CANUCKSARMY GDT 27 – CANUCKS VS. LEAFS (HNIC)
By Always90four
6 years agoThe day has arrived.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and their circus have come to Vancouver to take on YOUR Canucks. This game gets a ton of publicity nationwide, and with the calibre of young stars on both teams currently, there will be a lot more to look forward to tonight. Now that Daniel Sedin has reached the 1000 point plateau and Brock Boeser has the rookie race in a chokehold, the Canucks can get back to focusing on putting up W’s.
There really isn’t a game like this on the schedule for both fanbases. West coast vs. East Coast. Toronto media vs. Vancouver media? (I don’t know where I was going with that last one).
It’s the Canucks and the Leafs, Rogers Arena, Hockey Night in Canada.
Let’s do this!
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
TV: CBC (Hockey Night in Canada)
RADIO: SN650
PUCK DROP: 4:00 PM (Leafs in town means caving to ratings)
LINE COMBINATIONS
The Nikolay Goldobin experiment started nicely with an assist to NHL Rookie of the Month November 2017 Brock Boeser, and it looked like there was chemistry there. Henrik and Daniel Sedin experienced a resurgence last game which may or may not last, but it gave a glimpse of hope to prolong their careers. Loui Eriksson was a nice fit on that line.
Brendan Gaunce with Markus Granlund and Jake Virtanen was a line that worked as well. It wouldn’t make sense to shake up this lineup after the game they had in Nashville so expect the same starters.
Might we see a THIRD straight start for Anders Nilsson? This has more suspense than a Choose Your Own Adventure book!
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN |  BO HORVAT |  BROCK BOESER |
 DANIEL SEDIN |  HENRIK SEDIN |  JAKE VIRTANEN |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI |  ALEX BURMISTROV |  SAM GAGNER |
 THOMAS VANEK |  MARKUS GRANLUND |  LOUI ERIKSSON |
Auston Matthews is healthy (thank goodness), so Leafs fans won’t have any excuses when the Canucks embarrass his line. Joffrey Lupul (LTIR) isn’t even in the building. Tough guy Matt Martin will play as will Nazem “John Tavares North” Kadri. Don’t let the silly comments fool you though, the Leafs have a very talented team, and the Canucks will have to prove they can hang with one of the best.
Frederik Andersen will start. He’s no Felix Potvin though, so don’t expect anything spectacular.
Maple Leafs lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN |  AUSTON MATTHEWS |  CONNOR BROWN |
 PATRICK MARLEAU |  NAZEM KADRI |  LEO KOMAROV |
 JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK |  TYLER BOZAK |  MITCH MARNER |
 MATT MARTIN |  DOMINIC MOORE |  WILLIAM NYLANDER |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- Both Vancouver and Toronto split the season series last year, both teams winning at home. In the first of two matchups, the second coming just after New Years, the Canucks will have a lot to prove to the rest of the country. Showing up Auston Matthews and keeping Matt Martin at bay will go a long way. If Brock Boeser tears it up again, the Canadian hockey landscape may begin to shift. A little premature but this thing is starting to get a little nutty.
- Daniel Sedin will be honoured before the game with a silver stick, a cool portrait of some kind most likely and the ever-famous video montage. YOU KNOW Mats Sundin will be part of it. Congrats, Daniel! Ever the professional, you still make it look so freaking easy.
- The Canucks lack grit right throughout the lineup, and the Leafs muscle will try and take Vancouver off its game. Jake Virtanen and Brendan Gaunce need to have their biggest games tonight and if anyone overshadows Boeser this evening, it should be them. For whatever reason, this game always seems to be a lightning rod for criticism whether good or bad.
- Loui Eriksson is paying dividends… finally. Eriksson has 4G/1A in his last five games, and he’s visible on the ice. These aren’t petty points; he’s actually making a difference. There were a few articles last year written about how he actually was one of the better players on the Canucks and his luck was just downright awful. This is something many people may not have predicted… but we did. *wink*
- Let’s talk about the power play again. It hasn’t been super exciting, but it’s been productive. They currently sport a 20.8% efficiency rate good for 13th. It wasn’t that long ago when they were barely crossing the blue line. Two big reasons why the PP has taken off: Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi who both have five goals on the man-advantage. Travis Green adapted to what he was seeing, and it’s paid off. If the Canucks climb just over a percentage point, they’ll be in the top-10 in the league. Believe, folks.
THE TWITTER TAKE
No big deal or anything.
MY 94 CENTS
Never gets old.
OVER / UNDER
Auston Matthews recovered from the cold references (+/- 2) Somehow, they find a way to tie in at least three references. Take the over.
Brock Boeser points (+/- 2) Call me lame, but if this keeps being challenged, it’s worth putting up here. Take the over.
GDT BROUGHT TO YOU BY PANAGO
Let Panago Pizza’s new #RoadToTheCup Hockey Combo fuel the game. Order one tonight.
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