GAME THREAD #44: Canucks vs Leafs

After another devastating loss to their already microscopic playoff hopes, the news doesn’t get any better as they’re back at it again tonight in Toronto to take on the Leafs. It feels kind of weird to say the game was a disappointment, after all they’ve been through. The fact that they came out of the scariest outbreak to hit a professional sports team in North America is in itself a victory. But we find them being made to play out what will be looked back upon as a lost season, and one that makes the NHL look even more ridiculous than usual for insisting they play it out.

That being said, it’s still hard to watch some of these guys in blue and green, and my hopes for the future are as much about the potential we have in prospects like Vasily Podkolzin, Jack Rathbone and Michael DiPietro as it is heading into a season where Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Brandon Sutter are ex-Canucks. It won’t fix all of the problems facing the Canucks, but it sure as hell is a step in the right direction.

It’s going to be Braden Holtby vs David Rittich tonight in goal. Holtby has been outstanding since the team returned from the outbreak, even in the losses against the Sens, he gave them a chance to win. Rittich has been a bit of a disappointment since coming over from the Flames. I guess like a lot of things in Alberta, having a nickname of Big Save Dave and playing the way he has is seemingly at odds with reality.

One thing to look forward to tonight is the NHL debut of Kole Lind. The former Kelowna Rockets winger has been solid in his time in Utica, fully earning this call up. While I wouldn’t hold my breath on him getting more than 7 or 8 minutes of ice time, it’s always good when one of the kids gets their shot. He’ll be playing with one of his Comets teammates, on a line with Zack MacEwan and Sutter. Two Comets are swapped out on D as Olli Juolevi is once again the odd man out, in place of Jalen Chatfield.