GAME DAY PREVIEW- GAME TWELVE: Canucks vs Dallas- Nov 7, 2021

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (4-6-1) vs DALLAS STARS (4-4-2)

ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC

7:00PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: DEFENDING BIG D

As the Canucks head into a tough five games in eight games stretch, we find ourselves asking the same questions over and over. When is Elias Pettersson going to give us a game where he’s the best player on the ice? Why is the power play so disjointed? Is there no one on this team capable of killing penalties?

These three things continue to be an issue, as the Canucks rack up one goal losses like no one’s business. And all of these things need to change if the Canucks hope to keep pace in a Western Conference where everyone but Chicago seems to be getting points right now.

Jason King is the man in charge of the power play right now, and in the latest edition of “Things I Never Thought I’d Say”, the Canucks really miss Newell Brown right about now, don’t they? I mean, last year wasn’t spectacular by any stretch, but it was still better than what we’re getting right now.

The Canucks face a Dallas Stars team that went through a bit of a similar story arc as the Canucks last season. Long playoff run, followed by a devastating bout with COVID and missing the playoffs, though getting 10 more OT losses than the Canucks made a bit of difference in how close they were.

It’s not easy to find a team scoring less than the Vancouver Canucks right now, but the Dallas Stars are absolutely struggling to put the puck in the net so far this season. Apart from Miro Heiskanen, there’s not really anyone on this Stars roster who’s having what you could call a good start to the season. Something has to give, right? As much as this game screams ‘breakout’ for both of these squads, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see it scoreless as they head to a shootout.

LINEUPS

Courtesy of nhl.com, if you watch this game, this is probably what the lineups will be:

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov

Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Joe Pavelski

Michael Raffl — Radek Faksa — Denis Gurianov

Joel Kiviranta — Luke Glendening — Blake Comeau

Ryan Suter — John Klingberg

Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen

Thomas Harley — Jani Hakanpaa

Anton Khudobin

Braden Holtby

Scratched: Tanner Kero, Andrej Sekera, Joel Hanley

Injured: None

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Nils Hoglander

Conor Garland — Jason Dickinson — Vasily Podkolzin

Justin Bailey — Juho Lammikko — Justin Dowling

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers

Quinn Hughes — Tucker Poolman

Brad Hunt — Travis Hamonic

Thatcher Demko

Jaroslav Halak

Scratched: Alex Chiasson, Luke Schenn, Kyle Burroughs

Injured: Matthew Highmore (upper body), Brandon Sutter (illness), Brady Keeper (leg), Tyler Motte (upper body)

First of all, the Stars are a bunch of cowards for not giving Holtby the start tonight. Former Dallas Star Justin Dowling is coming off the IR and that means Nic Petan is headed back down the valley to Abbotsford. This will also be Jason Dickinson’s first game against his old squad. And it looks like Brad Hunt could be in over Luke Schenn tonight on defence.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

It’s off to Germany for a track from my favorite beer-soaked thrash maniacs. From the ‘Beast Of Bourbon’ album, this is “Die With A Beer In Your Hand”. Enjoy the game, Go Canucks Go, and Fuck Cancer!