THE INTRO
The Vancouver Canucks slink into San Jose full of turkey and stuffing and now they have to play a hockey game. The first game after Thanksgiving usually has a sluggish start so if the Canucks can get things going early and not fall behind again, it would work in their favour. This is the first game of a California back-to-back as the Canucks will board a flight to Los Angeles after the game to play Saturday night.
It can’t get much worse for the Canucks as they continue to suffer through a seven-game losing streak. If they want to channel the losing streak Alex Burrows made famous, they’ll need to lose a few more. Tonight the Canucks look to right the ship and show their fans that the bounces will start going their way again.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 6:00 PM
LINEUPS
Reid Boucher has been recalled from Utica while Brendan Gaunce has been sent down. Not sure what that means for Brendan Leipsic or Darren Archibald but it could be a small nudge to the bottom six. Sam Gagner has given the top six a boost but it hasn’t amounted to much. Alex Edler is still day-to-day while the rest of the infirmary is still the same.
It might not be the worst idea to give Anders Nilsson his first start in a month and let Jacob Markstrom get a breather. He is probably banged up as well so an extra day off could see Markstrom back fully charged against the Kings tomorrow.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.3#124 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.8#44 C |  SAM GAGNER Rating: 71.2#136 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.10#31 FL1 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 70.8#95 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 75.5#47 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.6#84 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.63#24 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.6#104 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 71.4#124 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.7#96 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.91#29 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 69.1#125 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.9#142 C |  DARREN ARCHIBALD Rating: 69.6#110 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.87#21 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.3#109 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 70.6#90 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 70.45#31 DL1 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 69.7#116 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 68.3#105 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 69.02#31 DL2 |
 MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO Rating: 71.7#77 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.7#64 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.70#16 DL3 |
San Jose is healthy and any lineup changes will come later today.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Aaron Dell gets the nod tonight, he’s done pretty well against the Canucks. Martin Jones would be the expected starter if not Dell.
Sharks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 EVANDER KANE Rating: 77.3#21 LW |  JOE PAVELSKI Rating: 80.2#18 C |  JOONAS DONSKOI Rating: 74.0#40 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.20#21 FL1 |
 TOMAS HERTL Rating: 76.1#40 LW |  LOGAN COUTURE Rating: 79.7#23 C |  TIMO MEIER Rating: 75.9#27 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.22#4 FL2 |
 MARCUS SORENSEN Rating: 74.4#39 LW |  JOE THORNTON Rating: 75.0#50 C |  KEVIN LABANC Rating: 73.1#56 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 74.18#3 FL3 |
 BARCLAY GOODROW Rating: 69.1#128 LW |  ANTTI SUOMELA Rating: 73.2#77 C |  MELKER KARLSSON Rating: 68.4#119 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.24#18 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 JOAKIM RYAN Rating: 72.2#68 LD |  BRENT BURNS Rating: 82.9#1 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 77.51#5 DL1 |
 BRENDEN DILLON Rating: 72.4#58 LD |  ERIK KARLSSON Rating: 82.1#2 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 77.25#2 DL2 |
 MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC Rating: 74.8#26 LD |  JUSTIN BRAUN Rating: 72.4#50 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.59#1 DL3 |
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND A LITTLE BIT THAT YOU DON’T
- Winning seems like forever ago for the Vancouver Canucks. Boston was their last taste of victory and they’ve come close so many times but injuries have caused this team to be overplayed and run down. Vancouver currently has the longest winless streak in the league at seven games.
- The Sharks are solid at home this season with a 7-3-1 record. Vancouver had early success but their 5-8-2 run away from Rogers Arena is starting to slide even further. It doesn’t help they’ve barely been at home for more than a few days in the last month.
- Vancouver has been in a one-goal game in six of their last ten matches. They’ve emerged victorious once… in overtime. Keeping games close has burnt this team and will continue to do so unless they can start capitalizing on special teams and getting their goalies to steal a game now and then.
- Elias Pettersson has tapered off a bit but Bo Horvat has continued his quiet dominance on the Canucks. 16 of his 21 points have come on the road which is fitting because the Canucks have barely played at home. Bo is also two points behind the league-lead in PPP on the road as well. Pettersson might win the Calder but in the literal sense of the term, Horvat is the MVP of this team so far.
- Jake Virtanen was robbed of a goal against the Ducks but I predict he will score a highlight reel goal this evening to tie his season-high from last year.
MY 94 CENTS
Changes are coming to the Canucks and although they may be small, this team needs a shakeup. They’re worn out and they need a break (not the injury kind). Alex Edler is close to returning even though it was thought he was going to play last game and within a few games, there could be some normalcy again. As far as tonight goes, goaltending is going to need to be almost perfect. That’s asking a lot but the easy saves should be easy not regrets in the back of the net.
A win would be really nice tonight.
THE FINAL WORD
Happy hour is coming to the Tank, oh yeah! ?
Now through December enjoy happy hour prices on ?, ?, and more when you arrive early to #SJSharks games at @SAPCenter. pic.twitter.com/DvGvR9C2lc
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 22, 2018
If you’re in the building tonight, this is your warning.
