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VANCOUVER CANUCKS (23-22-6) vs SEATTLE KRAKEN (16-31-4)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:00PM PST
TV: SPORTSNET, SPORTSNET ONE. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650
OPPOSING BLOG: DAVY JONES’ LOCKER ROOM
The door is closing a little more each time the Canucks lose a game, and let’s be honest: We do know they’re not supposed to be getting a sniff at the post-season. It feels torturous to drag this out, when there are some tough decisions that need to be made for the good of this team moving forward. We’ll have to say goodbye to some players we really like, because it has to be about the big picture after a near decade of visionless floundering from the previous ‘brain trust’.
While we all want this team to be a contender again, deep down inside, do we really want to see them squeak in and get annihilated in the first round? They’ve stayed in the hunt thanks to some stellar goaltending from Thatcher Demko, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think the team as it is right now can do anything beyond the first round if they make it that far.
Tonight they finally welcome the new rival to Rogers Arena, but as far as rivalries go, this one’s been pretty lukewarm so far. Much like the way there’s not going to be a storybook playoff run for the Seattle Kraken, the rivalry between these teams will need to grow and develop. We’ve hardly seen anything that resembles animosity so far, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see things heat up a bit if it looks like the Canucks are going to win their third straight over the Kraken.
LINEUPS
Courtesy of nhl.com, here’s what tonight’s disasterpiece should bring us:
Kraken projected lineup
Marcus Johansson — Jared McCann — Jordan Eberle
Calle Jarnkrok — Yanni Gourde — Mason Appleton
Ryan Donato — Alex Wennberg — Joonas Donskoi
Riley Sheahan — Morgan Geekie — Colin Blackwell
Scratched: Austin Czarnik, Haydn Fleury
Injured: Jaden Schwartz (upper body), Karson Kuhlman (upper body)
Canucks projected lineup
Jason Dickinson — Bo Horvat — Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson — J.T. Miller — Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin — Elias Pettersson — Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte — Juho Lammikko — Matthew Highmore
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers
Scratched: Alex Chiasson, Madison Bowey
Injured: Kyle Burroughs (upper body), Tucker Poolman (headaches), Brady Keeper (leg), Brandon Sutter (illness)
Saturday night’s win was a costly one, not just in the standings, but to the defensive depth as Kyle Burroughs will be out for a couple months after suffering broken ribs on that hit by Nicolas Deslauriers of the Ducks. Brad Hunt will draw into the lineup, but the toughness that Burroughs brought will be missed in his absence. Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be in tonight, after missing nearly half of the third period Saturday with an undisclosed injury.
GAME DAY CHATTER
"When we play the way we're suppose to and we dictate and move our feet and our special teams are good, we've proven we can play with any team in the league."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 21, 2022
️ J.T. Miller#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/4hQKXDgN75
"There no chance we're taking this team lightly. They are an expansion team but as we know expansion teams have been pretty good recently."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 21, 2022
️ Bruce Boudreau on tonight's game against the Kraken.#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/WuZFTkj3CU
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Back to the Bay Area for an old school mosh fest from VIO-LENCE. Here’s “Calling In The Coroner” from their debut album “Eternal Nightmare”.
Enjoy the game, folks! Go Canucks Go!
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