GAME DAY PREVIEW- GAME SIXTY-TWO: Canucks vs Detroit- Mar 17, 2022

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (30-24-7) vs DETROIT RED WINGS (24-29-7)

ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC

7:00PM PST

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650

OPPOSING BLOG: WINGING IT IN MOTOWN

Well, it’s mid-March and the Canucks are somehow still playing meaningful hockey. Let’s be fair, after the first two month of the season, the fact that they were playing meaningful hockey in January was a miracle unto itself. And as incredible as it seems, with a win tonight and a LOT of help from the out of town scoreboard, the Canucks could, temporarily at least, find themselves in a Wild Card slot at the end of the night. That’s mindblowing stuff, man.

The Canucks saw Detroit back in October, swing where they also lost to the Buffalo Sabres, who are here on Sunday night. Having paid back the Islanders and New Jersey already for defeats earlier this year, it would be nice to see them cross another name off that list with a win over the Wings tonight.

Tonight also sees a couple former Canucks in the lineup for Detroit, as we’ll see Sam Gagner and Troy Stecher skate for Detroit tonight. It’s the first time Stecher has made an appearance in Vancouver since he signed as a free agent with the Wings. There are rumblings that Stecher could be on the move Monday at the trade deadline, and let me just say I wouldn’t say no to bringing Troy from Richmond back home.

LINEUPS

Courtesy of nhl.com, here’s what we’ll get with tonight’s disasterpiece:

Red Wings projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond

Jakub Vrana — Joe Veleno — Sam Gagner

Adam Erne — Michael Rasmussen — Taro Hirose

Givani Smith — Pius Suter — Filip Zadina

Nick Leddy — Moritz Seider

Gustav Lindstrom — Filip Hronek

Marc Staal — Troy Stecher

Alex Nedeljkovic

Thomas Greiss

Scratched: Olli Juolevi, Luke Witkowski, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jordan Oesterle

Injured: Mitchell Stephens (lower body), Carter Rowney (lower body), Danny DeKeyser (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Tanner Pearson — J.T. Miller — Conor Garland

Vasily Podkolzin — Bo Horvat — Brock Boeser

Tyler Motte — Juho Lammikko — Matthew Highmore

Sheldon Rempal — Nic Petan — -- Alex Chiasson

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers

Quinn Hughes — Luke Schenn

Brad Hunt — Travis Hamonic

Thatcher Demko

Jaroslav Halak

Scratched: Noah Juulsen

Injured: Nils Hoglander (lower body), Elias Pettersson (upper body), Jason Dickinson (lower body), Kyle Burroughs (upper body), Tucker Poolman (headaches)

Thank dog they’re not in Utica anymore, eh? Gonna be a challenge with Pettersson and now Hoglander possibly out, but the Wings will not have Olli Juolevi (disappointing) and Tyler Bertuzzi (scientifically ignorant) out of their lineup, so maybe it’ll be okay?

Also, here’s hoping it’s not serious, and he makes a full and speedy recovery.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

It’s St Paddy’s Day, so obviously we’re givin’ you some Gama Bomb today. Here’s an absolute rager off their 2010 release ‘Tales From The Grave In Space’. The boys are doing an awesome fundraiser for UNICEF right now, so if you like the band, support them and this very vital cause. I bought one and it arrived in ten days from the UK!

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