THE INTRO
Right back at it tonight, the Canucks host the Blue Jackets of Columbus and there are two valuable points up for grabs. Vancouver lost a close one to Calgary last night while a few other Wild Card hopefuls picked up points to further their lead over the Canucks. The Canucks are hanging on to their playoff chances but it isn’t looking good. Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko have kept their team in but there need to be goals on the scoreboard.
John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets have lost four of their last six games and have given up four goals in each of their last two games. Travis Green has a Canucks team that is still hungry and could pop off for four goals themselves.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN +130/CBJ -155) courtesy of OddsShark
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Sven Baertschi is still a coach’s game-time decision as he’s been cleared to play. According to the post-game with Jeff Paterson a night ago, Troy Stecher is good to go tonight after taking a puck to the face against Calgary. Ryan Spooner may be in the lineup along with Baertschi-clone Nikolay Goldobin 😉 Quinn Hughes is still a no-go but there will no doubt be a million tweets when the news is even remotely close.
Vancouver needs to shuffle it a bit in these final games.
Thatcher Demko will get the start tonight after Jacob Markstrom had his hands full against Calgary one night ago.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 72.0#88 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 76.3#42 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.8#101 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.04#30 FL1 |
 JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.3#54 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 78.2#28 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 81.3#4 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.60#6 FL2 |
 MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 71.2#132 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.5#152 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 70.9#96 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.87#25 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 70.5#121 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.9#185 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 70.2#113 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.56#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 76.0#22 LD |  ALEX BIEGA Rating: 71.5#81 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.74#23 DL1 |
 TROY STECHER Rating: 73.0#47 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.05#21 DL2 | |
 ASHTON SAUTNER Rating: 72.8#65 LD |  LUKE SCHENN Rating: 68.8#101 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.80#24 DL3 |
Ryan Murray (upper body) is still on IR and will not play this evening. Nick Foligno is still out due to personal matters. Most importantly, Sergei Bobrovsky will not suit after taking some shots over this season. Should be back soon.
Joonas Korpisalo should start this evening.
Blue Jackets lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ARTEMI PANARIN Rating: 80.3#11 LW |  PIERRE-LUC DUBOIS Rating: 75.7#47 C |  CAM ATKINSON Rating: 80.5#8 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.82#12 FL1 |
 RYAN DZINGEL Rating: 73.7#49 LW |  MATT DUCHENE Rating: 77.2#36 C |  JOSH ANDERSON Rating: 75.7#35 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.53#13 FL2 |
 ERIC ROBINSON Rating: 72.8#72 LW |  RILEY NASH Rating: 69.5#169 C |  BOONE JENNER Rating: 74.5#45 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.28#18 FL3 |
 BRANDON DUBINSKY Rating: 68.9#176 LW |  ALEXANDER WENNBERG Rating: 70.9#137 C |  OLIVER BJORKSTRAND Rating: 72.6#66 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.81#17 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ZACH WERENSKI Rating: 77.6#12 LD |  SETH JONES Rating: 79.6#12 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 78.62#7 DL1 |
 MARKUS NUTIVAARA Rating: 71.9#84 LD |  DAVID SAVARD Rating: 73.5#41 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.72#24 DL2 |
 SCOTT HARRINGTON Rating: 68.7#128 LD |  ADAM MCQUAID Rating: 69.4#97 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.04#30 DL3 |
YOUR INFORMATIONAL NEEDS FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
- Brock Boeser will look to extend his eight-game point streak to nine after scoring a laser beam against the Flames last night. Boeser has been on point when his linemate, Elias Pettersson, has struggled to find the back of the net. Thankfully, Boeser looks like a guy who will only get better and with a full offseason of training, he could be back to his rookie ways in a few months time.
- Artemi Panarin will be looking for a new contract come July 1 and his season with the Blue Jackets is attracting attention. He currently has 76 points and would be a great fit on the Canucks top line next season but it will take a Brinks truck to lure him to town. He hasn’t scored in 11 games and has five assists spread out over that same period. Panarin is just under a point-per-game in his young career (309 points in 314 games) and will be one of the top targets to sign in a few months. If the Canucks are smart, they’ll play a strong game to attract him to their side. That works, right?
- The Canucks aren’t among the league-lead in PK% or SHG but they are one of the most penalized teams in the league having gone shorthanded 234 times so far this season. Watching Vancouver’s ability to create scoring chances off broken plays by their opponent has seemed like it’s happening more and more. They’re displaying a lot of speed off the rush after teams get set up on the PP and they may score a goal or two before the season ends.
- Vancouver and Columbus won’t be charitable on the PK today, however. The Canucks have an 85% kill rate at home while the Blue Jackets have an 84% road rate, both 4th in the league respectively. On the flip side, the power play isn’t even a starting point for either team, they’re both atrocious! This game will be won 5v5.
- If the Canucks lose today, there’s a good chance it’s off the stick of Cam Atkinson… and shorthanded. Atkinson has eight game-winning goals, one more than Pettersson, and four shorthanded goals. Add to that, Atkinson has 38 goals on the season and you have a recipe for a winner. Good luck, Canucks!
MY 94 CENTS
Jake, Pettersson, Leivo all scored the last time the Canucks faced the Jackets in a 3-2 win. There were flashes of brilliance against Calgary last night and it might just be little changes but the Canucks can win this game tonight. Depending on the lineup changes, if any, Baertschi could add a spark as could Goldobin.
Not holding out any real hope for change but the Canucks are still playing watchable hockey which wasn’t the case a year ago.
THE TWITTER TAKE
just pulled one car flag down
— Mikey Martignago (@MikeMartignago) March 24, 2019
I think he has a sedan so there are three more windows to go.
