CanucksArmy THE PLAYOFF GAMEDAY G4: Canucks Vs. Golden Knights
By Always90four
3 years agoTHE INTRO
The Canucks weren’t able to contain a very effective Golden Knights team in Game 3 and they’ll look to even things up tonight in the rubber match of the weekend.
Getting shutout twice in three games isn’t a good look for a team that wants to prove the doubters wrong. Robin Lehner was a star last night and the Canucks just couldn’t solve that riddle. That being said, the Canucks didn’t exactly test Vegas in tight so it was more of a team approach to keeping the puck out.
It’s still a series but the Canucks need to be kind and please rewind to Game 2.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:30 PM
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: VAN +175/ VGK -217 courtesy of OddsShark.com
LINEUPS
Travis Green has played this series smart so don’t expect Loui Eriksson to get back in the lineup. There wasn’t much happening on any line last night so might we see The Lotto Line reunite? Having Tanner Pearson with Bo Horvat and Tyler Toffoli would be a nice look as well.
Wait and see.
Jacob Markstrom will see both ends of the back-to-back this weekend but how gassed will he be in this one? Is it a bad call to start Thatcher Demko?
CANUCKS lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 78.5#7 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 74.8#34 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 74.1#41 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.80#12 FL1 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.7#38 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.7#14 C |  TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 75.9#25 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.78#4 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.0#97 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.2#130 C |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.1#131 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.44#26 FL3 |
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.8#144 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.4#163 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 72.0#78 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.73#22 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.3#26 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.9#63 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.11#23 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 75.2#15 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.0#90 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.12#16 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.9#100 LD |  JORDIE BENN Rating: 70.9#101 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.90#26 DL3 |
Max Pacioretty missed a bit of time last night but expect him to be a full participant tonight. No other changes should be expected.
From the broadcast last night, it sounds like Marc-Andre Fleury will start this evening.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MAX PACIORETTY Rating: 81.1#2 LW |  WILLIAM KARLSSON Rating: 76.6#23 C |  MARK STONE Rating: 79.8#5 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.18#4 FL1 |
 JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT Rating: 75.5#22 LW |  PAUL STASTNY Rating: 74.8#36 C |  REILLY SMITH Rating: 76.8#17 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.71#5 FL2 |
 NICK COUSINS Rating: 71.9#91 LW |  NICOLAS ROY Rating: 72.9#59 C |  ALEX TUCH Rating: 73.4#49 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.71#5 FL3 |
 WILL CARRIER Rating: 70.3#116 LW |  CHANDLER STEPHENSON Rating: 71.5#101 C |  RYAN REAVES Rating: 70.5#106 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.75#12 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 BRAYDEN MCNABB Rating: 73.1#55 LD |  NATE SCHMIDT Rating: 75.5#18 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.31#17 DL1 |
 ALEC MARTINEZ Rating: 73.3#50 LD |  SHEA THEODORE Rating: 78.2#5 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 75.73#2 DL2 |
 NICK HOLDEN Rating: 74.4#24 LD |  ZACH WHITECLOUD Rating: 73.5#35 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.95#2 DL3 |
GAME NOTES, STATS, AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS
- Bo Horvat fell off the face of the Earth in the faceoff circle last game going 9/19 in the dot. Not good for the superhuman quick draw specialist. He’ll need to move on and get back to being Bo.
- Once again, Vegas kept the Canucks largely to the perimeter with their shots and even on the power play, it was next to impossible for the Canucks to get it in tight. The Golden Knights were smart with sticks and kept a lot of the game to the neutral zone when the Canucks had the puck.
- Alex Tuch must be stopped. He’s scored in four straight games and three against the Canucks. His hand-eye coordination is next level and whenever he has the puck the Canucks need to respect that he can change the game with one shot… and he has every time.
- Brock Boeser has a pretty messed up stat line from Game 3: CF% 51.61, xGF% 58.15, HDCF% 50.00; and yet he did feel invisible. As far as the eye test goes, Boeser has looked neutralized in large parts of this series and he’ll need to get his game together if the Canucks expect to keep this going.
- The power play for the Canucks has dried up again. They looked lost, far from confident as the game went on which then led to basic mistakes. Quinn Hughes needs to just start firing the puck along with J.T. Miller. Either that or create rebounds at the crease. The Canucks are dangerous with the man-advantage but they need to get that first one.
- Is Jake Virtanen due for a big game? It sure feels like it.
THE TWITTER TAKE
100%
MY 94 CENTS
The Canucks were playing catchup most of the night in Game 3 and they’ll need to adjust their plans if they want back in the series. The speed they used with the man-advantage in Game 2 didn’t help them last game as there were Vegas sticks blocking every pass. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Lotto Line reunited tonight but that may not be their biggest issue.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Is there a petition to sign for Vegas to play without sticks tonight? I’m more than willing to sign this.
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