Canucks vs Red Wings Game Day Report: Winless in Vancouver

Dec 20 2017, 2:09 am

The Canucks continue their five-game home-stand when the Detroit Red Wings pay a visit to Rogers Arena tonight.

Thursday night the Canucks lost 3-2 to the Washington Capitals in a game Vancouver surely felt they let slip away from them.

Game Time: 7:00 pm

TV: CBC

The Canucks have been mediocre so far at home this season. They are winless in three games and haven’t exactly provided oodles of excitement in the process.

Give them a mulligan on the Oilers loss. The Canucks were the much better team on the night against the Oilers, but made a habit of missing wide open nets. The efforts against the Flames and Capitals were inconsistent.

The Red Wings (3-3-1) blew a lead last night in Calgary and are playing their third game in four nights. They’ve lost four straight and should be desperate for a win.

Simply put in cliche form, the Canucks need to put in a full 60 minutes against the struggling Red Wings to finally put a “W” in the home ice column.

 

Storylines

1. Play the kids!

Ryan Biech you are a wise, wise man!

The friendly folks of Section 304 were uttering Ryan’s thoughts in the 3rd period of Thursday nights game against the Capitals. You can’t get much past a hockey savvy crowd.

Well before the game was tied up at 2-2 there were mutterings amongst the crowd that it was obvious that Jake Virtanen, Sven Baertschi, and Jared McCann had been stapled to the bench and no one could quite figure out why. The Canucks were running promo videos all night showing highlights of “the kids'” great play thus far in the season while at the same time feeding their patrons a steady diet of Derek Dorsett and Brandon Prust. Very odd!

If the Canucks go on to win the game and the veterans come through, no one really has much to say. That didn’t happen, so everyone is talking about it.

Forgetting Alex Ovechkin’s one-timer, there is only one other play that stands out from Thursday night’s game; McCann’s nifty move in the slot that nearly ended in a goal.

The Canucks might want to listen to their own promos and play those young exciting players.

 

2. Home ice woes

Coming to a theatre near you: Winless in Vancouver starring Tom Hanks in the role he was born to play. Hanks is brilliant as the stubborn Willie Desjardins, coach of the Vancouver Canucks, who is perfectly willing to play career grinders in any situation, but loath to play any player under the age of 23 with skill who isn’t named Bo. Winless in Vancouver will make you laugh one moment and then cry the next.

A little dramatic perhaps, but you get the point. The Canucks have yet to win a game on home ice this season (0-2-2) and there is no time like the present to change this.

 

3. Miller for Vezina

  • 7 Games
  • 1.98 Goals Against Average
  • .931 Save Percentage
  • 1 Shutout

Drops mic…

I’m being facetious, of course, but Miller has been a lot better early in the season than most expected.

 

Lineup

Derek Dorsett didn’t practice yesterday, so if he’s unable to play, look for Adam Cracknell to take his spot.

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On defence, Yannick Weber will slot in for Matt Bartkowski. Weber will also get a chance to help Vancouver’s struggling power play.

D. Sedin H. Sedin Vrbata
Burrows Sutter Hansen
Baertschi Horvat Virtanen
Prust McCann Dorsett
Edler Tanev
Hamhuis Weber
Hutton Sbisa
Miller

 

Prediction

The Canucks are catching a tired Detroit Red Wings team that has lost four straight games. Meanwhile, the Canucks have found ways to lose at home. Something has to give! The Canucks take this one 4-3 and Virtanen scores his first NHL goal.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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