THE INTRO
Your Vancouver Canucks are home from a very successful road trip and they are rested and ready to take on the visiting Washington Capitals. A lot has taken place since the last game at Rogers Arena and Bo Horvat is a big reason the change is good. Sure, Vancouver was undefeated when they left but the team wasn’t firing on all cylinders quite yet.
Bo leads the team in goals and “clutchness” (don’t worry, it’s a word) and he’ll be relied upon to lead the Canucks to what they hope will be their seventh win in eight games. Facing Alex Ovechkin and his fellow snipers is never an easy task but this Canucks team is different and they should be up to the challenge.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN -105/WAS -115) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SN1 / SN650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Tough to say if Travis Green actually bumps the lines tonight but he is running a hot team and making any adjustments could be costly. There isn’t a line right now that hasn’t factored into the offense or hasn’t contributed to the defensive success and if you look below, those lines haven’t changed in a while. Oh, and apparently Bo Horvat is the 1A center.
Adam Gaudette was sent down to Utica (finally) and will see a lot more ice time after sitting out the last six games.
Jacob Markstrom is still playing his best hockey right now and even though he was once a questionable starting goaltender, he has earned the status he currently owns. It’s his net until it isn’t.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MICHEAL FERLAND Rating: 71.5#89 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.3#41 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.7#90 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.49#31 FL1 |
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 75.2#28 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.9#18 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 76.3#16 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 76.47#3 FL2 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 72.2#73 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.9#113 C |  JOSH LEIVO Rating: 71.4#76 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.79#19 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 69.5#128 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 69.3#172 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 70.1#98 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.62#30 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 76.8#8 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 73.5#44 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.14#13 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 74.0#40 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 72.5#60 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.25#22 DL2 |
 JORDIE BENN Rating: 73.0#67 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 73.5#41 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.25#9 DL3 |
Richard Panik is on LTIR with a UBI after colliding with one of his teammates. Washington is clicking right now and it’s unlikely they change anything from one night ago.
Ilya Samsonov should start after Braden Holtby went the distance last night in Edmonton, in a losing effort mind you.
Capitals lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ALEX OVECHKIN Rating: 80.4#4 LW |  NICKLAS BACKSTROM Rating: 76.7#28 C |  T.J. OSHIE Rating: 77.0#10 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.05#4 FL1 |
 CARL HAGELIN Rating: 72.0#78 LW |  EVGENY KUZNETSOV Rating: 76.7#29 C |  TOM WILSON Rating: 74.2#33 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.28#16 FL2 |
 JAKUB VRANA Rating: 73.3#75 LW |  LARS ELLER Rating: 73.3#77 C |  GARNET HATHAWAY Rating: 71.4#73 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.68#8 FL3 |
 BRENDAN LEIPSIC Rating: 70.7#115 LW |  NIC DOWD Rating: 71.5#120 C |  CHANDLER STEPHENSON Rating: 69.1#109 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.42#22 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MICHAL KEMPNY Rating: 73.9#42 LD |  JOHN CARLSON Rating: 79.8#1 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.86#6 DL1 |
 DMITRI ORLOV Rating: 74.0#39 LD |  NICK JENSEN Rating: 71.6#80 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.81#25 DL2 |
 JONAS SIEGENTHALER Rating: 72.0#92 LD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.70#23 DL3 |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- J.T. Miller is quickly becoming everything to the Canucks and he hasn’t even played 10 games yet. He is third in the NHL with a 65.09 CF% all the while being tied for the team lead in points with 10. That first-round pick may be a fair trade after all.
- Elias Pettersson is tied for the league-lead in missed power-play shots with 10. He’s also among the top players in the league in Corsi For at 5v4. When he scores his next PPG, we may forget how many in a row its been at that point.
- Alex Ovechkin had himself a game against the Oilers last night and he enjoyed the opportunities he was given on the PP. If the Canucks allow Ovechkin to get open, Jacob Markstrom will need to come up with another game-breaking save to keep him off the score sheet. Ovechkin leads the league in successfully registered shots. But who’s surprised?
- John Carlson is T-1 in giveaways with 17. If the Canucks have pressure on him tonight, he’s an easy target.
- Bo Horvat is taking fewer face-offs that we’re used to seeing but he’s cleaning up in the wins category and his win percentage is just behind… J.T. Miller? Based on taking a minimum of 50 face-offs, Miller is a fraction of a percentage point ahead of Horvat at 61.1% to 60.3%. Imagine Vancouver’s luck?
#CANUCKSTWITTER
Soon my babies
Markstrom in his new setup to go along with the skate jerseys this morning. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/hLPtuaYy6Y
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) October 24, 2019
Very soon
Demko's nod to McLean and Luongo shows he is a true student of the game. Love this so much. pic.twitter.com/93LQnCaYtO
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) October 24, 2019
MY 94 CENTS
The Canucks are due for a letdown game and you better believe if there’s a team that can fulfill that, it’s the Caps. Ovie has done well against the Canucks but he hasn’t faced a defense this well rounded in Vancouver since the Cup run teams. It’s unlikely Bo puts another one on the board but Elias Pettersson is due for some fireworks.
I don’t want to predict a victory but I’ll predict a close game. That’s fair, right?
AND ANOTHER THING…
Psst… maybe don’t leave him wide open here
