VANCOUVER CANUCKS (8-14-2) vs PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (10-8-5)
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
7:00PM PST
TV: CBC, SPORTSNET, CITY. RADIO: SPORTSNET 650
OPPOSING BLOG: PENSBURGH
While the wins over Montreal and Ottawa were fun and will no doubt do wonders for the mental state of this team as they head into a busy December, no one should be thinking this team has in any way, shape or form turned the corner on another disappointing season. It’s how this team plays over the remainder of this month that will prove far more than wins over two of the worst the NHL has to offer.
So, if the Canucks want to show that this team isn’t as bad as literally every metric used to measure the game suggests, they could start with a win tonight over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The loss in Pittsburgh a week and a half ago was such a typical Canucks performance: they played better for good chunks of the game, but poor starts, a bad PK and a ton of shots that aren’t necessarily good scoring chances come back to haunt them.
I mean, around here we are firmly in reality's grasp that this will be the sixth wasted season in the eight-year reign of Jim Benning, but we want to make sure we’re not ignoring any of you. So for those of you who are clinging to hope, the Canucks really need to step things up, as the Seattle Kraken have begun to put it together. They’ve won five of their last seven now, and have a bit of separation between themselves and the Canucks, leaving Vancouver alone in last place in the Pacific Division.
They’ll have to beat a Penguins team that so far is playing better on the road than they have at home, in order to stretch that winning streak to a modest three games.
LINEUPS
Penguins projected lineup
Jake Guentzel — Sidney Crosby — Evan Rodrigues
Jason Zucker — Jeff Carter — Danton Heinen
Brock McGinn — Teddy Blueger — Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese — Drew O’Connor — Dominik Simon
Marcus Pettersson — John Marino
Scratched: Brian Boyle, Mark Friedman, Sam Lafferty
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (knee), Bryan Rust (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin — J.T. Miller — Brock Boeser
Justin Dowling — Elias Pettersson — Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte — Jason Dickinson — Alex Chiasson
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers
Kyle Burroughs — Tucker Poolman
Scratched: Brad Hunt, Juho Lammikko
Injured: Matthew Highmore (upper body), Brandon Sutter (illness), Brady Keeper (leg)
No changes for the Canucks from the lineup that we saw the last couple games. As expected, we’ll see Tristan Jarry and Thatcher Demko in net tonight.
GAME DAY CHATTER
"We need to play fast hockey, we're a fast team. We're a really good team when we are playing fast and that's something we are going to need to do tonight."
️ Oliver Ekman-Larsson on tonight's game against the Penguins#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/HK7W7EpO0t
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 4, 2021
"Just to get him a game. We were going to have a fast practice yesterday and wanted him to skate with our group, he'll play tonight (in Abbotsford) then be back with us."
️ Head Coach Travis Green on Travis Hamonic#Canucks | @TheProvince pic.twitter.com/catA1A5wxX
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 4, 2021
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Sorry the preview was late, it was a long day. Happy Holidays and all that.
Go Canucks Go. Fire Benning and Weisbrod.
GAME DAY PREVIEW- GAME TWENTY-FIVE: Canucks vs Pittsburgh- Dec 4, 2021 - Nucks Misconduct
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