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:
LWCRWForwards

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 PAIRINGSDefense

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:
LWCRWForwards

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 PAIRINGSDefense

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

RADKO GUDAS
Rating: 71.4#85 RD
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
Very soon
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