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Elias Pettersson skates, Nilsson gets the start as Canucks host Capitals |
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Monday October 22 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Washington Capitals - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 8 GP, 5-3-0, 10 pts, third in Pacific Division
Washington Capitals: 7 GP, 3-2-2, 8 pts, fifth in Metropolitan Division
First things first. Hi, Petey!
But don't get too excited. Monday's morning skate is simply Pettersson's next step of his concussion recovery protocol. He won't be lacing 'em up tonight.
On Hockey Night in Canada last Saturday, Nick Kypreos spun an odd theory that even if all goes well, the Canucks would hold Pettersson out of their lineup until Saturday, when they get back to Rogers Arena after their quick two-game road trip this week.
I figured, if he was ready, that he'll slot back in on the road against Vegas on Wednesday, after he officially completes his seven days on IR. Yes, the team is trying to be cautious in bringing him back, but he's also their best player. They'll want him returning to action as soon as it's safe to do so.
We'll see how it goes.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming:
Is it wrong that I want the Washington Capitals to set the Stanley Cup down on the blueline next to the starting lineup during tonight's national anthems, then do a quick keg-stand before puck drop?
Even though I was hoping that the Caps wouldn't leave the Canucks behind in the No Cups Club last spring, it was impossible to begrudge them after the pure joy that resonated from their celebration. I'm looking forward to seeing Ovi, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Oshie and company play tonight but I'm already feeling a bit deprived that we won't get to truly soak up their celebratory vibe.
It's also too bad that new dad Jay Beagle won't get the chance to face his old teammates, as he enters his second week of recovery from that broken forearm suffered against Florida, but he is receiving a very special consolation prize.
Of course, Beagle's replacement on Washington's fourth line is a familiar face—former Canuck Nic Dowd. He drew some positive attention when he scored a sick goal in the Caps' first game of the season but that's his only point so far this year. He's an even plus-minus and a so-so 43.8 percent in the faceoff circle, averaging 10:25 of ice time per game.
After their exuberant summer, it's probably no surprise that the Caps have been—let's say, inconsistent—through the early part of the season. They have the same plus-one goal differential as the Canucks, but Washington has brought a lot more fireworks—ahead of Vancouver in both goals for and goals against, despite the game in hand. Washington has scored at least five goals in four of their seven games so far but ended up with overtime losses in two of those games. They've also been shut out once: a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.
Remember when Braden Holtby had been supplanted in the Washington net toward the end of last season and didn't get it back until the Caps were down 0-2 to Columbus in the first round of the playoffs? After starting the season with a shutout against Boston, he's been bringing back those memories; he now has a 3.73 goals-against average and .881 save percentage in six appearances and was pulled after one period after giving up four goals on 11 shots to Florida in Washington's last game, on Friday night.
The Caps did bounce back to get a point in that 6-5 overtime defeat, but new backup Pheonix Copley has not matched Philipp Grubauer so far. In 104 minutes of action this year, he's 0-1-1 with an .873 save percentage and 4.04 GAA.
It's not confirmed yet, but Washington is expected to go back to Holtby tonight.
You may also remember that Holtby got pulled in Washington's early-season visit to Vancouver last year, giving up five goals on 22 shots in 35 minutes of action as the Canucks cruised to a 6-2 win. I had forgotten that Erik Gudbranson fought Tom Wilson in the third period of that game. We won't see a repeat of that, obviously, since Wilson is still serving his suspension for his preseason blindside hit on Oskar Sundqvist of the St. Louis Blues. By the way, Sundqvist has yet to play this season while Wilson's appeal of his suspension took place late last week. Gary Bettman is expected to issue his ruling around the middle of this week.
Other than Wilson, the Caps will be icing a full lineup tonight. They're healthy—and so is their power play. Their terrifying 38.5 percent efficiency rating is tops in the league and a big contributor to their league-leading 4.14 goals per game. Now 26, Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the team with 12 points in seven games and is on pace to easily eclipse the career-best 83 points he collected last year. Backstrom and John Carlson also have 10 points each and Ovi continues to keep the conversation going about whether he'll be able to eventually catch Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record of 894. Ovechkin has six goals in his first seven games this season and is now in 17th place all time.
As for the Canucks: not surprising that Travis Green is keeping his lines the same after a very effective outing against Boston on Saturday. Will Sutter-Roussel-Eriksson be able to keep up their shutdown magic against the high-flying Caps??
Here's a surprise, though: after a strong outing from Jacob Markstrom on Saturday night, Green is electing to go back to Anders Nilsson!
Nilsson was in goal for that 6-2 win over the Caps last season, while Markstrom took the 3-1 loss in Washington last January. Maybe that factored into Green's thinking?
Let's see if his decision bears fruit tonight.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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