Rss

THE INTRO

The Vancouver Canucks will try for a fifth consecutive game to get back in the win column when the Nashville Predators and former blue line stars Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber return. Whether it’s flat out bad luck, lack of scoring, or not putting out a power-play squad that isn’t beyond predictable, the Canucks just can’t get back to their October winning ways.

Rogers Arena has been a source of comfort for the Canucks as they’ve gone 4-1-2 so far. Will a little extra home cooking get the job done or will the Predators take a Jurassic bite (OK, massive pun there) out of their confidence and deal a fifth-straight loss?

Let’s Do This!™

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN -110/ NAS -110) courtesy of OddsShark.com

TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP

SNET / SN 650 / 7:00 PM

LINEUPS 

Josh Leivo will get a whirl with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser from the looks of things. Bo Horvat’s line has been pushed down the latter a bit but he’ll get Sven Baertschi and J.T. Miller to flank his wings. I’m interested in the Adam Gaudette line, though. He’ll have Tim “#SchallerNothing” Schaller and Loui Eriksson. Maybe the surprise of the evening, check back to see if I’m right.

Chris Tanev looks OK and again from the above tweet, Oscar Fantenberg and Jalen Chatfield will not play.

I have a feeling Thatcher Demko gets the start.

Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW C RW Forwards
Sven Baertschi
SVEN BAERTSCHI		 Bo Horvat
BO HORVAT

Rating: 77.1#23 C

 Jake Virtanen
JAKE VIRTANEN

Rating: 71.8#77 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 74.28#27 FL1
J.T. Miller
J.T. MILLER

Rating: 76.3#16 LW

 Elias Pettersson
ELIAS PETTERSSON

Rating: 79.1#10 C

 Brock Boeser
BROCK BOESER

Rating: 76.4#13 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 77.27#3 FL2
Tanner Pearson
TANNER PEARSON

Rating: 72.4#70 LW

 Brandon Sutter
BRANDON SUTTER

Rating: 71.7#116 C

 Josh Leivo
JOSH LEIVO

Rating: 72.3#64 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 72.15#13 FL3
Tim Schaller
TIM SCHALLER

Rating: 71.7#83 LW

 Jay Beagle
JAY BEAGLE

Rating: 69.8#169 C

 Adam Gaudette
ADAM GAUDETTE

Rating: 69.0#181 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 70.18#25 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS Defense
Alexander Edler
ALEXANDER EDLER

Rating: 77.6#5 LD

 Tyler Myers
TYLER MYERS

Rating: 73.9#33 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 75.75#9 DL1
Quinn Hughes
QUINN HUGHES

Rating: 74.3#29 LD

 Chris Tanev
CHRIS TANEV

Rating: 72.1#69 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 73.20#20 DL2
Jordie Benn
JORDIE BENN

Rating: 73.1#56 LD

 Troy Stecher
TROY STECHER

Rating: 73.3#44 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 73.24#10 DL3

 

No injuries to speak of for Nashville. This team hasn’t changed so the Canucks know what they’re getting tonight.

Pekka Rinne has been the backbone of the Predators for many years and tonight he’ll look to backstop the Preds to a win at Rogers Arena.

Predators lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW C RW Forwards
Filip Forsberg
FILIP FORSBERG

Rating: 78.5#7 LW

 Ryan Johansen
RYAN JOHANSEN

Rating: 74.3#52 C

 Viktor Arvidsson
VIKTOR ARVIDSSON

Rating: 77.8#7 RW
FL1 Rating
Rating: 76.88#8 FL1
Calle Jarnkrok
CALLE JARNKROK

Rating: 72.5#98 LW

 Kyle Turris
KYLE TURRIS

Rating: 71.6#120 C

 Matt Duchene
MATT DUCHENE

Rating: 76.6#27 RW
FL2 Rating
Rating: 73.59#18 FL2
Rocco Grimaldi
ROCCO GRIMALDI

Rating: 74.2#36 LW

 Nick Bonino
NICK BONINO

Rating: 74.9#45 C

 Craig Smith
CRAIG SMITH

Rating: 74.2#54 RW
FL3 Rating
Rating: 74.45#2 FL3
Austin Watson
AUSTIN WATSON

Rating: 70.9#111 LW

 Colton Sissons
COLTON SISSONS

Rating: 72.7#94 C

 Mikael Granlund
MIKAEL GRANLUND

Rating: 72.2#70 RW
FL4 Rating
Rating: 71.89#6 FL4
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS Defense
Roman Josi
ROMAN JOSI

Rating: 79.8#1 LD

 Ryan Ellis
RYAN ELLIS

Rating: 78.0#6 RD
DL1 Rating
Rating: 78.90#1 DL1
Mattias Ekholm
MATTIAS EKHOLM

Rating: 76.6#9 LD

 Dante Fabbro
DANTE FABBRO

Rating: 73.3#45 RD
DL2 Rating
Rating: 74.95#5 DL2
Dan Hamhuis
DAN HAMHUIS

Rating: 71.2#103 LD

 Yannick Weber
YANNICK WEBER

Rating: 70.1#101 RD
DL3 Rating
Rating: 70.66#28 DL3

 

GAMES NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO

  • Tim Schaller doesn’t have a goal in November and it’s bugging me. The fourth-liner has yet to ripple the mesh after a strong October with four goals. Bo Horvat and Alex Edler are also goal-less in the 11th month of the year which should also concern even the most fairweather of fans. The most fairweather.
  • It hasn’t been all about the goals for Elias Pettersson this season but that hasn’t mattered. EP40 leads all Swedish players in assists and points. He’s one of 23 Swedish players to have at least 10 points so far this season. Maybe the Canucks should go to an all-Swedish squad. It might pay off.
  • Antoine Roussel skated in a non-contact jersey yesterday which is great news even if it’s just that for now. Roussel is going to once again be a huge addition to Vancouver when he’s healthy.
  • Thankfully, Nashville doesn’t have Vancouver’s number like the last few teams the Canucks have played. Since 2010, the Canucks are one game above .500, but their winning record against the Predators is on the road. At home, the Canucks are 9-10 versus Nashville.
  • Brock Boeser scored last game but it was his first of the month. The last time he scored was his hat-trick performance against the Kings on Oct 30. The power-play will be a big part of the Canucks success but they’ll need to get it done on the top unit.

#CANUCKSTWITTER

What is Nils even doing anymore?

MY 94 CENTS

They can’t lose five in a row, can they? The goals have gone by the wayside (5G/4GP) and they’ve allowed 13 goals in that same timeframe. Vancouver’s stars need to take over a game and they need to put a team like Nashville in their place. October can’t be a mirage.

AND ANOTHER THING…

Maybe a call up isn’t in the near future