THE INTRO
Imagine you’ve waited almost six months to see your hockey team play their next meaningful game. Now, imagine that same team finally fixed a sizeable portion of its mistakes and brought hope to a fan base begging for change. That’s the Vancouver Canucks we’re talking about and it’s time to see the stakes raised.
This evening, the Canucks battle the Edmonton Oilers for the first time this season and like every other year, it’s highly unlikely the Oilers figure things out. The match-up has it all: “MCDAVID, DRAISAITL, PETTERSSON, BOESER, HUGHES… SCHALLER”.
Just like any other team struggling to ultimately find its identity, Vancouver won’t be fixed in a day. Tonight is the first step in a long journey that may finally answer any of the questions this team still faces. One thing is for sure, the future looks bright.
Let’s Do This!™
WATCH / LISTEN / FACE-OFF
SN, SN360 / SN650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Tyler Motte won’t be in the lineup but Adam Gaudette will. All eyes will be on the big line of Elias Pettersson, Micheal Ferland, and Brock Boeser. Add to that, Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller will get real minutes together on potentially more than one line (if they get to the power-play).
Tylers Myers will make his official debut as will Jordie Benn and Quinn Hughes will begin his Calder eligible season.
Jacob Markstrom will see the start this evening.
Are we having fun yet?
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MICHEAL FERLAND Rating: 72.7#82 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 76.0#42 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 80.2#4 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.26#26 FL1 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 74.9#43 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 77.0#32 C |  J.T. MILLER Rating: 73.8#39 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.24#14 FL2 |
 JOSH LEIVO Rating: 73.5#66 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.5#123 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.5#83 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.16#20 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 71.4#118 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.1#178 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 73.3#52 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.91#18 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 TYLER MYERS Rating: 74.1#36 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.61#17 DL1 | |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 73.4#47 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 72.1#68 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.79#25 DL2 |
 JORDIE BENN Rating: 73.0#61 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 73.7#41 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.33#5 DL3 |
James Neal gets to play with the greatest player in the league yet again, this time his name is Connor McDavid. Former Canuck forward Markus Granlund will face his former team and one can only hope the sea is open for traffic again.
The Oilers are in real trouble and the Canucks are the first team that gets to find that out.
Mike Smith formerly of the Calgary Flames is the starting goalie this evening. Does it matter, is he an upgrade from Cam Talbot? What does an upgrade even look like in Edmonton?
Oilers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 CONNOR MCDAVID Rating: 89.3#1 C |  JAMES NEAL Rating: 72.0#71 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 80.67#3 FL1 | |
 LEON DRAISAITL Rating: 83.4#3 LW |  RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS Rating: 74.3#55 C |  ZACK KASSIAN Rating: 70.2#101 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.96#8 FL2 |
 MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 71.2#124 LW |  ALEX CHIASSON Rating: 70.2#100 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.68#30 FL3 | |
 JUJHAR KHAIRA Rating: 69.9#139 LW |  COLBY CAVE Rating: 70.7#139 C |  JOSH ARCHIBALD Rating: 71.2#86 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.62#23 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ADAM LARSSON Rating: 70.9#88 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.08#28 DL1 | |
 OSCAR KLEFBOM Rating: 75.4#22 LD |  ETHAN BEAR Rating: 71.7#77 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.56#19 DL2 |
 KRIS RUSSELL Rating: 71.3#88 LD |  MATT BENNING Rating: 71.5#78 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.40#22 DL3 |
GAME NOTES, AND A STAT OR TWO
- Goals came at a premium last season against the Oilers and of the nine players that scored for the Canucks in the season series, one of them now plays for the orange and blue, Tyler Motte and Antoine Roussel are both injured, but thankfully Edler, Pettersson, and Boeser all put up two goals apiece in four games played. Ice time will be managed much better this season it’s possible they score more than 12 goals against Edmonton this season.
- Elias Pettersson had an amazing rookie season that finished with the Calder trophy in his possession. This year, it seems like anything is possible and even Elliotte Friedman thinks it could be a special season:
It's just a prediction… BUT… who is Elliotte Friedman picking for the Hart trophy this year? Listen here: pic.twitter.com/O89AugbuF5
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) October 2, 2019
- Alex Edler had the 10th highest avg. ice time of any player in the league last season due to injuries and a thinly talented blue line. This season, Edler will finally get to scale back the minutes with the additions of Tylers Myers and Jordie Benn as well as the hope that Quinn Hughes is everything we all hope, and he has a chance to record his best season since the last time the President’s Trophy was in Vancouver.
- Tonight is also the debut of “The Incubator Line”. What will Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson inherit from J.T. Miller? They’re being groomed for how to be successful as the rest of the NHL. Miller was brought in to provide scoring depth and an opportunity for the Canucks to get to the next level. To quote the great Erlich Bachman“I’ve heard quite a few exciting pitches over the last week, but I’ll be forced to forgo those opportunities because of your mediocrity. You see, Richard, when I invited you into my incubator, I promised to get you ready for the outside world. But I failed to do that. I wouldn’t trust you out there in the real world as far as I could throw you. And to be honest, I could probably throw you all the way across the front yard.”
- Miller has sadly forgone excitement and possibly a Stanley Cup for mediocrity. But maybe, just maybe he’ll be rewarded.
- #ShotgunJake was quite the movement last season but how much longer is Virtanen a factor for the Canucks? He had one good preseason game and after that… nothing. Travis Green will have Jake on a tight leash and do not be surprised if a trade is slowly in the works.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
So is it Leland Irving or Loui Eriksson that is comparable to Baertschi? Also, they spelled his name wrong.
I’m just going to leave this here #canucks pic.twitter.com/dW8WlcftPl
— Rosario (@glovesaveluongo) October 1, 2019
Roberto is still owning Canucks Twitter all these years later.
Look what I found when I zoomed out a little https://t.co/5ug8hSh5QO pic.twitter.com/0pCuUrvYPk
— Strombone (@strombone1) October 1, 2019
MY 94 CENTS
It’s been a long time since the Canucks played meaningful hockey… a long time. Tonight, all the hard work* will be on display and the road to the playoffs begins. I imagine Elias Pettersson has his way with the Oilers tonight and if we’re lucky a Brock Boeser power-play goal is in the works as well.
How good this team will be is yet to be seen but for the first time in years, the Canucks have legitimate hope in their corner and quite frankly, it’s about damn time!
HOW BIG IS THIS GAME? (Scale between 1 and 10)
It’s an 8.
It’s the opening game of the season with all the new toys on display. It doesn’t have the flash of the home opener and it’s nowhere near the feeling of a Winter Classic or a last-minute game of shinny.
Plus, Quinn Hughes plays against Connor McDavid, it’s a gooder!
According to our friends at OddsShark, the total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver’s last 6 games on the road.
*Vancouver went 4-4 in the preseason and aside from the power-play, they ended up being a bit of a disappointment.
