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Vancouver Canucks Game Day: March 1 vs. St. Louis Blues, McCann on Fire |
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Sunday March 1 - Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues - 6:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 35-23-3, 73 points, second in Pacific Division
St. Louis Blues: 40-18-4, 84 points, second in Central Division
I think there are two reasons why I can never quite wrap my brain around the idea of the St. Louis Blues being one of the NHL's top teams. The first is their playoff record—they've won exactly one playoff series since they were beaten by the Canucks in seven games in 2002-03. Even when they won the Presidents' Trophy in 1999-2000, they were knocked off in the first round.
The second reason is that the Canucks have done well against them. Last year, when they were supposed to be the scourge of the Central Division, an underachieving Canucks team swept the season series, going 3-0. You might remember an uplifting 3-2 overtime win at the end of a long road trip in October of 2013, with Eddie Lack between the pipes?
The Canucks have seen the Blues just once so far this season, but that was a win as well: a 4-1 victory on the road on October 23rd.
After their 2-1 win over Edmonton last night, the Blues are tied for fourth overall in the NHL and riding a two-game win streak. They've been good at both ends of the ice—ranked in the top six in the league in both goals for and goals against.
Tonight will be our first chance this season to see breakout scoring star Vladimir Tarasenko in the flesh. The 23-year-old is tied for fourth in the league with 31 goals—many of the highlight-reel variety—and leads the Blues with 60 points and a plus-27.
Tarasenko will be facing Eddie Lack, who gets his third straight start for the Canucks after a less-than-stellar game against Buffalo on Thursday.
The Canucks had an optional skate at Rogers Arena this morning:
Of the three injured defensemen, Frank Corrado sounds like he's the closest to getting back to game action, but it's unlikely that he'll play tonight. All indications are that Willie Desjardins will use the same lineup he deployed in Buffalo and Boston at the end of the road trip.
Still no skating for Brad Richardson—who has now been out for more than six weeks with his deep ankle bruise—or Alex Burrows. We know now that Burrows' issue is with his groin. He's been on the shelf for 10 days.
There has been some chatter about how this would be a perfect time to trade Kevin Bieksa, if he was healthy. He's also approaching the six-week mark of his tenure on the injured list, having played last on Jan. 20. The original estimate for his recovery was 6-8 weeks, but it doesn't seem like he's close to returning to game action anytime soon.
Healthy or not, I still don't think Bieksa'd waive his no-trade clause—especially not with the team showing some impressive heart in recent weeks. I think he'd like to fight his playoff battles with this group and try to vanquish some old foes.
The out-of-town scoreboard shook out in Vancouver's favour again on Saturday—Minnesota won, but the Sharks lost 4-2 to Ottawa and are now 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. I'm actually starting to feel a bit sorry for them—we know what they're going through.
With a freefall like that, I wonder whether Doug Wilson will make some big moves today or tomorrow in an attempt to salvage the season? They're still just two points behind the Kings and Flames for a shot at third place in the Pacific.
The Kings are the team for us to watch today. They take on Winnipeg in an afternoon game at 1:00.
Our game has an early start today—6:30. While you're waiting for that, flip over to Sportsnet to catch Jared McCann and his Soo Greyhounds hosting the London Knights. As I type this, the game is in the first period. McCann already has a goal and an assist to give the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead.
McCann is on fire right now, with 18 points in his last eight games coming into today's action. Now that he's healthy, that first-round pick acquired in the Ryan Kesler deal is looking better and better!
One other quick note to wrap up. Brandon McMillan has cleared waivers. He needs to be added to the Utica Comets roster by Monday in order to be eligible for the AHL playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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