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VANCOUVER CANUCKS (16-17-3) vs CAROLINA HURRICANES (24-8-2)
PNC ARENA, RALEIGH, NC
10:00AM PST
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650
OPPOSING BLOG: CANES COUNTRY
It’s interesting that Carolina’s 1pm EST start times on weekend games at home only seem to be when playing against teams that are from the Pacific or Mountain time zones (check it out on their schedule). I’m sure that’s just a coincidence and not the NHL letting a team use this kind of bullshit for a competitive advantage, right? Then again, when you have no issue paying human garbage heaps like Tony D, it’s not exactly a surprise, I suppose.
Anyway, since this is never gonna change, best to move on and hope that it’s not going to be a repeat of previous early East Coast games, that saw Canucks players suffer season-altering injuries, right?
The Canucks hadn’t played particularly bad in either of the first games of this road swing, but have absolutely nothing to show for it. They’re going to need to do what only the Florida Panthers have been able to do so far this season: beat the Canes for the second time this campaign.
The Canucks beat the Canes 2-1 back on Dec 12, on the strength of goals from two guys who really need to do this again today, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, and another outstanding performance from Thatcher Demko, who made 28 saves for the victory. So while they’ll have a Carolina team eager to get some payback for that, and a 6-0 loss to Columbus a couple nights ago, this is still a winnable game for the Canucks, even if the odds are against them.
LINEUPS
Canucks projected lineup
Vasily Podkolzin — J.T. Miller — Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson — Elias Pettersson — Nils Hoglander
Jason Dickinson — Bo Horvat — Conor Garland
Tyler Motte — Juho Lammikko — Matthew Highmore
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers
Scratched: Kyle Burroughs
Injured: None
COVID-19 protocol: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Justin Dowling, Alex Chiasson
Hurricanes projected lineup
Teuvo Teravainen — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov — Vincent Trocheck — Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Jordan Martinook
Steven Lorentz - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Scratched: Derek Stepan
Injured: None
COVID-19 protocol: Jaccob Slavin
Halak starts for #Canucks today at Carolina. And the coach isn’t worried about any games played bonuses https://t.co/hqf8U34F8D
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) January 15, 2022
Bruce Boudreau says they've tweaked the defensive pairings heading into today's game to try and open up more opportunity for offense for Quinn Hughes. #Canucks @Sportsnet650
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) January 15, 2022
GAME DAY CHATTER
“I like the chances we’re getting. I’d like to have more. I’d like to have more traffic in front of the net.”
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 14, 2022
Coach Bruce Boudreau me with the media after Friday's practice in Carolina pic.twitter.com/SfNsGY6gPS
“You want to get pucks to the net. Guys to the net. It’s a winning formula. We need to execute a little more.”
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 14, 2022
Conor Garland pic.twitter.com/kdpQ1S5e2R
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
In my never-ending quest to bring you stuff you may not ever get the opportunity to hear, I give you a Hungarian crossover band covering the BEASTIE BOYS classic ‘Sabotage’. The Hellfreaks started out as a psychobilly act, but drifted into metal-tinged poppy-punk over the years.
Interesting choice of song to tackle, and it’s an unusual but effective one. They’ve been around for a while, but are set to make their debut on Napalm Records this summer, so make sure and check out some of their previous stuff til that one drops.
Enjoy the game, eh? Go Canucks Go!
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