Game Day Preview #49: Jan 27, 2023- Canucks vs Columbus

Jan 28, 2023 - 12:14 AM

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (19-26-3) vs COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (15-30-3)

7:00 PM PST

ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC

TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC RADIO: SN650

A tumultuous week for the Canucks wraps up with a home ice tilt against the 32nd place team in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets. And while most two teams would be well within their rights to assume that an easy two points was on the menu for this evening, this is a Vancouver Canucks team that already lost to CBJ this season. And after the performance they put on down in Seattle Wednesday night, one can hardly be blamed for feeling like this team could just as easily get their asses handed to them again.

And after weeks of playing under a lame duck coach thanks to the bizarre and cruel way the Canucks management decided to make a coaching change, they now must playout the next few weeks with a lame duck captain. Or maybe this is his last game in a Canucks uniform, if he even plays, that is:

Here’s the thing: the only thing I will be angry about is a bit about how there’s no way there’s going to be a return that comes out as a win for the Canucks here. You can get mad if you want. I have been preparing myself for this very ugly, painful breakup for a while now, so if anything I feel a sense of relief that maybe it’s the first step into actual change for this team. It probably isn’t, but it still had to be done because they spent a decade painting themselves into a corner and now they’re out of paint.

LINEUPS

Courtesy of nhl.com, this is what this must-see tv game should look like:

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau — Boone Jenner — Patrik Laine

Kirill Marchenko — Cole Sillinger — Kent Johnson

Liam Foudy — Jack Roslovic — Emil Bemstrom

Eric Robinson — Sean Kuraly — Mathieu Olivier

Vladislav Gavrikov — Andrew Peeke

Tim Berni — Erik Gudbranson

Gavin Bayreuther — Adam Boqvist

Joonas Korpisalo

Elvis Merzlikins

Scratched: None

Injured: Gustav Nyquist (upper body), Nick Blankenburg (upper body), Yegor Chinakhov (ankle), Carson Meyer (oblique strain)

Canucks projected lineup

Ilya Mikheyev — Bo Horvat — Brock Boeser

Phillip Di Giuseppe — Elias Pettersson — Andrei Kuzmenko

Dakota Joshua — J.T. Miller — Conor Garland

Sheldon Dries — Curtis Lazar — Jack Studnicka

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Luke Schenn

Quinn Hughes — Ethan Bear

Riley Stillman — Tyler Myers

Collin Delia

Spencer Martin

Scratched: Travis Dermott, Kyle Burroughs, Lane Pederson

Injured: William Lockwood (upper body), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Tanner Pearson (hand), Tucker Poolman (undisclosed)

Wheeeeeeee... yeah this one’s gonna be a coin toss, folks. Either the Canucks, embarrassed by their new coach calling them soft after their last game, come out and stomp the league’s worst team, or Rick Tocchet realizes he’s made a terrible mistake. Also, I swear to dog, if Horvat gets injured...

GAME DAY CHATTER

It’s been another shitty season, but man, Kuzmenko just brings absolute joy. I hope we don’t break him, because he’s a goddamn delight.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Richmond, VA bangers ENFORCED are unleashing a new album in April on Century Media Records entitled ‘War Remains’ and they dropped a first track from it today. Check out ‘Ultra-Violence’ to get you in the appropriate frame of mind tonight.

Go Canucks Go. Thank you, Bo. Sel the team, Frankie.