GAME DAY PREVIEW- GAME SIXTY: Canucks vs Tampa Bay- Mar 13, 2022

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (29-23-7) vs TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (37-15-6)

ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC

7:00PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: RAW CHARGE

The Canucks were a little frustrated at managing to come back from being down 2-0 to take the lead in the third, only to have the Washington Capitals tie it, then win it in extra time and you can’t blame them. While a stronger effort earlier in the game would have gone a long way, familiar issues have cost this team points all season long, and tonight as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’re going to have to try and stay composed against a team that always seems to be pissed off at them, and keep the Lightning’s power play from taking the game over.

They’ll also have to try and solve Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is having another fantastic season for the Lightning, after they went with Brian Elliott last night in a 4-1 loss in Edmonton. I’m not sure if they were just going on a rotation and it was Elliott’s turn, but it does seem odd they wouldn’t have their number one in goal to take on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as that did not go well for the Bolts in that game.

Tampa sit five points back of the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division, and are going to try and become the first team since the New York Islanders to win three straight championships. The Canucks meanwhile have been the hottest team in the West over the last couple months, and as of yet have nothing to show for it, as they still sit three points back of the Vegas Golden Knights, and will need some help in order to close that gap.

These teams met two months ago, and while it was great to get two goals from the fourth line in that one, they’ll need their best players to show up tonight if they hope to escape with two much-needed points. They’re also going to need a better effort defensively, and Thatcher Demko is going to have to be a wall tonight, you know, like he is in most of their wins thus far.

Tampa’s lost two straight on this trip, dropping games in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, so you can bet that tired or not, they’ll come out hard looking to avoid the dreaded Western Canadian sweep.

LINEUPS

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Forwards

Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn - Steven Stamkos - Anthony Cirelli

Pat Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Corey Perry

Mathieu Joseph - Ross Colton - Taylor Raddysh

Defensemen

Victor Hedman - Jan Rutta

Ryan McDonagh - Zach Bogosian

Mikhail Sergachev - Cal Foote

Goaltenders

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Brian Elliott

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

I love me some unity songs, and Mexican thrashpunks ACIDEZ are feeding that need with the first single off their upcoming album ‘In Punk We Thrash’. Here’s the title track, showcasing some fun old school crossover.

Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Canucks Go! Slava Ukraini!