GAME DAY PREVIEW: Game Nineteen- Canucks vs Calgary

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (7-11-0) vs CALGARY FLAMES (7-6-1)

ROGERS ARENA- VANCOUVER, BC

7:00PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET ONE, SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: MATCHSTICKS AND GASOLINE

It wasn’t pretty, but let’s face it: this was exactly the kind of game the Canucks needed to come out with after losing 6 straight. They dominated the game from start to finish, and it wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated. I won’t lie, I was pretty sure that another Flames goal was coming, off some stupid deflection. That’s how the Canucks roll. So imagine my surprise when Tyler Freaking Myers of all people steps up and scores the game winner.

It was a great win, not just because they need to start racking up some wins if they want any hope of catching up the ground they’ve lost so far, but also from a mental standpoint for the team. A cathartic victory, over a team that really seemed to have their number so far this season. Markstrom had been playing like he was 20 feet tall, and nothing they tried worked. The goals didn’t come in buckets, but they scored enough, and handled any pushback from the Flames in what was easily their best defensive effort of the season.

It’s just one win, and while it’s a big one, this team is far from out of the woods in terms of staying competitive in a very tough division. They still sit 3 points back of the Winnipeg Jets, who they play on Friday night, and the Jets and Flames both hold 4 games in hand on the Canucks. It’s hard to make up ground in a situation like that.

LINEUPS

Courtesy of nhl.com, this is what we will probably see from these teams tonight:

Flames projected lineup

Matthew Tkachuk — Elias Lindholm — Dillon Dube

Johnny Gaudreau — Sean Monahan — Sam Bennett

Milan Lucic — Mikael Backlund — Andrew Mangiapane

Joakim Nordstrom — Byron Froese — Josh Leivo

Mark Giordano — Rasmus Andersson

Noah Hanifin — Christopher Tanev

Juuso Valimaki — Connor Mackey

Jacob Markstrom

David Rittich

Scratched: Buddy Robinson, Dominik Simon, Nikita Nesterov

Injured: Derek Ryan (hand)

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Nils Hoglander

Antoine Roussel — Brandon Sutter — Adam Gaudette

Loui Eriksson — Jay Beagle — Jake Virtanen

Alexander Edler — Nate Schmidt

Quinn Hughes — Jordie Benn

Olli Juolevi — Tyler Myers

Thatcher Demko

Braden Holtby

Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Jalen Chatfield, Jayce Hawryluk

Injured: Justin Bailey (upper body), Tyler Motte (undisclosed), Travis Hamonic (upper body), Micheal Ferland (head)

For the Canucks, it appears there shouldn’t be any changes and that includes in goal as Thatcher Demko will get the nod again tonight. Calgary could be without Mikael Backlund, who left Saturday’s game and did not return. If he can’t go, he will be replaced by either Dominik Simon or Buddy Robinson. Markstrom gets the start again tonight.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

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