GAME DAY PREVIEW- Game Fifty Four: Canucks @ Calgary

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (22-28-3) vs CALGARY FLAMES (24-26-3)

ROGERS ARENA- VANCOUVER, BC

7:30PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET360, SN1. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: MATCHSTICKS AND GASOLINE

The Canucks need to win two of their last three remaining games, all against the Calgary Flames, in order to avoid finishing last in the Division. You know who’s really hoping that they can pull this off? Jim Benning, because it may be the only thing that could possibly save his job, though let’s be real. He’s a dead man walkin’ right now. The rumblings coming out from sources close to the team are growing louder and louder every day, and to hear that that the Aqualinis are not just looking to change management but the entire business approach of the team is pretty much the only thing I want to hear at this moment.

This was supposed to be a time where we were excited about this young core that was being put together. Instead, a myriad of bad deals, bad signings, bad trades, bad PR and bad luck have combined to create an absolute clusterfuck of futility and a growing army of disappointed fans. Things need to change, heads need to roll, and this is going to be a pretty interesting week to see how the ownership responds.

And while the win on Saturday was nice, and it was great to see Matthew Highmore get his first career multi-goal game, and a pretty solid effort outta Thatcher Demko, I am confident when I say that the Edmonton Oilers could hardly be accused of having their foot on the gas in that game. We’ll likely see a stronger effort out of the Flames tonight, as they look to achieve the moral victory of finishing the regular season with more victories than the Montreal Canadiens, who are in the playoff spot because they lose better.

LINEUPS

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau — Elias Lindholm — Matthew Tkachuk

Milan Lucic — Derek Ryan — Dillon Dube

Andrew Mangiapane — Mikael Backlund — Adam Ruzicka

Josh Leivo — Dominik Simon — Brett Ritchie

Mark Giordano — Christopher Tanev

Juuso Valimaki — Rasmus Andersson

Connor Mackey — Michael Stone

Jacob Markstrom

Louis Domingue

Scratched: Glenn Gawdin, Oliver Kylington, Nikita Nesterov, Joakim Nordstrom

Injured: Noah Hanifin (shoulder), Sean Monahan (hip)

Canucks projected lineup

Nils Hoglander — J.T. Miller — Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Matthew Highmore

Marc Michaelis — Tyler Graovac — Jayce Hawryluk

Jimmy Vesey — Travis Boyd — Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler — Nate Schmidt

Quinn Hughes — Tyler Myers

Jack Rathbone — Travis Hamonic

Braden Holtby

Thatcher Demko

Scratched: Kole Lind, Jalen Chatfield, Olli Juolevi

Injured: Brandon Sutter (upper body), Tyler Motte (undisclosed), Antoine Roussel (lower body), Jay Beagle (undisclosed), Elias Pettersson (upper body), Justin Bailey (shoulder), Micheal Ferland (head)

No word yet on who comes out to make room for Gadjovich, but we should see Lockwood in the games Tuesday and Wednesday to round out this hellish season.

Also, how much do you want to bet Darryl Sutter doesn’t give Domingue a start in any of these three remaining contests? Sounds like something he’d do.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

There’s something about German thrash that just can’t be replicated. From the Big Four (Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, and Tankard) to today’s new breed, there’s an energy that other scenes wish they could recreate. This is off the new one from VULTURE, check out the album “Dealin’ Death” on Metal Blade Records. Enjoy the game. Go Canucks Go. Fire Benning.