CANUCKSARMY GDT 49 – CANUCKS VS. SABRES
By Always90four
6 years agoThe NHL All-Star Weekend is coming up but first, the Canucks and Sabres will do battle in the “Vintage Expansion Bowl” (a name that was just made up) in what could end up being an absolute stunner. Vancouver and Buffalo had their way with the Kings and Oilers respectively on Tuesday night and both teams will look to continue their winning ways this evening.
Jack Eichel is riding a seven-game point streak (5G, 9A) while the Canucks’ are getting a group effort and have seen their power play continue to rise up the charts where they now sit sixth overall. Brock Boeser seems to have returned to his normal self as far as actual point production goes and that could be trouble for the visiting Sabres.
Let’s Do This!™
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: SN650
PUCK DROP: 7:00 PM
LINE COMBINATIONS
Lines at practice yesterday were the same as Tuesday’s game. Erik Gudbranson will not be in the lineup this evening.
Jacob Markstrom was a gamer and should get the start again.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 DANIEL SEDIN |  HENRIK SEDIN |  BROCK BOESER |
 THOMAS VANEK |  BO HORVAT |  LOUI ERIKSSON |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI |  BRANDON SUTTER |  MARKUS GRANLUND |
 SAM GAGNER |  NIC DOWD |  JAKE VIRTANEN |
Buffalo had their way with the Oilers on Tuesday. Don’t expect any changes.
Robin Lehner is the likely starter.
Buffalo Sabres lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS |  JACK EICHEL |  KYLE OKPOSO |
 SCOTT WILSON |  RYAN O’REILLY |  SAM REINHART |
 EVANDER KANE |  JOHAN LARSSON |  JASON POMINVILLE |
 JORDAN NOLAN |  EVAN RODRIGUES |  BENOIT POULIOT |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- Loui Eriksson was teetering on a hat-trick the other night but it felt like a mirage. There’s no way he continues his torrid pace of three goals in five games but maybe all it took was the right people to get him the puck. Keep an eye on Loui, just a hunch.
- First, this is the current makeup of the top-8 in scoring for the Canucks. Now, look at the final numbers from a season ago. The obvious thing to note is that the team is in much better shape. Most of this can be pulled from one player, a rookie some may have heard about, and a restructured look as to which players actually should be on the ice. Not to pick on Eriksson but, he’s five points away from his total output last year and he’s been pretty awful this season. It looks like not playing Jayson Megna every night has its rewards.
- The Canucks don’t have a physical presence. Travis Green has no doubt talked to Jake Virtanen about this and potentially a few other players. Part of this rebuild will involve a bit more skilled muscle because one guy can’t do it all. When Boeser was hit into the boards last game there was no pushback aside from his rocket to the back of the net. This team should be feared when they have the puck just as much as when they do not. It’s quite evident they can be pushed around.
- Thomas Vanek has been streaky this season but when he contributes, he’s among the best players on the team as his stats dictate. Looking into the crystal ball and predicting his future on the Canucks is a cloudy mess but if this is the kind of production they could expect, another year with Vanek up front wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He’s a ton of fun to watch and like Boeser can find success on more than one line.
- Vancouver’s power play has received a ton of praise lately and so it should. The main reason is, of course, the final shot usually coming from wunderkind Brock Boeser. Of Boeser’s 24 goals this season, eight of them are PPGs. One-third of his production has come on the man advantage. Do… not… let… him… shoot
THE TWITTER TAKE
P.K Subban a Canuck? I wonder how that would have gone over. Probably, pretty well.
MY 94 CENTS
Don’t let the huge win over the Kings fool you, the Canucks may have outperformed themselves. The equally bad Sabres mirrored the Canucks effort against the Oilers that night so this one is anything but a lock. If, and that’s a big “if”, the Canucks put out an effort like they did on Tuesday and maybe add some physical element (if they have one), then we could be in for a show.
It’s still the Canucks we’re talking about.
OVER / UNDER
Canucks PP goals (+/- 1.5) Feels weird to say this but, take the over. Something about Brock Boeser?
Bo Horvat Assists (+/- 2) His setup game is something to behold, take the push on this. Welcome back, Bo!
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