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VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs MINNESOTA WILD
5:00PM PST XCEL ENERGY CENTER, ST PAUL, MN
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SN650.
OPPOSITION BLOG: HOCKEY WILDERNESS
While that game Tuesday night may have been triggering for some Canucks fans, given the opponent, the final score and the way it played out, for myself I just found it more of an example of why it’s hard to go all in on the Canucks right now. This was a game where they played right into their opponents hands, and didn’t put up much of a fight. They’ve been able to power their way through tight-checking opponents all season long, and that game should have been no different. These things will need to stop happening, or the playoffs, if they get there, will be short.
The good thing is that when the Canucks lay an egg like they did the last game, they have been able to bounce back often with a better effort, and with the Canucks playing in Brock Boeser’s home state, with his family in attendance again, this seems very much like a game we’re going to see the Canucks come out firing on all cylinders.
The Canucks were in Minnesota a month ago and skated out of the Xcel Energy Center with a 4-1 victory, led by Bo Horvat, who scored twice, and a 23 save performance from Jacob Markstrom. It’s pretty likely we see Markstrom in goal again tonight, as he will be looking to get back in the win column after a frustrating night in Boston.
Markstrom starts in goal, said Coach Green, adding that “we’ll see” if there’s line-up changes tonight.
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 6, 2020
No update on Ferland. pic.twitter.com/0IpbdqRreF
That smells like maaaaybe we see Jordie Benn back in tonight for Oscar Fantenberg, as well as maybe a change on the 4th line, though after a particularly rough outing maybe someone on the third line whose name rhymes with Rake sits to send a message to allow either Zack MacEwan or Justin Bailey a shot in the lineup tonight?
The Canucks will also be scoreboard watching, as the Vegas Golden Knights are in Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers. They’ll also keep an eye on Colorado visiting Ottawa, Winnipeg in St Louis, Nashville in Calgary to take on the Flames, Arizona hosting Carolina and the Oilers and Sharks doing battle.
LINEUPS:
This is courtesy of nhl.com, but as mentioned in the tweet above, likely subject to change:
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Loui Eriksson
J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Antoine Roussel — Adam Gaudette — Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller — Jay Beagle — Brandon Sutter
Alexander Edler — Troy Stecher
Quinn Hughes — Christopher Tanev
Oscar Fantenberg — Tyler Myers
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Justin Bailey, Jordie Benn
Injured: Tyler Motte (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Tyler Graovac (lower body)
Wild projected lineup
Zach Parise — Eric Staal — Mats Zuccarello
Jason Zucker — Luke Kunin — Kevin Fiala
Marcus Foligno — Joel Eriksson Ek — Jordan Greenway
Ryan Donato — Mikko Koivu — Ryan Hartman
Scratched: Victor Rask
Injured: Carson Soucy (illness)
GAME DAY CHATTER:
"It's a pretty cool accomplishment. It's been awesome playing for the same team for my whole career so far." -Chris Tanev comments on playing his 500th NHL game tonight against the Wild. pic.twitter.com/YAb4OcWjKO
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 6, 2020
"He's always excited when he gets to come around and see my teammates." -@BBoeser16 on having his family visit the #Canucks before facing the Wild. pic.twitter.com/xnb6Jdogpd
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 6, 2020
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN:
Absolutely suffocating heaviness. A band that left the scene far too early, and never given the love they deserve.