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Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks @ Flames (HNIC)
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski - USA TODAY Sports
Always90four
Oct 5, 2019, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 5, 2019, 15:44 EDT
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THE INTRO
The Canucks are back in action tonight against the Calgary Flames in their first Hockey Night in Canada game of the season. Calgary is coming off a stellar season where they finished on top of the Western Conference. They have a lot of weapons upfront and a Norris winner on defense.
Vancouver didn’t finish on the winning side of the scoresheet on Wednesday and they’ll look to get that first W this evening against a tough Flames squad. There is no love-loss between these two teams and here’s hoping tonight’s matchup ends up being a classic.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
CBC / SN650 / 7:00 PM
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
VAN +155 / CGY -185 courtesy of Oddsshark.com
LINEUPS
Word on the street is that Adam Gaudette replaced Loui Eriksson in practice in Banff and Brandon Sutter was moved to the wing. Other than that, no other lineup changes were visible. Wait and see if Travis Green believes in this setup.
Jacob Markstrom didn’t get the scoring help he needed for the win against EDM. He’ll get a chance to rebound tonight.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
LWCRWForwards

MICHEAL FERLAND
Rating: 72.7#71 LW

ELIAS PETTERSSON
Rating: 76.0#32 C

BROCK BOESER
Rating: 75.8#22 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 74.83#27 FL1

TANNER PEARSON
Rating: 72.7#73 LW

BO HORVAT
Rating: 75.5#35 C

J.T. MILLER
Rating: 73.6#43 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 73.91#14 FL2

LOUI ERIKSSON
Rating: 70.7#119 LW

BRANDON SUTTER
Rating: 71.4#119 C

JOSH LEIVO
Rating: 71.5#82 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 71.19#25 FL3

TIM SCHALLER
Rating: 70.9#113 LW

JAY BEAGLE
Rating: 69.0#163 C

JAKE VIRTANEN
Rating: 71.0#87 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 70.29#24 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGSDefense

ALEXANDER EDLER
Rating: 76.4#12 LD

TYLER MYERS
Rating: 73.4#45 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 74.89#20 DL1

QUINN HUGHES
Rating: 74.0#45 LD

CHRIS TANEV
Rating: 72.1#68 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 73.06#22 DL2

JORDIE BENN
Rating: 73.3#62 LD

TROY STECHER
Rating: 72.9#52 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 73.11#11 DL3
Calgary is also coming off of a loss in their first game of the season to Colorado. It’s only been one game but Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Mark Giordano all scored so they’ll most definitely bounce back and put the full-court press on the Canucks.
David Rittich should be the starter this evening, but will it matter?
Flames lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
LWCRWForwards

JOHNNY GAUDREAU
Rating: 77.9#13 LW

SEAN MONAHAN
Rating: 77.8#20 C

ELIAS LINDHOLM
Rating: 75.3#37 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 76.99#16 FL1

MATTHEW TKACHUK
Rating: 77.6#16 LW

MIKAEL BACKLUND
Rating: 74.8#45 C

MICHAEL FROLIK
Rating: 72.5#64 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 74.96#8 FL2

MILAN LUCIC
Rating: 70.1#126 LW

DEREK RYAN
Rating: 73.0#81 C

SAM BENNETT
Rating: 72.4#65 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 71.82#19 FL3

ANDREW MANGIAPANE
Rating: 71.6#95 LW

MARK JANKOWSKI
Rating: 71.1#120 C

AUSTIN CZARNIK
Rating: 72.2#68 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 71.65#7 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGSDefense

MARK GIORDANO
Rating: 78.8#2 LD

T.J. BRODIE
Rating: 75.3#18 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 77.06#6 DL1

NOAH HANIFIN
Rating: 73.9#48 LD

TRAVIS HAMONIC
Rating: 74.2#32 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 74.04#13 DL2

OLIVER KYLINGTON
Rating: 72.3#83 LD

RASMUS ANDERSSON
Rating: 74.4#31 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 73.36#10 DL3
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
  • The blue line for the Canucks was given a huge boost this offseason on two pairings. Tyler Myers has already registered his first point, Quinn Hughes has as well, and Alex Edler had a blast from the back. They look a lot more mobile after one game and the drop pass was watered down significantly. There wasn’t a Jordie Benn breakaway so it wasn’t a perfect game on D.
  • It should also be noted that Quinn Hughes was disgusted with his training wheels and Travis Green agreed. Hughes finished the game with 23:07 of ice-time and almost four minutes on the man-advantage. Edler still was the high-water mark and Tyler Myers wasn’t far behind so maybe we’re not out of the woods yet with running these guys into the ground.
  • All the talk about the revamped power-play didn’t quite pan out. Vancouver went 0-4 but just barely, the Edler goal was just after the penalty ended. The Canucks still need to stay dynamic and create mismatches. They have a wealth of options now and if a few goals go in soon, the floodgates could open.
  • Elias Pettersson was denied on multiple chances last game and even he couldn’t believe they didn’t go in. Pettersson feasted on the Flames last season so maybe HNiC will live up to the hype once again? Elias racked up four goals and five assists in five games last year against Calgary and helped out on the power-play three times with one PPG.
  • Sticking with the power-play, Brock Boeser had two extra-strength goals vs. the Flames a season ago, one at the end of March from the back end. Boeser and Pettersson have built a season of chemistry together and it’s a matter of time before they go off.
  • Markstrom and the Canucks defense really have to watch Calgary and their cross-crease plays. They did that a fair amount last season to Vancouver so active sticks will pay off.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
I’m OK with the Canucks going to this logo. Heck, I’ll welcome back the wordmark too!
What does the position pay?
MY 94 CENTS
Vancouver wasn’t awful in their first game of the season but there was room for improvement. Their defense was a lot more mobile and the addition of Tyler Myers’ booming shot could end up accounting for some timely goals. I feel like the Flames are a perfect team for Quinn Hughes to play against as they’re a fast-moving team and he can feed off of their play.
He’ll get his first of the year tonight.

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