GAME DAY PREVIEW: Game Five- Canucks vs Montreal

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (1-3-0) vs MONTREAL CANADIENS (2-0-1))

ROGERS ARENA- VANCOUVER, BC

7:00PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC, TSN2. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: HABS EYES ON THE PRIZE

316 days. That’s how long it’s been since the Vancouver Canucks played at Rogers Arena. And while they acquitted themselves well in the playoffs last summer, they’re not exactly inspiring confidence right now. And while normally we’d trot out “Maybe what they need is to be at home and get pumped up in front of the home town crowd”, but you have to wonder if it’s really a factor in this era of empty arenas and canned fan noise. The advantage is the shorter change at the benches for two periods and not much more.

They arrive at home to face an opponent that they’ve always struggled against, especially the last few years in the Montreal Canadiens. Perhaps if there’s a bright side to the lack of fans, it’s that this time Rogers Arena isn’t filled with Habs fans who bought their tickets off season ticket holders eager to make a profit. No ‘Go Habs Go!’ chants tonight, thank dog.

That doesn’t mean it’s an easy one, as the Canadiens look good so far this season, and the Canucks will once again have to try and find a way to beat a goaltender who’s really had their number: Carey Price. They’re in the process of rebuilding, much like our Canucks, and have some young talent in the form of Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Arturi Lehkonen and lets not forget there’s also that Tyler Tofolli guy in their lineup, too. Solid on defence, getting better up front, the Habs are making strides towards becoming a contender again. I suppose we can hope they start Jake Allen instead?

It’s also going to be the first real test of the new schedule’s quirks in that they’re going to play against each other in three straight games. Is it going to create a playoff-like level of intensity and dislike?

LINEUPS

Courtesy of nhl.com, here’s what we can expect these teams to roll with tonight:

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

Jonathan Drouin — Nick Suzuki — Josh Anderson

Joel Armia — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Tyler Toffoli

Artturi Lehkonen — Jake Evans — Paul Byron

Ben Chiarot — Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson — Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak — Alexander Romanov

Carey Price

Jake Allen

Scratched: Victor Mete

Injured: None

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Nils Hoglander

Antoine Roussel — Adam Gaudette — Jake Virtanen

Tyler Motte — Jay Beagle — Brandon Sutter

Alexander Edler — Jalen Chatfield

Quinn Hughes — Travis Hamonic

Nate Schmidt — Tyler Myers

Braden Holtby

Thatcher Demko

Scratched: Olli Juolevi, Zack MacEwen, Jordie Benn

Injured: Jayce Hawryluk (undisclosed), Micheal Ferland (head)

So, two changes here. Olli Juolevi is a healthy scratch as Jalen Chatfield will get his first start this season. Also, Jordie Benn is listed as a scratch and is off the COVID-19 Protocol list. Disappointed that a bigger message isn’t being sent to guys like Beagle and Sutter, but you can bet there will be more shuffling if the losing continues.

As expected, it will be Braden Holtby vs Carey Price in net tonight. This will be Holtby’s first home start as a Canuck (obviously) and he will be debuting his new mask that was created by a local indigenous artist.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

I don’t play as much hardcore in this section as I would like to, so today I’ve got something short, sweet and loud as hell from Vitamin X. It’s a kickass animated video as well, so crank this and get in the right mindset for tonight.