#Canucks briefly dipped below playoff bar last Friday before beating Colorado. Tonight will be first night since December 27th that they have not slept on a playoff spot
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Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks Vs. Islanders
Photo credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
By Always90four
Mar 10, 2020, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 10, 2020, 01:25 EDT
THE INTRO
Listen, the Canucks aren’t serious yet. If they were, this would be over already. Desperation hasn’t quite set in yet but they’re almost there. Tonight, the Canucks take on the visiting New York Islanders, a team that also needs those two points. Are the Canucks ready to bump their slump? Possibly.
The Canucks have shown they can take over games and then they just regress back to nothing. They need to get mad, they need to get nasty and heck, they need to get Elias Pettersson pissed right off. A mad Pettersson is a dominant Pettersson.
Let’s Do This!™
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN /-130 NYI +110) courtesy of OddsShark.com
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SNP / SN 650 / 7:00 PM
LINEUPS
You know who is skating in a full-contact jersey? Brock Boeser. You know who the Canucks could use in the lineup again? Brock Boeser. You know who lost out on the Calder to Mat Barzal? Brock FREAKING Boeser! If he somehow is ready to go this would be a massive boost to the lineup, a lineup that needs a boost.
Travis Green needs to change his lineup. He needs to shuffle the lines to get something going. Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli need to be on a line with Bo Horvat. Jake Virtanen needs some love on the top line and Loui Eriksson needs to be on the fourth line again.
The power play needs to be adjusted as well. Same guys, just stop the drop pass and gain entry as a group, they are good enough.
Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 79.0#7 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.5#15 C |  TYLER TOFFOLI Rating: 76.1#21 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.54#6 FL1 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.5#39 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.0#34 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 69.7#132 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.75#18 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.9#98 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.2#125 C | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.53#26 FL3 | |
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.7#144 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.3#123 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.9#83 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.31#17 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.6#19 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.8#69 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.19#22 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 75.4#13 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 70.9#95 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.16#14 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.5#109 LD |  TYLER MYERS Rating: 72.8#49 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.62#13 DL3 |
| GOALIES |
|---|
 THATCHER DEMKO Rating: 66.4#43 G1 |
It wouldn’t be a proper NHL game lately without some serious injuries to report. Casey Cizikas is out with a leg laceration (not good) and he’ll be out until… well he isn’t cut anymore. Adam Pelech has a torn Achilles so he’s done for the year. Have you ever even hurt your Achilles? It’s awful.
Finally, no wait, that’s it.
Islanders lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANDERS LEE Rating: 75.5#24 LW |  MATHEW BARZAL Rating: 77.2#18 C |  JORDAN EBERLE Rating: 75.0#28 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 75.90#13 FL1 |
 ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER Rating: 72.2#76 LW |  BROCK NELSON Rating: 74.2#43 C |  JOSH BAILEY Rating: 71.8#86 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.74#19 FL2 |
 ANDREW LADD Rating: 70.1#115 LW |  JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU Rating: 73.6#49 C |  MICHAEL DAL COLLE Rating: 68.3#145 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.66#24 FL3 |
 MATT MARTIN Rating: 68.8#143 LW |  DERICK BRASSARD Rating: 69.8#134 C |  LEO KOMAROV Rating: 68.7#143 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.10#29 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 NICK LEDDY Rating: 71.4#90 LD |  RYAN PULOCK Rating: 74.8#26 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.08#23 DL1 |
 DEVON TOEWS Rating: 74.3#23 LD |  SCOTT MAYFIELD Rating: 72.4#56 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.38#12 DL2 |
 ANDY GREENE Rating: 70.3#114 LD |  NOAH DOBSON Rating: 71.5#76 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.92#25 DL3 |
| GOALIES |
|---|
 SEMYON VARLAMOV Rating: 68.2#30 G1 |
GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO
- Elias Pettersson is one goal away from matching his exact goal/assist total from last season which was 66 points. He’s already eclipsed his power-play points but needs two extra-strength goals to equal his total (24) from last season. That fancy goal last game may have woken up the beast.
- Quinn Hughes hasn’t registered a point in two games. He also has slumped in his last five matches putting up only one assist. He hasn’t had his best stretch of games lately but it doesn’t take much for him to get going again. The whole team has struggled so this isn’t too alarming. Hughes is one pass away from putting a game out of reach.
- Before Brock Boeser’s rib injury he wasn’t his normal self. He’s struggled in his last 11 games played with only two assists to his name. In his first five games of January, he had three goals and two assists. The addition of Tyler Toffoli could allow Brock to be paired up with Bo Horvat. Boeser is going to be welcomed back with open arms. The Canucks need him.
- Vancouver’s home record is still one of the best in the NHL, they’re third in the West at 21-9-4. There aren’t a lot of things going for this team but their home record is something they need to keep intact.
- Tyler Toffoli leads the Canucks in GF% with 69.23. Zack MacEwen is pretty close with 66.67% Enjoy the good numbers where you can find them.
#CANUCKSTWITTER
Tommy could do this live?
Love this idea:
MY 94 CENTS
It’s possible the Canucks get back to winning again, but how do they go about doing that? Scoring has dried up on every line and no one looks dangerous, well except for Elias Pettersson. Vancouver has blown leads, blown opportunities and if this whole COVID thing becomes a thing and they postpone games or the rest of the season, the Canucks may be on the outside looking in.
Travis Green also needs to give the BLA (Best Line Available) mentality a chance. Matching units aren’t working out and it might be time to see some run and gun hockey.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Jeff speaks the truth:
Breaking News
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