"the Canucks have too many entries where they just give the puck to Pettersson and expect him to beat two or three guys on his own without support."
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Canucks Army Game Day 74 – Canucks Vs. Senators (Workin’ Overtime Edition)
Photo credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
By Always90four
Mar 20, 2019, 12:00 EDT
THE INTRO
The Canucks have made a habit of extending their games lately with two shootouts and a quick overtime shift. Tonight, they welcome the Ottawa Senators who haven’t played since Saturday when they shocked the world and crushed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. Heads rolled, jobs were axed and… no, that didn’t happen, but the Sens did win.
Vancouver’s young stars are beginning to turn this team around with the future leadership group of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Elias Pettersson factoring in on the score sheet more and more. Ottawa has fully embraced its tank to the bottom and sit absolutely dead last in the standings. Sadly, that pick will go to the Colorado Avalanche unless it moves before the Draft.
The last time these two teams met the “Pettersson Game” happened and the way EP40 has approached the game lately, he might in store for yet another majestic performance.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN -170/OTT +150) courtesy of OddsShark
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Will Sven Baertschi make his way back into the lineup? Today is yet another opportunity to see if he’s ready. The lineup that won the other night might be ok to run with but if both Baertschi and Ryan Spooner are good to go, expect to see them inserted into the lineup with Nikolay Goldobin and potentially Markus Granlund sitting.
Thatcher Demko needs another start. Especially against a struggling Senators team. Jacob Markstrom has solidified his number one status and like my golf game, Demko needs games to keep himself in the zone or that rust can build.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 71.9#88 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.4#50 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 71.2#95 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.82#31 FL1 |
 JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.5#55 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 78.1#31 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.4#5 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.66#5 FL2 |
 MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.8#146 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.9#143 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.2#94 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.97#26 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 70.9#109 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.0#187 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 70.4#111 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.75#29 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.7#23 LD |  ALEX BIEGA Rating: 71.5#79 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.62#24 DL1 |
 TROY STECHER Rating: 73.1#53 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.05#21 DL2 | |
 ASHTON SAUTNER Rating: 73.0#63 LD |  LUKE SCHENN Rating: 68.3#102 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.66#21 DL3 |
Thomas Chabot has clearly seen a lot of Chris Tanev game tape and is out with a broken toe after blocking a shot. See kids, let your goalie do the work. His job is literally to stop the puck. Defensemen are there to deter it from getting to the goalie but not outright stop it.
Will it be former Canuck Anders Nilsson or Craig Anderson that gets the start for Ottawa? Canucks fans would love to see Nilsson but at the same time, there’s a good chance he’d slam the door shut on them.
Senators lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 BRADY TKACHUK Rating: 74.5#40 LW |  JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU Rating: 71.5#124 C | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.97#29 FL1 | |
 RUDOLFS BALCERS Rating: 72.4#78 LW |  CHRIS TIERNEY Rating: 71.5#122 C |  MAGNUS PAAJARVI Rating: 70.1#123 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 71.33#31 FL2 |
 ZACK SMITH Rating: 69.4#173 LW |  OSCAR LINDBERG Rating: 70.8#144 C |  BOBBY RYAN Rating: 71.5#92 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.56#28 FL3 |
 ANTHONY DUCLAIR Rating: 71.4#99 LW |  BRIAN GIBBONS Rating: 70.7#153 C |  MIKKEL BOEDKER Rating: 70.9#104 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.96#15 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 BEN HARPUR Rating: 67.3#132 LD |  DYLAN DEMELO Rating: 71.0#87 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 69.13#31 DL1 |
 CHRISTIAN WOLANIN Rating: 73.1#60 LD |  CODY CECI Rating: 70.3#91 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.67#28 DL2 |
 MARK BOROWIECKI Rating: 67.7#131 LD |  CHRISTIAN JAROS Rating: 69.0#100 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 68.34#31 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Pettersson is looking to continue his minor point streak to four games. He currently has five points in six games but he’s doing so many other things right now that lead us to believe he’s due for one final surge. Not the Hurricanes kind with the curling and the duck-duck-goose. He’s all but locked up the Calder now and has passed Pavel Bure as the best Canucks rookie ever. Things are looking up for EP40.
- Since the beginning of February, both the Senators and Canucks have been pretty stingy on the PK. Ottawa (88.3%) and Vancouver (85.2%) are 4th and 10th respectively on the penalty kill. For the Canucks, this is a sign they can play a bit more free-spirited, sometimes undisciplined and can afford to be down a man whereas the Senators just can’t make any more mistakes and yet they don’t seem to be suffering. Vancouver’s PP won’t get very far tonight but it wouldn’t hurt to test it out.
- Pettersson and Boeser had themselves a game the last time they took on the Senators. The advanced stats were most definitely in their favor. Their combined CF% of 75.86, SF% of 71.43 and GF% of 100 happened in 10:25 of 5v5 ice time. Those numbers aren’t necessarily sustainable but a few notches below that would still be welcome on any team.
- Vancouver has been taking more shots but they’ve missed a bunch as well. Since Feb 1, the Canucks have the third-most missed shots in the NHL with 303. Believe it or not, that’s promising. They struggled to get shots on net to begin the season and last year they weren’t known for even trying to shoot. They still seem to be waiting for that perfect lane and at this point in the season, they just need to be shooting first figuring it out after.
- Jake Virtanen can still hit 20 goals this season but it will take a lot of hard work. Tonight would be a game where two goals would go a long way, combined with a goal every other game or so. As stated earlier this season, it’s been many moons since the Canucks had four 20-goal scorers. Don’t be on it but don’t be surprised either. #growth
MY 94 CENTS
The Senators aren’t a very scary team but that’s what scares me the most. Vancouver has this thing where they play down to their opponent and Ottawa is the downdest of them all. Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser are both on their respective games as of late so a repeat of their dominance could easily happen.
I like the Canucks chances tonight, but then again I liked the Avengers chances in Infinity War and look how that turned out.
THE TWITTER TAKE
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