GDRC – Blue Jackets @ Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks return home, after a short yet very successful road trip, to host the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at GM Place.

The Canucks earned seven of eight points on their short road trip, which concluded with a final win against the Stars in Dallas on Saturday. Vancouver now plays another string of games at home before they head out on their epic road trip.

The Columbus Blue Jackets come in to Vancouver in a huge tailspin. Like Joe Namath with Suzy Kolber, they are strugg-a-ling.
In their last 10 games, they have 1 win, and failed to score more than 2 goals in any of those games. In fact for the entire month of December, Columbus had only 2 wins and scored more than 2 goals only 4 times.

In fact, there are rumblings that the Canucks could be the Grim Reaper again. If the Blue Jackets lose, there is a possibility that Ken Hitchcock could be fired. If that happened, Hitch would be the third coach this season to be let go immediately following a loss to the Canucks. The Blue Jackets have been terrible lately, but I would be very surprised if Columbus let Hitch go if they lose tonight.

The Canucks are the exact opposite of the Blue Jackets. While Columbus tumbles down the conference standings, Vancouver is clearly on the rise. The Canucks are one of the hottest teams in the league, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. As well, the Sedins finished 1-2 in scoring for the entire league in December. Henrik’s performance was so impressive that it earned him the NHL’s first star for last month.

For the Canucks to win tonight, they simply need to do what they’ve been doing lately. They can’t take their opponent lightly, as they’ve been known to do with the lesser teams. They should be TRYING to get coaches sacked. If that’s what fires up them up, then the Canucks should use that as fuel. C’mon Canucks, you are the Cleaners – act like it!