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Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks Vs. Coyotes
Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
By Always90four
Jan 16, 2020, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 16, 2020, 03:30 EST
THE INTRO
Tonight is a pivotal tilt between the Canucks and Arizona Coyotes. Vancouver is three points back of Arizona in the Pacific but beating the Coyotes keeps the race going for a Canucks squad that hopes to shed the “bubble” moniker and turn itself into a playoff contender. Puck luck dominated the Canucks last game on Tuesday but they owned the shot share.
Goaltending can’t be the only thing that wins it and the power play needs to reset the system. Hit the TV, blow in the cartridge and get back to business.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN -130/ ARI +110) courtesy of OddsShark.com.
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
Don’t expect to see Brandon Sutter until after the All-Star break but if he does play he might get in against San Jose on the weekend. Tough to say if Travis Green shakes it up against the Coyotes but Zack MacEwen might be a nice option and heck, Jordie Benn should slot in too!
Thatcher Demko needs some starts and tonight would be a great one to get. If he plays well, give him one more and give Jacob Markstrom rest prior to their bye and Markstrom’s first-ever All-Star nod.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 74.0#39 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 77.5#18 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.4#108 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.97#25 FL1 |
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 76.3#30 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 78.8#14 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 76.5#13 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.18#1 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.5#108 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 69.4#168 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.2#88 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.37#26 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 68.2#135 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.8#186 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.5#123 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.49#30 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 75.0#17 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.0#65 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.47#20 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 75.0#16 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.5#75 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.24#20 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.3#113 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 73.3#35 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.80#21 DL3 |
There has been a lot of change since the Canucks last faced the Coyotes. Taylor Hall and Phil Kessel will be in the lineup and a bunch of other castoffs from around the league make up the latest Coyotes team. It’s like Vegas all over again. That also means they’re going to the Cup Final this year. Woof!
A bit of a toss-up but might we see Adin Hill this evening or will Antti Raanta get the nod? Arizona always has the best storylines!
Coyotes lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TAYLOR HALL Rating: 77.5#12 LW |  CHRISTIAN DVORAK Rating: 72.6#92 C |  CONOR GARLAND Rating: 72.8#55 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 74.31#24 FL1 |
 CLAYTON KELLER Rating: 74.0#40 LW |  CARL SODERBERG Rating: 72.4#98 C |  NICK SCHMALTZ Rating: 72.0#73 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.79#25 FL2 |
 LAWSON CROUSE Rating: 70.5#107 LW |  DEREK STEPAN Rating: 73.1#76 C |  PHIL KESSEL Rating: 72.7#58 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.13#10 FL3 |
 MICHAEL GRABNER Rating: 69.8#122 LW |  BRAD RICHARDSON Rating: 70.6#149 C |  VINNIE HINOSTROZA Rating: 71.5#83 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.61#18 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON Rating: 75.2#14 LD |  JASON DEMERS Rating: 72.7#55 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.96#16 DL1 |
 JAKOB CHYCHRUN Rating: 74.7#24 LD |  ALEX GOLIGOSKI Rating: 74.3#26 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.49#6 DL2 |
 JORDAN OESTERLE Rating: 71.5#93 LD |  NIKLAS HJALMARSSON Rating: 72.8#53 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.16#15 DL3 |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- Thankfully, the Canucks have only been shutout three times this season so it’s unlikely they go back to back in that category. Loui Eriksson almost scored a real goal the other night. That’s effort. If Loui is working hard, you know the Canucks deserve to win.
- Vancouver has scored 13 more goals than the Coyotes at this point but they’ve allowed 19 more than Arizona. High-event hockey dominates the Canucks and tonight’ should be no different.
- Both teams are owning their home/road matchups. The Canucks are an impressive 14-5-3 at home this season while the Coyotes are an equally impressive 14-8-3 on the road. Can the Canucks get back to their winning ways and become only the third team in the West to accumulate 15 wins?
- The Canucks are back to their mediocre ways with a 49.47% GF% and they’re sub-50 in Corsi. The October Canucks need to return because those are the Canucks that got their team to this point.
- Jake Virtanen is due for a run of points. A feisty Coyotes team might spark the young winger and get him back on pace to have his first-ever 20-goal season.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
MY 94 CENTS
I was pretty choked that puck luck dominated the Canucks against the Jets but their effort was there. There’s no way they clank that many posts again and having yet another oh-for (sp?) on the PP can’t be acceptable. How does Green think the pedestrian effort will do with the man-advantage?
They make it difficult to gain the zone and they have more than enough players to do it easily.
Time for the Canucks to step up.
AND ANOTHER THING…
First one of the year so you better believe this is back:
Breaking News
- 10 takeaways from the Sedins and Johnson’s introductory press conference
- ‘Preparation’ the key word once again as Sedins and Johnson discuss Elias Pettersson
- Instant Reaction: Sedins and Johnson speak as new era of Canucks management begins
- Canucks name Ryan Johnson new GM; Daniel and Henrik Sedin as Co-Presidents of Hockey Operations
- Canucks: A quick reminder on how to tell the Sedin twins apart