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CANUCKS ARMY GDT# 31 – CANUCKS @ BLACKHAWKS
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Always90four
Dec 13, 2015, 12:35 ESTUpdated:
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Welcome to Chicago! Home of deep dish pizza, Kanye West, losing baseball and Chelsea Dagger. The Sedins will be visibly excited to play the Hawks as Daniel and Henrik put on a clinic in a 6-3 win back in November; you remember don’t you? The Hat-less trick? Today the team will look a bit different now that Dan Hamhuis is nursing a mangled face and Jake Virtanen finished shampooing in Vancouver and now he’s on a conditioning stint in Utica. (I know, the CA guys shake their heads too!) 
Canucks are streak breakers so I’m predicting Patrick Kane stops his point streak at 25 games. Call it the Warriors hunch..

BROADCAST INFO

TV: SNET (Hometown Hockey)
RADIO: TSN 1040
PUCK DROP: 4 PM

LINE COMBOS

Canucks have recalled your former favorite and mine, Ronalds Kenins, as well as Andrey Pedan. Dan Hamhuis is out for about 2 months after taking a slapper to the face. There is a chance Derek Dorsett doesn’t play tonight and if so Kenins should slot in. Yannick Weber will be back in the lineup and Frankie Corrado is still not playing anywhere. 
Ryan Miller will start on Hometown Hockey. 
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
Defensive Pairings
 
Alexander Edler
 
Chris Tanev
 
Ben Hutton
 
Matt Bartkowski
 
Yannick Weber
 
Alex Biega
All the talk will be about Patrick Kane’s point streak but lost in that is the play is a suddenly hot power play that Canucks fan’s know all to well can burn them. Chicago will remember how Vancouver owned them back in November so expect them to have the guns firing at the Madhouse on Madison.  
Corey Crawford will start. He’s 3-0-0 in his last 3 starts and has made 93/95 saves in that time. Of course he has.
Chicago Blackhawks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

REASONS TO WATCH THIS GAME

  • Canucks have won 2 straight and beating the Hawks to make it 3 would calm down the critics a bit. Losing Dan Hamhuis will create a big hole in the back end, but his recent struggles can be replaced by a younger player with a harder shot in Yannick Weber. Nowhere near the same player but the fewer mistakes made, the better..
  • Let’s get this out of the way: Patrick Kane is other worldly this year and keeping him in check is always a chore. No one will be playing him like there is a streak going but keeping him quiet will be a key to victory. That and frustrating Seabrook and Keith.
  • Canucks and Hawks are 16th and 5th respectively on the PP so far this year, yet both are in the middle of the pack at 16/15 on the PK. Special teams could be interesting today.
  • The grit guys (Dorsett, Prust) have had a good week and the “MUST” Willie D asked of them is starting to show. The Hawks usually bring the best, and worst, out of the Canucks so keeping the Madhouse out of the game will be a big task. I expect to see a few more hits tonight and these are the guys that should be leading the literal charge.
  • Don’t look now but Alex Edler is making a comeback. But don’t call it one cuz he’s been here for years. With 2G and 2A in his last 5 as well as 10 shots and having 2 of those points (1G and 1A) coming on the PP; it’s a good time for Edler to be back. All we need now is his staple booming hit against a star defender against the boards. Keith? Seabrook?

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

A @petbugs13 GDT EXCLUSIVE!!!!

MY TAKE

I’ve been in a festive mood lately and a primetime matchup against the Hawks gets me feeling great! Normally, I’d see Chicago on the sked and the way the Canucks have been playing and write this one off; but the Canucks have shown they can play 60 minutes…well 49. It’s always a fun game when it’s in ChiTown so I’m calling a Canucks win, Patrick Kane streak end and another Sedin show. I expect to be wrong somewhere in here.

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