The Vancouver Canucks look to keep their small playoff chances alive as they take on the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome for a Hockey Night in Canada clash.
This is the fourth and final meeting between Vancouver and Calgary this season. They first met on January 29 in Calgary and Johnny Gaudreau scored the overtime winner for the 1-0 Flames win. The next two meetings were at Rogers Arena with the Canucks winning the first one with a 7-1 beat down over the Flames which ended Calgary’s 10 game winning streak. The Flames won the next meeting in Vancouver with a 5-2 win on March 19.
The Flames have already booked their ticket to the playoffs and won the Pacific Division with a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday. The Canucks have a one percent chance of making the postseason according to a model from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn. (Paywalled.)
Bruce Boudreau doesn’t see any lineup changes for Saturday night’s game.
Bruce Boudreau says there won't be any lineup changes "that he knows of" for tonight's game. Tyler Myers will play tonight. #Canucks @Sportsnet650
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) April 23, 2022
It looks like Thatcher Demko gets the start in goal and Boudreau provided an update on Jaroslav Halak but isn’t sure if he is done for the season or not.
“I got the report from the other day, and it didn’t look good,” said Boudreau per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.
Here is how the Flames lined up at their morning skate. Dan Vladar gets the start and it looks like Jacob Markstrom gets a rest.
#Flames projected lines, pairings and goaltenders vs. #Canucks:
— Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) April 23, 2022
Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk
Mangiapane-Backlund-Toffoli
Dube-Jarnkrok-Coleman
Lucic-Lewis-Ritchie
Hanifin-Andersson
Kylington-Tanev
Zadorov-Gudbranson
Vladar (Starter)
Wolf pic.twitter.com/gOgieOph7k
J.T. Miller took a slap shot to the knee last game in Minnesota but is good to go Saturday night.
Hobbled by slapshot to knee in 3P on Thursday, J.T. Miller will be leading Canucks tonight in Calgary.
— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) April 23, 2022
Q: Was there any chance you wouldn’t play tonight?
Miller: No.
Q: Did you get an X-ray on your knee?
Miller: Didn’t need one. Knew I’d be good to go.
“I think it’s fun,” said Travis Dermott on another must win game. ” These are the games you look forward to playing in. Every shift, every play matters.”
Players to watch
Calgary Flames- Matthew Tkachuk: Tkachuk recently hit the 100 point mark and in his last ten games, has 16 points.
Vancouver Canucks- Elias Pettersson: Pettersson is one point away from tying his career high (Had 66 in both his first two seasons.) and has 13 goals in his last 12 games.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. You can watch the game on CBC or Sportsnet. You can also listen to the game on Sportsnet 650.