GAME DAY PREVIEW- Game 22: Canucks @ Dallas

VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs DALLAS STARS

5:30PM PST AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, DALLAS, TX

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SN650.

OPPOSITION BLOG: DEFENDING BIG D

It’s not hyperbole to say that this trip could literally make or break the entire season for the Canucks. A strong showing, and they stay in the mix after the fabled US Thanksgiving threshold, but if they continue to struggle as they have for the month of November, and they might not recover, given the competitiveness of the Western Conference. It’s a roadtrip filled with games against Western rivals as well as 3 of the toughest teams in the East, and it should serve as a measuring stick to see whether or not this team is for real.

This month has been a frustrating one, so finishing this trip with more wins than losses would be a great thing for a team trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. And the news is looking up as far as injuries go. Jay Beagle will make his return to the lineup tonight, and Antoine Roussel is back to full contact practices finally, and we will see him make his season debut on this trip. There’s also word that Brandon Sutter will rejoin the team on the trip at some point, and Michael Ferland is skating in Vancouver. It means some tough decisions when it comes to the lineup, and guys like Sven Baertschi, Jake Virtanen, Loui Eriksson and even Adam Gaudette may find themselves back in the pressbox once again.

LINEUPS:

Courtesy nhl.com here’s what we should see tonight:

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Jake Virtanen

Sven Baertschi -- Adam Gaudette -- Josh Leivo

Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Loui Eriksson

Alexander Edler -- Tyler Myers

Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev

Jordie Benn -- Troy Stecher

Jacob Markstrom

Thatcher Demko

Scratched: Tyler Graovac, Oscar Fantenberg, Zack MacEwen

Injured: Brandon Sutter (groin strain), Tyler Motte (foot), Antoine Roussel (knee), Micheal Ferland (concussion protocol)

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Justin Dowling -- Tyler Seguin

Denis Gurianov -- Joe Pavelski -- Alexander Radulov

Nick Caamano -- Jason Dickinson -- Corey Perry

Andrew Cogliano -- Radek Faksa -- Blake Comeau

Esa Lindell -- Taylor Fedun

Jamie Oleksiak -- Miro Heiskanen

Andrej Sekera -- Roman Polak

Ben Bishop

Anton Khudobin

Scratched: Joel Hanley

Injured: Roope Hintz (lower body), Mattias Janmark (lower body), John Klingberg (lower body), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)

The Canucks may look to shake things up, and we won’t know the actual lineup til warmups tonight. One thing they should look at is getting Zack MacEwan in over Loui Eriksson. The big guy has been playing well for Utica, and brings a lot that you simply aren’t gonna get from Loui (size, speed, grit, a pulse).

GAME DAY CHATTER:

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN:

Texas Crossover legends D.R.I. are up today, from their 1988 album ‘4 Of A Kind’, this is ‘Think For Yourself’.