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Boeser's back, Markstrom skates as the Canucks host the New York Islanders |
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Tuesday March 10 - Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 68 GP, 35-27-6, 76 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
New York Islanders: 67 GP, 35-23-9, 79 pts, sixth in Metropolitan Division
Will the struggling New York Islanders be the opponent that helps the Vancouver Canucks get back in the win column as they close out their four-game homestand on Tuesday night?
After coming out of the trade deadline with one of the more coveted prizes in Jean-Gabriel Pageau — and giving up first and second-round picks to get him — the Islanders haven't won a game since. They've gone 0-3-3 and after Pageau scored in his first two games in an Islanders uniform, he's now on a four-game pointless streak — and was a shocking minus-five in his team's 6-2 loss to Montreal last Tuesday.
Just like the Canucks, the Islanders are sitting in ninth place in their conference heading into Tuesday night's game, which is the beginning of a four-game road trip for them.
Here's how they rolled their lines at practice on Monday at Rogers Arena.
On the injury front, Johnny Boychuk is travelling with the team after taking that awful cut to his eyelid last week, which is fantastic news. He skated on his own on Monday, so I wouldn't expect him to play. The news is not so good for Casey Cizikas, who suffered a skate cut to his leg about a month ago. The team was hoping that he'd be able to return on this road trip, but he didn't end up travelling.
Despite the Islanders' recent struggles, Coquitlam's Mat Barzal is on a nice little run, with 11 points in his last nine game and leading his team with 59 points.
But the man he beat out for the Calder Trophy two years ago looks like he'll be back in game action on Tuesday — and filling that top-six slot that has been bounced between Loui Eriksson and Jake Virtanen in recent games.
The Canucks took Monday off, so Tuesday's morning skate includes the full group — and Brock Boeser back in regular rotation.
That's good news. Even though fans were griping about Boeser's diminished production before his injury, he has been missed. The team has gone 5-6-1 while he's been out of the lineup.
On his 25th birthday, Tyler Motte is missing from the morning skate.
Motte played a pretty typical 11:39 against Columbus on Sunday, including five shifts in the third period, so I'm not sure what would be causing his absence.
Travis Green didn't give an update on Motte's status, but did mention some other big news!
It has been two weeks since Markstrom returned to Vancouver and had his lower-body procedure. Though it was never confirmed by the team, whispers suggested that the problem was with his meniscus, and could keep him sidelined for 3-4 weeks. So we're on the good side of that estimate — just as Boeser's back from his "eight week" injury in a little over four.
That's the glass-half-full perspective.
Now, glass half empty: The Canucks got bumped down to ninth place in the West on Monday night, when Winnipeg beat Arizona — although at least it was a regulation win.
The Central Division now holds down both wild-card spots in the Western Conference.
Just one out-of-town game of importance to Canucks fans on Tuesday's schedule. Nashville's tied with Vancouver at 76 points, and plays in Montreal (4 p.m. PT).
And one final note from abroad to wrap up today:
It'll be interesting to see what happens with Tryamkin, who can play either side. It certainly seems like he'd be a less expensive option than impending UFA Chris Tanev — and if the Canucks iced a defense next season that included both Tryamkin and Tyler Myers, those twin towers would certainly counterbalance the smaller stature of Quinn Hughes — and Troy Stecher, if he does end up sticking around.
After Stecher's departure seemed all-but-assured earlier in the season, the events around the trade deadline suggest to me that he might be willing to play ball in order to stay.
I wonder if the Canucks would do what they did with Derrick Pouliot a couple of years ago? Not give him a qualifying offer to negate his arbitration rights, then negotiate a new deal that would be amenable to both sides?
As the coronavirus situation continues to alter the sports landscape worldwide, hour by hour, it's hard to even think about how player acquisitions might play out this summer. It's also hard to believe it's been less than a week since commissioner Gary Bettman shared his optimistic $84 million-or-more salary cap estimate for the 2020-21 season.
But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. For today, it's game on.
Enjoy!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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