Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames - 6:00 p.m. from the Scotiabank Saddledome - Sportsnet 360, TSN1040
Before looking ahead to tonight's tilt in Calgary, I'd like to spotlight our board's resident poet.
roland_hazard has been throwing up some outstanding Canucks rhymes from time to time, and did a great job with this summary of our season's first game at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.
At Rogers arena,
It started at six,
They'd sharpened their skates,
and taped up their sticks
The cheese curds were bubbling,
the DJ was new
the arena was empty,
well, except for a few.
the first puck was dropped,
And the sharks came on hot
when the shots on goal
tallied, it seems we're outshot
Marleau had good instincts,
and Dorsett got caught,
But Subban f*cking nailed it,
a slapshot from the slot!
Vey came in handy,
and Hunter showed well,
The Sedins might have been there,
but no one could tell,
Meanwhile In Stockton,
they fought, but they fell,
But Sestito stepped up, and he wailed on John Scott!
Great stuff!!
I'm not sure we'll get poetry in motion tonight at the Saddledome. Only a few details on the Canucks lineup are emerging from the game day skate in Vancouver, courtesy of Elliott Pap. It sounds like the plan will be to save more of the veterans for Friday night's home game at Rogers Arena.
I hope this means we'll get to see Miller and Markstrom at Rogers Arena tomorrow night!
EDIT: Jason Botchford has just posted tonight's lines. We'll get another look at both Horvat and Shinkaruk:
Ryan Stanton is also expected back in the lineup after being injured during Sunday's training camp scrimmage.
For their part, the Flames are coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes in the Kraft Hockeyville game from Sylvan Lake, Alberta on Wednesday night, so they're on the second half of a back-to-back.
Here's tonight's lineup for the Flames. Fourth-overall draft pick Sam Bennett has had some injury issues already, but is cleared to play and will make his NHL debut tonight.
Here's how the goaltending will break down for Calgary:
Though the Canucks and Flames will always have a certain rivalry, it doesn't look like Calgary's icing an overly tough lineup. Brandon Bollig is the only name that jumps out at me. I'm assuming that the departure of a certain coach will also put an end to line brawls and dressing-room storming.
That seems to be Bob Hartley's take as well. And yes, this will be our chance to see Willie Desjardins behind the bench for the first time:
Season predictions are always risky business, but I had to laugh when I came across
this Pacific Division profile from Bleacher Report.
Writer Steve Silverman was way off when he picked the Oilers to make the playoffs and the Ducks to finish fifth in the division, but his crystal ball was in perfect focus when it came to the Canucks:
6. Vancouver Canucks—Just a hot mess in British Columbia this year. The Canucks could get off to decent start, but players will quickly grow sick of John Tortorella. He'll last one season and that's it.
Canucks Roster Reduced by Four
In case you missed it yesterday, the Canucks have reduced their training camp roster by a few more players.
Defensemen Anton Cederholm and Jordan Subban and centre Cole Cassels were all returned to their junior teams, while goaltender Austin Lotz was released outright.
Enjoy the game! It's another 6:00 start, on Sportsnet 360.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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