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It is without a doubt one of the most infuriating things that this team has inflicted on it's fans during this current regime. After a season of near unwatchable games, there is a spark, a Golden light if you will. Nikolay Goldobin's debut with the Canucks was, and yes I am being careful not to oversell him here, almost Bure-like. That breakaway goal was the kind of hockey that Canucks fans have been dying to see, and Goldy delivered. So when he was essentially benched at that point, with the Canucks up 4-0 in a mean-nothing game, you really start to question Willie's thought process. Why does he believe that Jayson Megna is deserving of not just all the ice time he's currently receiving, with almost nothing to show for it, but even of the roster spot itself? Reid Boucher, in his short time with the Canucks, has been visually and measurably, by any metric, better than Megna, yet Boucher was in the press box again. Boucher and Goldobin were junior linemates in Sarnia, and were downright dominant, but hey, let's keep waiting for Megna to explode. Garbage.
While the playoffs are no longer an option for the Canucks, they still have so much to lose. Valuable game experience for their young prospects should be a priority right now. What better way to prepare for the future than to have them out taking a regular shift as LA tried to mount a comeback. Didn't trust the kids to do this? Would they really have done a worse job than your regulars? And it's not just Megna. Willie's refusal to take Brandon Sutter off the top PP unit, despite it's complete and utter futility is maddening. Would the Canucks be better if he would try and change some of these glaring problems? Perhaps marginally, but his steadfast refusal to do anything is something that the people who cheer for this team aren't willing to put up with much longer.
Tonight's goaltending matchup will feature Jonathan Bernier vs Richard Bachman, and it's nice to see him get in a game, a reward for all the hard work in Utica, mentoring Thatcher Demko (who got his first AHL shutout last night). It's also the first game for Joseph Cramarossa against his former team. The Canucks picked up the former Duck off waivers before the trade deadline. Doesn't appear to be any changes tonight, and that means, despite the stupid late penalty he took that almost allowed the Kings to tie it, wonder boy Jayson Megna is still in the lineup, and Reid Boucher is not.