Canucks Army THE PLAYOFF GAMEDAY G5: Canucks Vs. Golden Knights
By Always90four
3 years agoTHE INTRO
Getting excited about tonight’s game might be tough. On the one hand, it’s do or die and the Canucks will put it all out there (hopefully) and could stretch the series at least another game. On the other hand, most of this game won’t be enjoyable knowing every Vegas goal could be the series clincher.
There’s some feelings, for sure.
Vancouver just about held court in Game 4 with the 3-2 lead going into the 3rd period but failed miserably to hold on to it and dug themselves the deepest hole they’ve been in all season.
The Canucks need depth scoring tonight and they may need bunches of goals to convince the Golden Knights to reset the script but aside from Game 2, it’s been all Vegas, all the time.
One way or another, the Canucks made it this far and the future looks bright after so many years of darkness.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SN / SN 650 / 6:45 PM
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: VAN +195/ VGK -235 courtesy of OddsShark.com
LINEUPS
Tyler Myers is healthy once again and will get the pairing with Oscar Fantenberg. The rest of the lines are really a crapshoot. Does Travis Green go back to The Lotto Line, does he throw it all in a blender or does Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson and Elias Pettersson get one final chance?
Brock Boeser has struggled mightily but he might be a shot away from opening up the series.
Is this Jacob Markstrom’s final chance to earn a big payday for the Canucks in the offseason? He’s been very good and very average, with the latter dominating the headlines lately. Markstrom needs to get focused for just this game and give the Canucks a chance. He’s overcome so much this season. This will have to be his best game.
Also this:
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#23 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#15 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.9#100 LD |  JORDIE BENN Rating: 70.9#101 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.90#26 DL3 |
If you’re Pete Deboer, do you make any changes going into tonight’s game? Nope, you do not.
Robin Lehner should be back in the net. He’ll be rested and ready to go. Nothing more needs to be said.
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#4 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#4 DL3 |
GAME NOTES, STATS, AND IS THIS THE END?
- Bo Horvat goes into tonight’s game tied for the playoff lead in goals with nine. He’s been so great this postseason and regardless of how it goes down, this was his awakening. His faceoff stats are through the roof and downright ridiculous and his drive cannot be questioned. Does Bo have another gear tonight?
- Elias Pettersson isn’t Nathan McKinnon but he’s very much as effective as Nate. Pettersson can take over a game and has done so multiple times and he’ll get the chance to be on the NHL’s biggest stage this evening where every move, every shot will be analyzed more than normal. He’s in that elite tier and the playoffs are where the legends are created. Is Pettersson about to become a legend?
- Max Pacioretty needs to be stopped and while we’re at it, so does Alex Tuch. They have feasted on the Canucks for the entire series and keeping them off the scoreboard is a minor victory but it could also be the difference in playing another game.
- Thatcher Demko could be a savvy move to start and it would force Vegas to rethink their shot positioning. Demko also doesn’t play the puck as much as Markstrom which could lead to fewer nerves in their own zone. Maybe the Canucks can learn from their Stanley Cup goaltending mistakes of the past.
- 1994: Vancouver is down three games to one against the Calgary Flames. The 3rd seed vs. the 7th seed. The Canucks barely made the playoffs and willed their way back into the series to force a double-OT thriller. This series is kind of like that one. Everyone has the Canucks written off but they could come back in the series, it’s possible. The ’94 team needed OT from Games 5-7 to get it done, why can’t this team?
THE TWITTER TAKE
Yes, yes it is:
MY 94 CENTS
I was pretty upset after Game 4. The Canucks actually had the lead and bled it away eventually losing by two goals. Vegas plays a classier version of the trap and their possession game is that of the German National Soccer team (ya, ya, football, whatever.) They rope-a-dope you and then strike and put you away.
It’s clever, actually.
Tonight could be the last time we all hang out as a group for a while so let’s put our petty opinions aside for one evening and just enjoy the fact the Canucks are a legitimate playoff team and this is only the beginning.
Sure, they could win and prolong this inevitable fate but it’s been fun.
A win would be nice, I think we deserve to know there’s one more left in them. Vancouver has proven it can hang with the best but getting over the hump is the tough part.
All that said, it’s a pretty steep climb to keep this series going. I said Canucks in seven… I hope I’m right.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Does Loui Eriksson play tonight?
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