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Canucks' Dragon-Slayer game on Sportsnet Pacific, Horvat talks to the media |
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I've seen some people saying that they don't know what day of the week it is.
I haven't had that problem, yet — I've still been busy enough with work and have been scheduling in things like FaceTime chats to keep my social contact happening.
But last Saturday, I did find it jarring that Hockey Night in Canada wasn't the focus of my evening. This week, the good folks at Sportsnet are making it worthwhile for us to tune in for the late game.
It's Dragon-Slayer time, at 7 p.m. PT:
I was at this game, so I don't think I've ever seen the broadcast. This one'll be fun!
In other Canucks news, Bo Horvat hopped on the first of two Pacific Division Zoom calls on Friday, along with fellow captains Connor McDavid, Mark Giordano and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
With his first baby on the way, he and wife Holly have made their way back to their home base in Ontario, where they're planning for the birth in July.
"My wife and I just painted the nursery actually last night," he said. "My first time painting, so, a little rough around the edges."
Diaper-changing lessons are also on the agenda. "We were just talking about that actually not too long ago," he said. "I've never changed one in my life, so it's going to be interesting."
"Obviously it sucks not to be playing, but at the same time, getting back home is nice," Horvat explained. "I've got a full gym in my place, so I get to work out a little bit. Just trying to stay healthy and, and hopefully we can get back playing here soon."
Horvat also acknowledged that if the team can get back into action, it'll get a lift from hopefully having a healthy Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev back in the lineup.
"We have a lot of guys that are important pieces to our team," he said. "If we can put it all together and stay healthy and play the way we know how to play, we're going to have a lot of success going forward, so we're trending in the right direction.
"Obviously, it was nice to be in the playoff hunt at this time. Then, all of a sudden this kind of thing happens, which sucks. But we were definitely doing a lot of good things before this."
Of course — all teams will be getting players back, as Mark Giordano pointed out:
"As far as the break, I think if we can ever get back to play, I think this is going to be one of the best playoffs ever because every team's going to have their guys healthy and ready to go," he said. "You're truly going to be playing the best version of every team, I think. So, looking forward to hopefully getting through this as a community and as a group of NHL players here, and then we'll be in for some some pretty good hockey, I think, if we can ever get past this and get into playoffs."
Once again, players were asked what they hated about playing each of the other guys on the call. Connor gave props to Bo for his faceoff skills, but Horvat corrected him and said he got "roasted" this year by McDavid. Remember — as well as both being Ontario boys, Horvat and McDavid were roommates when they both played for Canada at the 2018 World Championship in Denmark, so they have a certain comfort level with each other.
When asked which teammates he'd most and least want to be quarantined with, Horvat picked Brandon Sutter as his best buddy for isolation.
"Him and I are pretty close and share similar interests and stuff like that, so I've got to go with him.
"Least? I'm gonna have to go Virtanen. I don't know, I just like getting under his skin and chirping him, so that's all I'm gonna say from that."
Horvat also mentioned that the boys have been staying in touch via group text, keeping the team vibe alive.
"A lot of chirps, a lot of joking around like we would in the locker room. Everybody's missing the game, everybody wants to get back and play hockey as soon as possible. But again everybody is trying to do what's best for their families. Keep your family safe and ride this thing until everything's safe and ready to go."
Though Bo doubled down on not being a video-game guy, he did give a well-rounded answer when asked about what music he's listening to these days.
"I'm a country guy, so I like listening to country," he started. I suspect this is one of the common interests he shares with Brandon Sutter. "I mean, there's a bunch of good country artists coming up in the scene right now.
"I don't mind listening to, like Gio said, Nirvana. So classic rock, 80s rock too. J.T. Miller has a lot of throwback songs and he's got the iPod in the room. It's cool to listen to music with him. He knows a lot about it."
To finish things off, Horvat said "I mean, obviously we miss you guys — the fans. And thank people, the medical staffs and the people on the front lines taking this thing head on — putting themselves at risk and and but also helping others that that are in desperate need right now.
"Now, hopefully we can resolve this and get back on the ice for our fans because I know they're missing it and so are we."
On that note — I'll wrap things up for today with helpful social distancing advice from Manny Malhotra, Darcy Rota and Kirk McLean.
The Canucks' Twitter feed is taking us through a full game-day experience for tonight's Game 7, so check that out over the course of the day, and enjoy the game tonight!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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