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VANCOUVER CANUCKS (21-20-6) vs NEW YORK ISLANDERS (16-17-6)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:30PM PST
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650
OPPOSING BLOG: LIGHTHOUSE HOCKEY
March 10, 2020. The Canucks defeat the New York Islanders 5-4 in a shootout on home ice, and then everything changed. The NHL put the season on hold as COVID began spreading across North America, and for a while, hockey was the least of our concerns. While things aren’t anywhere what we should consider ‘normal’ just yet, it does feel a little cathartic to see the Islanders in the building again.
The Islanders have found themselves in a somewhat familiar situation: A very rough start, and despite showing signs of life, unsure if they can make up enough lost ground to make the post-season. Granted, the Isles struggles were partly related to spending a good chunk of their season on the road, awaiting the completion of their new arena, but many expected this team to be better than it has.
The Canucks put on the kind of offensive display that’s been few and far between this season, as they put up five on the Arizona Coyotes. Scoring twice on the power play, and getting five points from the back end was something we’re just not used to this season, and would like to please see more of this, thank you very much.
Getting goals from all of their big 5 certainly gives them a confidence boost as they head into the downhill stretch on this season, and these guys getting hot right now is vital if they hope to catch the teams ahead of them in that race for a playoff spot in the West.
LINEUPS
Courtesy of nhl.com, tonight’s disasterpiece should look like this:
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Kieffer Bellows
Zach Parise — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Kyle Palmieri
Injured: None
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson — J.T. Miller — Brock Boeser
Jason Dickinson — Bo Horvat — Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin — Elias Pettersson — Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte — Juho Lammikko — Alex Chiasson
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers
Scratched: Ashton Sautner, Justin Dowling
Injured: Tucker Poolman (headaches), Travis Hamonic (lower body), Brady Keeper (leg), Brandon Sutter (illness)
COVID-19 protocol: Quinn Hughes, Matthew Highmore
Looks like no changes apart from Jaroslav Halak getting the start after Thatcher Demko got the win against the Coyotes last night. He’ll go up against Ilya Sorokin for the Islanders. I was surprised to see Cal Clutterbuck is still in the NHL. Neat.
GAME DAY CHATTER
"We think fast, always trying to find the open teammate."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 9, 2022
Pettersson on his line of Podkolzin and Höglander#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/2QjbreOpPa
"Your best players got to be your best players. They're the guys who put the puck in the net…when you have your best players doing that, then you’re usually having success."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 9, 2022
Coach Bruce Boudreau addresses the media this morning#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/w6A7HczrW0
With MANY more to come.
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 9, 2022
Congrats J.T. Miller on reaching this milestone!#Canucks | @McDonaldsCanada pic.twitter.com/C9JtNxwnsb
Making his mark.
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 9, 2022
400 career points for #23!#Canucks | @McDonaldsCanada pic.twitter.com/i2uOJHSImV
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Old school thrash from HALLOWS EVE today. I was looking for something else when I stumbled across this one. I remember getting chewed out by a bus driver in Kamloops back in the day because I was apparently listening to this too loud on my walkman. Anyway, it’s a great track and a hell of a pump up song.
Enjoy the (really late) game. Go Canucks Go!
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