes. He’s only had eight career majors so this would be a big deal.
- Loui Eriksson is one goal shy of 250. Primetime on Hockey Night in Canada could be his big chance. Expect this to happen. This is the way.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
Good point:
MY 94 CENTS
I missed the Wild game on Thursday due to PVR issues (I didn’t record it properly) so it looked like the Canucks did their best but fell short. The Flames aren’t going to let the Canucks impose their will on them so they’ll have to show up 100% for this one. Tough to say if Elias Pettersson gets back into the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury against the Bruins but we’ll all be watching closely.
Now that the Battle of Alberta is back, maybe that means the Canucks/Flames rivalry will get renewed? There is only one more meeting between the clubs before the end of the regular season so hopefully, there is some emotion in this one. We’re due for some.
AND ANOTHER THING…
This is pretty awesome
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