CANUCKSARMY GDT 22 – CANUCKS @ PENGUINS
By Always90four
6 years agoThe Canucks travel west to take on the pesky Penguins in a rematch of a game that didn’t exactly go the Pittsburgh’s way and absolutely favoured the Canucks.
Vancouver’s Brock Boeser is making a mockery of the Canucks record book and finds himself in some exclusive company in the rookie scoring race. It could be all-Boeser from this point forward, and that’s ok.
It hasn’t been exciting to be a Canucks fan in a few years, and it looks like the tide is about to change. Sidney Crosby and company get another chance to foil the Canucks but the defensive game Travis Green is preaching is tough to crack.
Let’s do this!
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: SN650
PUCK DROP: 4:00 PM
LINE COMBINATIONS
Derek Dorsett (neck) was sent back to Vancouver, and Brendan Gaunce made his way back into the lineup. Chris Tanev probably won’t play until the weekend, so Alex Biega stays in the lineup. Jake Virtanen had a great game against Philadelphia, so he’ll be given more opportunity, and Loui Eriksson might even see some more ice time after potting his first of the season.
Jacob Markstrom was lights out last night, but Anders Nilsson is fresh so he should start.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 SVEN BAERTSCHI |  BO HORVAT |  BROCK BOESER |
 DANIEL SEDIN |  HENRIK SEDIN |  JAKE VIRTANEN |
 LOUI ERIKSSON |  MARKUS GRANLUND |  THOMAS VANEK |
 BRENDAN GAUNCE |  BRANDON SUTTER |  SAM GAGNER |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER |  DERRICK POULIOT |
 MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO |  ALEX BIEGA |
 BEN HUTTON |  ERIK GUDBRANSON |
The Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin (upper-body) tonight and are hopeful Carter Rowney (broken hand) will be healthy to play. There are a handful of players from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that could also be recalled, Michael Scott is not one of them. Josh Archibald will slot back in on the fourth line.
Matt Murray will be the goaltender of record.
Pittsburgh Penguins lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 CONOR SHEARY |  SIDNEY CROSBY |  PATRIC HORNQVIST |
 BRYAN RUST |  JAKE GUENTZEL |  PHIL KESSEL |
 CARL HAGELIN |  RILEY SHEAHAN |  JOSH ARCHIBALD |
 GREG MCKEGG |  CARTER ROWNEY |  RYAN REAVES |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 BRIAN DUMOULIN |  KRIS LETANG |
 OLLI MAATTA |  JUSTIN SCHULTZ |
 MATT HUNWICK |  IAN COLE |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- The above goal is what most teams need to watch for going forward. Brock Boeser is one point back of the rookie lead, and the way he’s been playing it won’t be long before he’s the front-runner. Clayton Keller’s Coyotes won’t be able to keep pace, and Boeser continues to be placed in positions to succeed.
- It’s been covered here many times this season, but the Canucks are playing a unique (to them) style of hockey that is producing wins, building excitement albeit not tons and keeps the puck away from the Vancouver zone. Tonight’s test against the Penguins will show if this is all sustainable. Will they keep the Sidney Crosby line off the scoresheet?
- Looking at the top line, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Sven Baertschi are all at 10 points 5v5. Derek Dorsett is the next closest with six. It’s clear the entire offence now runs through the B-line, but if the Canucks want to have any kind of success beyond the second week of April, they’ll need semi-regular contributions from some of the veteran scorers and the back end as well.
- With Malkin out, the Canucks will most likely focus their energy on the Crosby line. Brendan Gaunce and Brandon Sutter will be line matched against Crosby, but they might be better off against Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel. How great is it for the Canucks to even be able to line match at all?
- Daniel Sedin still has hops. His first-period goal last night was kind of surprising as he and Henrik have basically faded into oblivion. Good to see the Sedins aren’t packing it in quite yet. There may be some gas left in the tank for the future Hall-of-famers.
THE TWITTER TAKE
Cory nailed it!
MY 94 CENTS
Tonight’s could be the litmus test. The Penguins have been waiting for the Canucks since the weekend, but the Canucks looked pretty impressive last night against the Flyers. Nobody is expecting Brock Boeser to have a repeat performance of the last time he played against the Penguins but he does have the hot hand right now so even two goals isn’t out of the question.
Solid goaltending will again decide the chances the Canucks can take.
OVER / UNDER
Loui Eriksson goals (+/- 1) I feel like the push is the way to go. It never makes sense why an empty-netter motivates guys, but I’m betting it does.
Jake Virtanen MONSTER hits (+/- 2) I’m going with the over on this. Jake just needs one spark, and I think he explodes. Not sure if Crosby has met Jake yet.
The Pint is your home for all things game day. Come down for game day specials like $5 mugs of bud and bud light and get 20% off food if you’re a season ticket holders
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