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Canucks gameday: A chance to knock off the St. Louis Blues

By Brayden Ursel

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 19: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a third period save as Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues looks for the rebound in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 19, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 19: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a third period save as Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues looks for the rebound in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 19, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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The Vancouver Canucks made a massive comeback in game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. Now they have an opportunity to knock off the defending champions in six.

Who would have thought? After being down 3-1 in game five versus the St.Louis Blues, Travis Green shuffled the lines and the Vancouver Canucks rallied back to down the defending champions by a score of 4-3. Now, with a 3-2 series lead over Ryan O’Reilly and the Blues, the superstars of Vancouver need to dial in their A-game and get the job done in game six.

The energy in game five was off the charts and Vancouver will need to bring that same intensity into Friday’s tilt. Knowing the St. Louis Blues, they’ll do whatever it takes to find the win and there is no way they go down without a fight. And what a dogfight it’ll be. I expect bone-crushing hits, dirty checks, slashes left, right and center, and maybe even a couple of brou ha-has. If the Canucks can do what they did in game five, they’ll have a good chance of closing out the series.

Players to watch

Jacob Markstrom: Must I say anymore? The Canucks best player has been exactly that. His MVP performances have brought Vancouver within a single win of advancing to the second round and he’ll need to be extraordinary in order to stop the onslaught of Blues retribution. Through nine playoff games, he carries six wins, a 2.48GAA, and a 0.927 Save Percentage. He puts up jaw-dropping saves each and every night that should be goals and I expect him to do the same moving forward.

Jake Allen: Looking at his numbers, he’s been the better goalie between him and Markstrom. The eye-test though? This is Markstrom’s game. Not to knock on Allen, but he needs to match Markstrom save for save if they wish to even see a game seven. The Canucks haven’t had as many opportunities to score, but they’ve capitalized when they needed to. Despite that, Allen should be ready to play his best hockey.

Alex Edler: It was a scary incident at the tail-end of the 2nd period that sent Edler rushing off the ice covered in his own blood and in search of medical attention. A skate blade came flying up towards his face and cut him deeply somewhere near his ear, throat, or jaw. It’s unknown if he’ll be available for game six, but if he’s in he’ll be a huge morale boost to the team and he’ll have the defensive zone on lockdown.

David Perron: He’s like Alex Burrows on steroids. The guy can get it done both offensively and defensively, but one of his biggest attributes is his ability to get under the skin of his opponent. Craig Berube will turn to Perron to crash the net and make life miserable for the Canucks netminder. St. Louis has to find a way to get to Markstrom before it’s too late.

Prediction

I’m going with the team MVP to get the job done in game six. The 30-year-old Swede is playing his best hockey to date and I predict he’ll close the door on St. Louis and stamp a one-way ticket for the Canucks to advance to round two. The superstars will spring to life on the power play and earn a big 3-0 win.

Next. Canucks: 3 takeaways from 4-3 win over Blues. dark

Go Canucks go!

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