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CANUCKS ARMY GDT 40 – CANUCKS VS. DUCKS
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Always90four
Jan 2, 2018, 21:10 EST
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Happy New Year!
The Vancouver Canucks return to action against the Anaheim Ducks after a nail-biting loss to the Kings a few nights ago. Former Canucks Ryan Kesler, Ryan Miller, and Kevin Bieksa are back as well, and will no doubt hear a few jeers along the way. Anaheim is currently in possession of a playoff spot while the Canucks are looking to gain ground on the Ducks for the final position.
Vancouver has piled up a few #moralvictories lately and that should help them put together a few ACTUAL wins in the near future.
Let’s Do This! ™
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
TV: SNET-P
RADIO: SN650
PUCK DROP: 7:00 PM
LINE COMBINATIONS
It truly may be a happy new year for Chris Tanev. He took line rushes with Michael Del Zotto in practice yesterday which is as good as it gets. Brandon Sutter is being moved along but no official timetable for his return. Sven Baertschi will join the Canucks on the upcoming road trip and should return, what a relief! As for the final lineup decision, that probably won’t be made until closer to puck drop.
Jacob Markstrom has looked good in his last few games. The team in front of him hasn’t been able to limit scoring chances so Markstrom should get another start. Anders Nilsson will probably see game action this week sometime.
Vancouver Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
Ryan Kesler is back for the Ducks, OK, he was back last week but he’ll be regular contributor tonight. Patrick Eaves is still on the IR and Corey Perry (lower-body) is day-to-day. No other lineup news as of now.
John Gibson should start this evening but wouldn’t it be nice to see Ryan Miller get the nod? It would be, it was a rhetorical question.
Anaheim Ducks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
  • Ducks flying high – In the last meeting between these two clubs, the Ducks netted three power-play goals on six opportunities against the Canucks. Vancouver was given almost the same amount of chances and couldn’t find the score sheet when given the man-advantage. The Canucks have shown that their top unit can be dangerous but it has fizzled as of late.
  • Nikolay Goldobin is making waves, small waves, but waves all the same. His dangle of Drew Doughty even got some attention on Hockey Night in Canada. Travis Green is placing more trust in the young Russian and that may have something to do with Nikita Tryamkin and Alex Burmistrov bolting for the KHL, but it can’t be denied the Goldobin is finding his groove with the Canucks. His defensive awareness leaves something to be desired but his offensive chances have grown.
  • Derrick Pouliot and Troy Stecher lead the Canucks defense in CF% with 50.3 and 49.63, respectively. Nothing to write home about but they have been the most effective on the back end at 5v5 for Vancouver. Stecher hasn’t been a world-beater this season but he’s been responsible. It would be nice to see those numbers a bit higher from the rest of the defense but this team is struggling to stay at .500.
  • Looking at some of the best line combinations for the Canucks reveals, and this is almost not surprising right now, that Brock Boeser, Sam Gagner, and Thomas Vanek lead the Canucks with a line GF% of 85.71.  Brendan Gaunce, Markus Granlund, and Jake Virtanen surprisingly place second with 66.67%. Travis Green obviously knows this and uses this information to keep Gaunce in the lineup. Right?
  • Michael Del Zotto currently has 69 career power-play points. Thomas Vanek and Sam Gagner have been clicking lately so if the 2nd unit comes on MDZ might get point number 70 which would be pretty nice.
THE TWITTER TAKE
As we’re all aware, not much has happened in Canucks land since Dec 30, but this guy is hilarious. Give him his 15 minutes. His takes are something to behold. However, he may have just started his NYE celebrations early. Nope, sticking with the former.
MY 94 CENTS
Erik Gudbranson has started to show his physical ability and this would be a prime opportunity to convince the Canucks he has something to offer still or at the very least build his trade stock. There are a few targets on the Ducks that most Canucks fans would love to see pasted to the boards (in a legal fashion) and now is as good a time as any to show off the rough stuff.
On the offensive side, Brock Boeser was held pointless last game (I know, I couldn’t believe it either) but he had a few prime opportunities to score and his ice-time rivaled defencemen that were down a man for two periods. Look for Boeser to get back on his  game and hit the scoresheet.
OVER / UNDER
Erik Gudbranson on Ryan Kesler hits (+/- 2)     Take the under. Kesler probably won’t be at 100% completely, so there won’t be as many chances to see him get pummelled.
Anaheim Ducks Shots Against (+/- 33)   Considering the Ducks rank 2nd in SA/GP with 34.20, it isn’t a stretch to think the Canucks could fair well in that department tonight. Take the over, but not much over, it IS the Canucks we’re talking about.
“The Pint is your home for all things game day. Come down for game day specials like $5 mugs of bud and bud light and get 20% off food if you’re a season ticket holders”

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