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Everyone at Nucks Misconduct would like to extend our deepest sympathies to NM scribe Trevor Connors, whose mother passed away from cancer this week. Our thoughts go out to you and your family from all of us.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs WINNIPEG JETS
5:00 PM PST BELL MTS PLACE, WINNIPEG, MB
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SN650.
OPPOSITION BLOG: ARCTIC ICE HOCKEY
One win. Just one measly win in the last 4 1⁄2 seasons. That’s all the Canucks have to show against the Winnipeg Jets, something they’re going to need to change tonight in order to keep themselves above water in that ferocious battle for a Western Conference playoff spot as they wrap up this 5 game road swing in Winnipeg tonight.
After starting the trip with 2 dreadful losses against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, they responded with big wins in Buffalo and Minnesota Saturday and Sunday. The problem is that the other teams in the hunt are holding steady, and they truly can’t afford to drop games, especially against Conference opponents right now if they hope to still be in the mix come April.
Winnipeg sit just two points back of the Canucks right now, on the outside looking in and would very much like the get a win and potentially move back into a wild card slot tonight, so the Canucks, who have struggled to find a way to beat this team for quite a while now, will have their hands full. And with Vegas, Edmonton and Arizona all in action tonight, the Canucks could, with the right results on the out of town scoreboard, find themselves sitting in first place in the Pacific Division at the end of the night. Let that sink in for a moment.
And if there were ever a time that the Canucks could have some hope to beat a Jets team that seems to swat them away year after year it might be right now. The Jets are struggling, having won just 3 of their last 10, while the Canucks are 8-2-0 in their last 10. It’s not going to be easy, but this might be their best opportunity in years to get their first win in Winnipeg in a very long time.
LINEUPS:
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake Virtanen
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Brock Boeser
Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Tim Schaller
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Tyler Myers
Scratched: Oscar Fantenberg
Injured: Josh Leivo (kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (lower body)
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Andrew Copp
Jack Roslovic -- Adam Lowry -- Mathieu Perreault
Jansen Harkins -- Nicholas Shore -- Mason Appleton
Scratched: Carl Dahlstrom, Gabriel Bourque
Injured: Mark Letestu (heart virus), Bryan Little (head), Nathan Beaulieu (lower body), Tucker Poolman (lower body)
Suspended: Dustin Byfuglien
The Jets are about as banged up as the Canucks right now, but the void left by the absence of Dustin Byfuglien certainly has something to do with the Jets struggles this season. That’s not a guy you easily replace. Also you will note that former Canuck Luca Sbisa will be in the lineup tonight. Admit it, you’re just salivating at the thought of Elias Pettersson turnstiling our old pal Sbisa tonight, aren’t you?
Looks like there’ll be no changes for the Canucks tonight, though Brandon Sutter was on the ice for the full practice today, and I would expect to see him back in the lineup around Saturday when the Canucks host San Jose.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN:
Ever stumble across a video that leaves you at a complete and utter loss for words? Well, have I got a doozy for you. Igorrr is a French musician/band that mixes black metal, trip hop and apparently a large number of hallucinogens into something pretty bizarre. I think I need to check this out some more, though I am a little terrified at what I might find. Anyway, here’s the brand new video for ‘Very Noise’ off ‘Spirituality and Distortion’, which comes out March 27th on Metal Blade Records.