Putting Gaudette in that spot is certainly justifiable. But get Brock into the bumper. He loved the bumper at NoDak
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Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks @ Panthers
Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
By Always90four
Jan 9, 2020, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 9, 2020, 22:58 EST
THE INTRO
The Canucks lost a pretty bad one the other night, no? That loss brought their road record to 9-11-1. 9-11! No time to panic, it’s a single loss that shouldn’t be amplified. Tonight, they’re in Sunrise, Florida to take on the Panthers of said Florida. The Panthers also are coming off of a loss and would like to get back in the win column but they didn’t get skunked like your Vancouver Canucks.
It’s a redemption game of sorts so WATCH OUT! Just like a pouty pre-teen that was told no, the Canucks are also going out to the garage to shoot pucks so hard at the net that Mom comes out to yell “HEY, knock it off!” That’ll show her. Wait… OK, maybe they’ll just be mad and want to win.
None of the former ever happened, to anyone, ever.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN +125/ FLA -145) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 4:00 PM
LINEUPS
Oh, you better believe there are changes for this one. Jake Virtanen gets a promotion to the Elias Pettersson pairing (because let’s be honest, J.T. Miller is the other catalyst on that line, just kidding Brock, don’t hate me), Brock Boeser heads to line three and will play with Adam Gaudette and Antoine Roussel which could be a lot of fun and the fourth line remains untouched.
On the back end Jordie Benn takes over for THE Oscar Fantenberg but that’s about it.
The power plays were shaken up a bit as well: Adam Gaudette and Brock Boeser trade places. Bank on Gaudette scoring a clapper if they get a power play.
Thatcher Demko should start tonight. Jacob Markstrom needs a break.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 75.1#26 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 77.1#19 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.7#97 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 74.32#23 FL1 |
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 76.3#19 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 79.0#14 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 73.0#59 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 76.09#5 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.3#102 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.5#143 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 75.4#26 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.42#9 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 67.9#145 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.4#176 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.8#133 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.05#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 76.6#7 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 73.8#32 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.19#12 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 75.8#11 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.7#75 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.75#14 DL2 |
 JORDIE BENN Rating: 70.5#110 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.5#82 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.99#25 DL3 |
Mackenzie Weeger is day-to-day with the ever famous “UBI”. No further lineup updates needed so the team below should face a frustrated Canucks team this evening.
Sergei Bobrovsky was the first goalie off the ice in practice and after sitting out last game, he is the expected starter for the Panthers of Florida.
Panthers lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JONATHAN HUBERDEAU Rating: 81.6#3 LW |  ALEKSANDER BARKOV Rating: 79.5#11 C |  EVGENII DADONOV Rating: 77.1#13 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.37#4 FL1 |
 BRETT CONNOLLY Rating: 73.4#52 LW |  VINCENT TROCHECK Rating: 74.3#48 C |  NOEL ACCIARI Rating: 73.2#51 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 73.67#19 FL2 |
 FRANK VATRANO Rating: 72.6#86 LW |  DOMINIC TONINATO Rating: 69.7#157 C |  MIKE HOFFMAN Rating: 75.2#29 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.49#7 FL3 |
 COLTON SCEVIOUR Rating: 70.6#137 LW |  BRIAN BOYLE Rating: 70.2#148 C |  DENIS MALGIN Rating: 70.2#110 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.35#22 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MICHAEL MATHESON Rating: 73.6#39 LD |  AARON EKBLAD Rating: 74.9#24 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.27#19 DL1 |
 RILEY STILLMAN Rating: 73.6#37 LD |  ANTON STRALMAN Rating: 73.3#42 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.47#18 DL2 |
 KEITH YANDLE Rating: 74.7#21 LD |  MARK PYSYK Rating: 70.4#97 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.55#10 DL3 |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- Adam Gaudette gets an opportunity to tear it up on PP1 in “The Boeser Spot” but he did just fine back in his college days from that spot. Adding Gaudette upfront does shake things up and may bring a quicker pass as well. He has some velocity to that shot of his and putting Boeser on the second unit isn’t exactly the end of the world. (He actually becomes the go-to on that line)
- Jonathan Huberdeau has 28 first-assists this season, tied with Leon Draisaitl for tops in the league. He’s just outside of 20 goals with 17 and 57 total points. The Panthers are three points out of the playoffs as of right now but if they make it, Huberdeau is clearly going to be the top reason they make it. (For the record, the Canucks are four points out of second… in the conference. I don’t get it either).
- Alex Edler is not the league-leader in ice time this season, crazy to think. He’s a few scrolls down the page at 24th with 23:24 TOI/GP. The emergence of Quinn Hughes has helped keep him below 25 minutes along with Oscar Fantenberg being a reliable option as well. The defense rests.
- Even though the Canucks allowed three field goals last game, their goal differential is still +9. It ate into the buffer but the Canucks are still a positive goal-scoring team. FACT!
- WOW! Mike Hoffman is shooting the lights on the PP. He has 106 iSAT second only to Alex Ovechkin with 133. With the Canucks impressive PP stats, Elias Pettersson is the first Canuck to show up on that list with 84; that’s all the way down at 10th. With the amount of opportunities they get, how do they not have three guys in the top-10? How is Pettersson not first? I’ll tell you why: they don’t shoot enough. They’re too busy worrying about the perfect pass. Mix it up Canucks, mix it up.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
Brogan Rafferty is now on pace for 66 points in his rookie campaign with Utica
MY 94 CENTS
Playoff teams bounce back after getting run out of the building. The Canucks were put in their place on Tuesday against the Lightning and if they have anything to say, they’ll put it out there tonight and expect them to play pissed off. Believe it or not, the Canucks know how to do this.
There was a decent shake-up of the forward lines, the power play looks different too, but the only thing that should matter is getting back to basics. The Canucks are a good team, not elite, but good. I have them winning this evening.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Breaking News
- Gaffar: Canucks new GM will have full control on scouts and AGMs
- The uncertainty of the third overall pick puts some offseason decisions in flux for the Canucks
- CA Draft profiles: Viggo Björck has become one of this year’s more polarizing first-round targets
- WDYTT: Who do you want the Canucks to take with the third overall pick?
- Canucks’ Sasson named to Team USA for IIHF World Championships; Boeser not on preliminary roster