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Canucks Army THE PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Canucks Vs. Blues G2
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Always90four
Aug 14, 2020, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 14, 2020, 02:11 EDT
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THE INTRO
It was only one game, but the Canucks made an impression on not only the St. Louis Blues but possibly the NHL. What if the Canucks played like that all the time? Can Bo Horvat replicate his #beastmode performance from two days ago? Is anyone paying attention to Brock Boeser? What is a reasonable point total for Quinn Hughes when the playoffs are completed?
All questions we want to know sooner rather than later, except the Hughes one.
Vancouver made a statement and the Blues will have to respond or this could get ugly. The tension is rising quite rapidly on both teams but discipline will be key. Tyler Myers was a good boy last game but he can also find other ways to clobber opponents without taking a penalty.
This should be another beauty of a game.
Let’s Do This!™
TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP
SN / SN 650 / 3:30 PM
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The odds for today’s game are: VAN +120/ STL -140 courtesy of OddsShark.com
LINEUPS
J.T. Miller had everyone scared before last game when he didn’t take the pre-game skate. After a solid first game, don’t expect him to make that a habit. Despite what it says below, Olli Juolevi will not play today. Oscar Fantenberg is back in the lineup.
There won’t be any changes to the current squad unless something comes up before puck drop, like… right before. That being said, Jordie Benn has cleared quarantine but he wouldn’t play, would he?
Jacob Markstrom will be the goalie of record for today’s game.
CANUCKS lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
LWCRWForwards

J.T. MILLER
Rating: 78.5#7 LW

ELIAS PETTERSSON
Rating: 77.7#14 C

BROCK BOESER
Rating: 74.1#41 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 76.78#12 FL1

TANNER PEARSON
Rating: 73.7#38 LW

BO HORVAT
Rating: 74.8#34 C

LOUI ERIKSSON
Rating: 69.7#123 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 72.73#23 FL2

ANTOINE ROUSSEL
Rating: 71.0#97 LW

BRANDON SUTTER
Rating: 70.1#131 C

JAKE VIRTANEN
Rating: 72.0#78 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 71.07#19 FL3

TYLER MOTTE
Rating: 68.8#144 LW

JAY BEAGLE
Rating: 68.4#163 C

ZACK MACEWEN
FL4 Rating
Rating: 68.57#30 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGSDefense

ALEXANDER EDLER
Rating: 74.3#26 LD

CHRIS TANEV
Rating: 71.0#90 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 72.67#27 DL1

QUINN HUGHES
Rating: 75.2#15 LD

TYLER MYERS
Rating: 72.6#50 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 73.88#9 DL2

OLLI JUOLEVI

TROY STECHER
Rating: 71.9#63 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 71.91#13 DL3
Apparently, the soonest Barbashev joins the Blues in Game 5. Take that for what it’s worth.
Jordan Binnington didn’t have the game he wanted last time around but he’ll shake it off and try to get the best of the Canucks today.
BLUES lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:
LWCRWForwards

JADEN SCHWARTZ
Rating: 77.0#12 LW

BRAYDEN SCHENN
Rating: 76.6#22 C

VLADIMIR TARASENKO
Rating: 80.4#3 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 78.03#5 FL1

ZACH SANFORD
Rating: 73.3#43 LW

RYAN O’REILLY
Rating: 75.8#28 C

DAVID PERRON
Rating: 75.3#27 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 74.79#8 FL2

OSKAR SUNDQVIST
Rating: 72.2#76 LW

ROBERT THOMAS
Rating: 72.7#66 C

TYLER BOZAK
Rating: 73.0#59 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 72.65#9 FL3

MACKENZIE MACEACHERN
Rating: 69.5#129 LW

JACOB DE LA ROSE
Rating: 68.2#148 C

TROY BROUWER
Rating: 69.6#122 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 69.11#29 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGSDefense

CARL GUNNARSSON
Rating: 72.6#60 LD

ALEX PIETRANGELO
Rating: 78.5#4 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 75.55#9 DL1

MARCO SCANDELLA
Rating: 72.3#66 LD

COLTON PARAYKO
Rating: 76.9#11 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 74.63#5 DL2

VINCE DUNN
Rating: 76.0#10 LD

JUSTIN FAULK
Rating: 74.1#30 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 75.07#1 DL3
GAME NOTES, STATS, AND MORE IN “THE BUBBLE™”
  • Antoine Roussel has David Perron right where he wants him and they’ve only played one game. Jake Virtanen needs to play into this matchup somehow with a chippy game tonight. If this series is also played via the special team’s approach ala play-ins, the Canucks are battle-tested already and can weather the storm. Will the Blues continue to try and upset the cart? They sure will but the Canucks have the upper hand to start so they’ll need to be creative.
  • Quinn Hughes has the rookie and defensive point leads in the playoffs thus far. A dormant Connor McDavid means Hughes is only two points back of *checks notes* the league lead in points. Please inform me if this stat gets old. No one will care but at least we’d be aware.
  • Tanner Pearson is low-key having himself a great start to the post-season. He’s T-2 in even-strength points with five with little to no fanfare. I’ll admit, Tanner Pearson was a candidate for me to be scratched after Game one against the Wild. I was horribly, horribly wrong on that take.
  • Vancouver has already established they can close on the PP. Pettersson, Hughes, and J.T. Miller are all within a few seconds or more of averaging six minutes of power-play time per game. The Canucks have five of the top eight on-ice PPGF at this point in the playoffs with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins taking up spots 5-7. Imagine if the Canucks start converting on their chances more than they have, truly dangerous.
  • Jacob Markstrom has been pretty liberal with his puck-moving skills. It’s only a matter of time before this backfires. Travis Green needs to have a chat with Markstrom and let him know what a boring play is a safe play.
THE TWITTER TAKE
MY 94 CENTS
Hear me out, the power play looked pretty good, as did the PK. However, why bother having five guys on the top unit when only three of them really touch the puck? Involve Bo and J.T. Miller more. Jacob Markstrom looked a lot better last game and appeared more comfortable in net.
Look for the Canucks to continue agitating the Blues. David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo have been triggered already. Antoine Roussel might be the X-factor in this series.
AND ONE MORE THING…
Elias Pettersson is about an inch away from that clapper ending multiple power plays.

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