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CANUCKS ARMY GDT #1 – CANUCKS @ FLAMES
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Always90four
Oct 7, 2015, 18:00 EDTUpdated:
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Ladies and Gentlemen, this one’s for real! It’s been an eventful offseason and preseason to say the least but tonight we get to see what Jim Benning, Trevor Linden and Willie Desjardins have built. The obvious points to note are no Bieksa, Matthias, Lack or Corrado. Vey is in the minors and Sbisa, well he’s still here. 
The Calgary Flames are hosting our boys this evening and nothing would be better than handing those young punks a loss in their own barn. Sven Baertschi has some linemates he’d love to show off to his old team with a bit more flair than before.
Let’s do this!!

BROADCAST INFO

TV: Sportsnet Pacific
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 7PM PT

LINEUPS

I guarantee no one saw this lineup coming at the beginning of preseason. Seeing Sutter on the top line is odd to say the least. The 2nd line is the most intriguing of them all, though. If the Horvat line ends up producing it could really open up the Twins to do some serious Sedinery. McCann, Hutton and Virtanen all debut as well and Ryan Miller is in the cage.
Vancouver Canucks lines, courtesy of our friends at DailyFaceoff.com:
Defensive Pairings
 
Alexander Edler
 
Chris Tanev
 
Dan Hamhuis
 
Matt Bartkowski
 
Ben Hutton
 
Luca Sbisa
Calgary Flames Lines, courtesy of our friends at DailyFaceoff.com:
New defenceman Dougie Hamilton, acquired from the Boston Bruins, is the fresh face in their lineup. This is pretty much the same team that overpowered Vancouver in the spring. That cannot be forgiven. There are some unsettled scores here. Kari Ramo is in the net for Calgary.

REASONS TO WATCH THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON

  • It’s the first game of the season. You’ve made it through quite a preseason of fragmented lineups and now it’s for real. No more nights off. Hopefully, you finished your chores and you can watch the game in peace. Have a cold one on me! Not actually though, I won’t reimburse you.
  • Jared McCann did everything the Canucks asked of him and now he gets to prove to Willie why he was the right choice. With Burrows and Hansen flanking his wings, that line might be the best one of the night. Of course, the Horvat line could steal the show.
  • With no Kevin Bieksa to mispronounce Micheal Ferland’s name this time around, Alex Burrows will have to play the role of shift disturber. He’s not too shabby at that. Let’s be real, though, the Canucks are better now and Ferland should be a non-factor.
  • Ben Hutton-mania is here! This man stole ex-Canucks prospect Frankie Corrado’s job. We love him so much that we completely forgot Corrado even was claimed by the Leafs yesterday. If you happened to remember, though, hop on over to twitter and type Frankie Corrado in the search. You’ll end up missing the game though with all the outrage.
  • Hutton is here to spell Sbisa’s giveaways or “pizzas” as they’re known. In fact, Luca seems to understand this:

  • 3 words: Jake………Virtanen………Murders
  • An awesome initiative by the Nation Network to raise money and awareness for Mindcheck.ca  

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING


Cute. Clever, even. But really? C’maaaan Calgary, you don’t think…oh you do? Shame. Click here for more on tonights game from a Flames perspective if you’re so inclined.

MY TAKE

It’s the season opener in Calgary. Hutton, McCann and Virtanen all get to play in NHL game #1 and I can’t imagine how awesome that will be. Nerves will be at an all-time high, but the rest of the Canucks won’t forget how their season ended. I’ve never liked the Flames and they don’t deserve anything in this one. It’s going to be physical and the Sedins will put on a show. JV Squad (you thought I forgot?) will record his first official “murder” and hopefully it’s Ferland for good measure. Nucks win this one 5-2. #playforthis

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