Blood on the water -- Canucks v. Flames

I know Zandberg posted a great, informative preview with an amazing Photoshop but I've got a few thoughts on tonight's game as well -- Hopefully you can stomach two previews of the same game. Think of it as a really special event tonight, you know, more special than it already is.

Blood on the water

Tonight, on CBC, it's Calgary at Vancouver! Though many of the East Coast viewers will think this is just a hallucination brought on by alcohol (the more you drink, the better the game gets) rest assured there will be plenty of memorable moments on the ice tonight. Calgary will be hungry to reclaim the top spot in the NW Division and unofficially lay claim to the mythical title of "Canada's Best Chance." The Flames roll into town on a two-game point drought with their most recent loss coming at the hands of the the Columbus Blue Jackets mere hours ago. Also of note, the Blue Jackets officially formed their hockey team mere hours ago.

Some things to watch tonight: Can Luongo do it again? One more shutout for the big fellow's never in question, especially since he held these same Flames to one goal just twelve nights ago. It'll be interesting to see how the Flames attack the Canucks tonight considering we just saw these guys at their Saddledome and tore them to pieces.

Burrows -- Can HE do it again? This current homestand has been magical for Alexandre the Great. Simply amazing. If he were a sharpshooter, he'd be Leon from "The Professional." (Their English is at an equal level, anyway.) There's no doubt the Flames are going to try and rattle him heavily, throwing whatever bodies they have around and through him. Two questions from this: Do the Canucks use Alex as a decoy? And if the Flames do everything they can to stop Burrows, will that kill their flow going from offense to defense?

Goons -- Tonight there might be some fights you wouldn't normally see. If the Flames bring their mascot, expect the most adorable brawl ever. Look for mismatches in fights and also look out if one team goes up big on another team and emotions get in the way of common sense and basic human decency.

Holy crap, fans? -- This matchup is one of the few all season I didn't see a "tickets are still available!" tweet from @VanCanucks for. Expect CBC to take great advantage of their seven second delay and strategically angle the microphones away from the cheaper sections of seating.

The blood on the water reference? It's time for these Canucks to start developing their killer mentality, one that eluded them in Chicago last playoffs. Once a predatory fish sees blood in the water it believes a wounded animal is near. Sometimes it's much more. It's the Canucks turn to make like Jaws and start picking teams off one by one with sweet musical backing tracks. Let's see if we can't continue this amazing 2010 run and extinguish the Flames in front of God, and six million of the most talented eyes and ears of Canada.

DISCLAIMER: If you hate anything you read, I just got off a double-shift at work and am exhausted. Carry on!)

--GoodKeith