Mar 9, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Radim Vrbata (17) celebrates with defenseman Yannick Weber (6) after scoring a goal against Arizona Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue (not pictured) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Radim Vrbata (17) celebrates with defenseman Yannick Weber (6) after scoring a goal against Arizona Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue (not pictured) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
The Vancouver Canucks are doing their share of making hockey exciting again in this city.
The Vancouver Canucks have hushed all “draftists” with Saturday’s a stellar win over the Nashville Predators Saturday evening. Now they will try to keep the mathematical playoff odds alive by putting together a winning week. Week #24 presents four games to the Canucks and hopes of a winning week.
Newest Canuck Nikita Tryamkin has been practising with the team and so has centreman Brandon Sutter. Alex Edler seems done for the season with a fractured fibula while captain Henrik Sedin returned to action Saturday against Nashville. With Henrik back, rookie Brendan Gaunce was the odd man out.
With that, here are your three storylines for the week. It sure is going to get interesting…
Brendan Gaunce out, Alex Grenier in?
The honeymoon for the 21-year-old rookie seems to be over. After four games as an emergency call-up for the Vancouver Canucks, Gaunce is heading back to Utica. This is good news to me, as a Grenier-advocate since the start of the season. Ever since he got his one game stint in that game against the Winnipeg Jets, he has been on the back of my mind as a leading candidate to fill Brandon Prust‘s absence.
Desjardins says Gaunce going back to Utica. Grenier likely being recalled. #Canucks
After arriving from Russia this past week, Nikita Tryamkin was even taking the pre-game skate on Saturday. He has practised with Dan Hamhuis quite a bit. I cannot wait for Tryamkin to hit the ice. He won’t be an instant wizard in the NHL, I get that. I do want to see Connor McDavid get stood up by a 228-pound Tryamkin, though.
Standings Tracker
The Canucks were on the verge of dropping down to the bottom-five. Now they find themselves 23rd in terms of points percentage after a stellar win over the Nashville Predators. Bad news for draftists, good news for “fans”. The club needed a solid win like that. With Edmonton and Winnipeg on the schedule this week, the Canucks could pad some more points this week.
Without further ado, here it is, the Week #24 Outlook and Predictions!
The Vancouver Canucks had no idea that they were going to win on Saturday night until this happened and the leading scorer for the Nashville Predators and the leading physical presence for the Canucks clashed together. And this happened.
And the Canucks dominated the game emotionally. Finally, the home team advantage played out right for the Canucks. So if the Canucks can repeat that against a Canadien rival, the Winnipeg Jets who are now without Andrew Ladd, the game is sure to be the Canucks’.
But Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien are both on the roster still, among many others. This game is not an easy game physically. There is no doubt that the Canucks will have to rise to the occasion with some size of their own. Alex Grenier will help.
Oh man. Wonder what a Byfuglien standings against a Tryamkin looks like.
One advantage of big wingers is the ability to use them to tie up on the faceoffs. But the Jets have not been able to do that. They rank 28th in the league in faceoffs. The Canucks, although ranked 30th, should look to take advantage. Dominate the faceoffs, don’t let the big guys get onto the puck, and steal possession from them.
Predictions
For a Canucks win:
Sam Dewar, Sarah Laug, Janik Beichler, Steve Boddy, and Gerald Morton.
Final. 3. 104. 1. 107
For a Jets win:
Jeff and I
3. 104. 4. 107. Final
Next: Home vs. Colorado
vs. Colorado Avalanche (35-31-4) Wednesday, March 15th
Leading scorer: Matt Duchene (29 goals, 55 points)
Keys to the game:
Keep it simple
Sorry if that looks too easy to you. Winning against the Colorado Avalanche comes from doing the simple things right. This starts off with positioning while defending. As a defenceman, your role it to keep the opposition from getting the puck in your net. To make that happen, you have to stand between your net and the attacker.
As simple as that sounds, the Canucks could not do that the last time around.
An active stick is what you need next. These Avalanche, as young as they might feel in comparison to the Canucks, do not possess so many high-end scorers as you think. They score dirty goals and crash the net while taking advantage of your miscues. The Canucks should be able to survive the Avalanche.
Is it just me or have these two played against one another every week now, for the past three/four weeks? Certainly feels like it.
I think this would be a nice and easy game for Tryamkin to play. Anyone with me?
This game is going to be a fun one. The Canucks will continue their road warrior season (14-12-7 on the road) when they visit the Edmonton Oilers. The two previous meetings of the season have both gone a 2-1 overtime decision, Vancouver hosting both meetings.
When Connor McDavid played against the Canucks, the Oilers are 1-0. When the Canucks beat Edmonton for the first overtime win of the season, McDavid was absent from the lineup. So guess what — the Canucks are going to have to shut him down. Whether it be Jake Virtanen giving him a nightmare game with the physicality or a potential Nikita Tryamkin giving him a handful, Vancouver has to shut down McDavid.
The first overall pick of last year’s draft now has 35 points in 34 games. That will be a 84-point season had he played the entire season.
Much of that offence comes from simple plays that score because of spectacular shots from the Oilers’ young guns. Drive down main street and roof it on Miller. Sounds easy enough. If there is a rebound from a point shot, the Oilers will get to it like hungry dogs and snap it past the faulty glove of Markstrom. Get the venom out of the rush and get those rebounds.
And lastly, despite this being the first of a back-to-back, the Canucks should really think of going all-in for this one. What’s the point of saving up when you got the St. Louis Blues in town for the next day? Just get the two points against the Oilers already.
Predictions
For a Canucks win:
Jeff, Janik, and I
2. 148. 4. 104. Final
For an Oilers win:
Sam, Gerald, Steve, and Sarah
104. Final. 4. 148. 3
Next: Home vs. St. Louis & The Bottomline
vs. St. Louis Blues (41-20-9) Saturday, March 18th
Again, this is a game decided by how well the Canucks can slow down and pick up on the St. Louis offence that is so strong, so fast, and so accurate. Vladimir Tarasenko will testify. The Blues owned the Canucks the last time around. So again, slow down the rush, pick up their trailers, and pick up the rebounds.
And since the Blues are so strong on the puck, I advise against trying to cycle the way out of trouble. They can catch you deep in the zone and counter quickly. Just score off the rush or band a rebound in from a point shot with traffic in front of Jake Allen. Be simple, be quick, and don’t get caught in the O-zone.
The Canucks are going to have to soldier on without their top defence pairing for a while. Brandon Sutter is looking to return but not for the next couple of weeks. Can the Canucks make some noise in the standings?
