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VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
4:00PM PST AMALIE ARENA, TAMPA BAY, FL
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SN650.
OPPOSITION BLOG: RAW CHARGE
There are times when a team goes on a run, and they look invincible throughout the course of the streak. This is not one of those times. In a way, it makes the 7 game win streak the Canucks have been on even more impressive, because they’ve been presented with adversity in a myriad of forms, and been able to overcome it in these games.
They’re getting scoring from throughout the lineup, and apart from a somewhat off night against Chicago, goaltending at a level we haven’t seen since Roberto Luongo manned the crease, from Jacob Markstrom. They’re still struggling defensively, but Marky’s been up to the challenge, giving them All Star level goaltending. It’s like he wants us to have a #CanucksGoaltendingControversy simply because he’s playing so well Thatcher Demko can’t get a start right now. I am sure that will change on this trip, but when you’re hot you’re hot and no one can fault Travis Green for going with the guy on the roll.
On the other side of the redline are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have lost just 5 times since November 23rd. It would appear that they’ve recovered from that 6 game losing streak they had back in October, and now sit in 3rd in the Atlantic, just one point behind Toronto. Considering their next opponent is Arizona, one of the teams the Canucks are chasing in the Pacific, a win tonight is massive towards their goal of securing a playoff spot.
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 -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Tim Schaller
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Scratched: Jordie Benn, Zack MacEwen
Injured: Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (lower body)
Lightning projected lineup
Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Anthony Cirelli -- Tyler Johnson
Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Alex Killorn
Carter Verhaeghe -- Mitchell Stephens -- Yanni Gourde
Kevin Shattenkirk -- Mikhail Sergachev
Injured: Ryan McDonagh (upper body)
Scratched: Luke Schenn
No changes from the Canucks, but at some point you have to think that win or lose they’re going to try and get Zack MacEwan in the lineup. One thing the Canucks will need to do tonight is not give Tampa opportunities on the power play. If you think the Canucks PP is scary, you should see this one. Best not to play with fire.
GAME DAY CHATTER:
"I've played against him a lot. When we made that trade I knew what he'd bring and how hard he is to play against, a combination of skill and grit." - Jay Beagle on J.T. Miller pic.twitter.com/dMH7l3oCF3
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 7, 2020
"There are certain games where you know you don't have to say a lot to your team. This is one of those." - Coach Green pic.twitter.com/SPwp6WaAev
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 7, 2020
MIC'D UP | "That’s like running into a brick wall." #Canucks Assistant Coach Nolan Baumgartner rocks a mic in Tampa Bay as Vancouver prepares to face the Lightning. pic.twitter.com/KbIkNw6s95
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 7, 2020
Also, I would expect that this game is gonna have some snarl to it, especially if we see the same level of garbage from some of Tampa’s depth players that we saw the last couple meetings from these teams.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN:
When it comes to death metal, there’s no one location in the world as prolific to producing influential bands as Tampa Bay. Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Monstrosity, Hate Eternal and today’s choice: Atheist. Taking a more progressive approach than a straight forward one, along with Death they used virtuoso-level musicianship mixed with brutality to create some truly memorable albums. From ‘Piece Of Time’, here’s ‘Room With A View’.