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Canucks Army GDT #55: Canucks @ Flames
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Rhys Jessop
Feb 14, 2015, 15:45 ESTUpdated:
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After an entertaining 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins just last night at Rogers Arena, the Canucks hit the road and look to avoid any talk of a “letdown” game against the Calgary Flames. Despite the Flames awful 5-on-5 play this season, it won’t be easy as the team is essentially playing a road back-to-back, and Ryan Miller is getting his second start in two days.
The Flames are also desperately trying to cling to a hard-earned playoff spot, so they’ll be more than motivated to put forth their best effort on Hockey Day in Canada. Read past the jump for a preview.

Broadcast Info

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM PST
TV: CBC
Radio: TSN 1040

Lineups

Courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com
No changes are expected to Vancouver’s lines, meaning that Brandon McMillan will wait another game to make his Canucks debut. Ryan Miller will get the start in goal.
Defensive Pairings
 
Mark Giordano
 
T.J. Brodie
 
Kris Russell
 
Dennis Wideman
 
Raphael Diaz
 
Deryk Engelland
Karri Ramo will get the starter’s nod for Calgary tonight.

Head to Head

Storylines

  • Man on Fire – With a hat trick last night, Shawn Matthias now has five goals in his last four games, leading all Canucks over that time span. Zack Kassian also added two assists to give him a five-game streak in which he’s scored three goals and three assists. Kassian’s hot play has seen his points/60 jump back to 1.89, which is around last year’s output, and Matthias is now one of the top-20 most efficient goal scorers in the NHL this season. Both are bound to cool off soon as they’re carrying an insane on-ice shooting percentage of late, but both have also been driving play in the right direction since January 1st. Given how much he’s struggled with this aspect of his game through his career, Matthias’ 51.1% Corsi is particularly impressive.
  • Riding Miller – Ryan Miller, after allowing two goals in a 5-2 win to the Bruins last night, will be back in net tonight against the Calgary Flames. Miller hasn’t been fantastic of late, and has previously admitted that he needs to better manage his fatigue level to stay on top of his game. Eddie Lack is a quality goaltender, so there is absolutely no reason why Miller should be starting tonight. And this is before we even touch on the tendency of goalies to struggle when playing both legs of a back-to-back. Even if you’re #teamMiller, the best course of action for both goalies should be to give Lack the start tonight.
  • Playoff Push – Both the Canucks and the Flames are battling for the final place in the Pacific Division and the final wild card spot. Third place in the Pacific, currently held down by the Canucks, is being contested by both the Flames and L.A. Kings, while the Sharks aren’t home free in second either. A win tonight would vault Vancouver into second in the Pacific and give them a seven point lead on Los Angeles, pending tonight’s results. A loss to the Flames would pull Calgary into a tie for third, and could see Vancouver just two points up on the Minnesota Wild in the wild card race and three up on Los Angeles by the end of tonight.

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