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VANCOUVER CANUCKS (30-25-7) vs CALGARY FLAMES (37-16-8)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:00PM PST
TV: CBC, SPORTSNET, CITY. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650
OPPOSING BLOG: MATCHSTICKS AND GASOLINE
I suppose it’s my fault, really. I mean, you would think after this many years of covering this team, I could have seen Thursday’s crapfest coming a mile away. I should have realized they were gonna turn in another lackluster performance and punish us for daring to believe they might actually do the thing. So, shame on us, I guess. Yeah, they still have a shot, But they’ve already lost three of the seven games on this homestand, and with the Calgary Flames in tonight before the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, those hopes could be as good as snuffed out by the time the weekend is over.
And while he’s had a good season, if you’re preferring to hold out hope, the Flames having to start Dan Vladar tonight because they went with Jacob Markstrom last night could be a break for the Canucks. The last time these teams met, neither goalie gave them the stops they needed as Vancouver cruised to a 7-1 win on Feb 24th.
The chances of a repeat of that game are about as slim as the Canucks playoff aspirations, as we can be sure payback for that humiliating defeat will be on the minds of the Flames tonight. That means trying to handle the high-powered Flames offence as well as the shenanigans of guys like Matthew Tkachuk and Milan Lucic. The probability of things getting stupid tonight is high.
LINEUPS
Courtesy of nhl.com, this is how tonight’s disasterpiece should look...
Flames projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau — Elias Lindholm — Matthew Tkachuk
Andrew Mangiapane — Calle Jarnkrok — Tyler Toffoli
Blake Coleman — Mikael Backlund — Trevor Lewis
Milan Lucic — Sean Monahan — Dillon Dube
Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington — Christopher Tanev
Nikita Zadorov — Erik Gudbranson
Scratched: Michael Stone, Brad Richardson, Brett Ritchie
Injured: None
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson — J.T. Miller — Brock Boeser
Elias Pettersson — Bo Horvat — Conor Garland
Tyler Motte — Juho Lammikko — Matthew Highmore
Vasily Podkolzin — Nic Petan — Alex Chiasson
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers
Scratched: Noah Juulsen, Sheldon Rempal
Injured: Nils Hoglander (lower body), Jason Dickinson (lower body), Kyle Burroughs (upper body), Tucker Poolman (headaches)
Nils Hoglander likely won’t be back into the lineup until Wednesday in Colorado, when the Canucks run a gauntlet of hockey horror: five games in eight days that starts with a back to back in Colorado and Minnesota and ends with two straight against the St Louis Blues.
GAME DAY CHATTER
"Every game is huge for us. It's that time of the year. We are right there in the mix."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 19, 2022
️ Tyler Myers on the importance of tonight's game against the Flames#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/yfI5tpCvvU
"It's always a big test. They're a good team. We've seen them twice now--first game was close and the other game we played well but we are expecting a big challenge tonight."
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 19, 2022
️ Matthew Highmore#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/Qta92VfKp6
Bruce Boudreau meets with the media ahead of tonight's game against the Flames.#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/VsRCIpPPuT
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 19, 2022
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
It’s off to Japan this time, and a track off the debut album from NEMOPHILA. They’ve garnered a following on Youtube with some pretty great cover tunes, but their originals hold up pretty well. Check out ‘Hypnosis’ off the album ‘Revive’.
Enjoy the game. Go Canucks Go! Slava Ukraini!
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