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Vancouver Canucks Game Day: April 9 vs. Arizona Coyotes, Miller to Back Up |
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Thursday April 9 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Arizona Coyotes - 7:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Vancouver, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 46-29-5, 97 points, second in Pacific Division
Arizona Coyotes: 24-48-8, 56 points, seventh in Pacific Division
Let's start here today, for all you Zack Kassian conspiracy theorists. He's with the team this morning, but it sounds like he's nowhere near ready to get back into game action:
Brad Richardson is also present and accounted for, but not skating with the regular group ahead of tonight's game against Arizona:
The subplot in those tweets—it's time to say goodbye to Jacob Markstrom.
Markstrom heads back to Utica after three appearances for the Canucks—three goals on four shots in 7:45 against the San Jose Sharks, a 10-minute relief appearance against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a solid 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes in the desert two and a half weeks ago.
The Comets' regular season extends until April 18, so they have six more regular-season games including back-to-backs this weekend. Markstrom's call-up hasn't made his future with the Canucks organization any clearer, but he'll be a valuable addition to the Utica lineup as they prepare to make some noise in the franchise's first-ever playoff appearance.
We will see Miller on the bench tonight.
My guess is that Miller will get the start against Edmonton on Saturday in the final game of the season.
I think we'll have to see how both goalies perform over these last two games before we try to make a guess about who will start in the playoffs. There's a lot of love out there for Lack, but I wouldn't be surprised if Willie ends up returning to his experienced No. 1 to start the first round.
Tonight's game may seem like a bit of a throwaway after Monday's crucial win over the Kings, but Vancouver still has some work to do if the team hopes to secure home-ice advantage for the first round. Sure, they're a great team on the road, but I want to see them hit the ice for Game 1 next week with a clean slate and a world of possibilities ahead.
As far as determining who the Canucks will play, keep an eye on the Flames/Kings game from Calgary tonight, which starts at 6 p.m. If the Kings don't get at least one point in that game, the champs will be officially eliminated from this year's playoff picture.
A Calgary win would eliminate L.A. and lock down our first-round matchup against the Flames, with home ice still to be determined. Right now, Calgary's two points behind Vancouver. Both teams have 40 regulation/overtime wins, so there's no guaranteeing that a potential tiebreaker would fall in favour of the Canucks.
Despite their apparent desire to improve their odds in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes as much as possible, the Arizona Coyotes have been playing pretty well in their last couple of games. They beat San Jose 5-3 last Saturday for their first regulation win in 28 games, then pushed Calgary hard before ultimately falling 3-2 on Tuesday.
Shane Doan left that game with a lower-body injury and might not be available tonight. The Coyotes have recalled Henrik "son-of-Ulf" Samuelsson to fill in if Doan can't play.
Despite their meagre position in the standings Arizona has been a tough opponent for the Canucks this year—dating all the way back to preseason. The season series currently stands at 2-1-1 for Vancouver.
Derek Dorsett and Luca Sbisa Sign Contract Extensions
As we basked in the security of clinching a playoff spot on Wednesday, I wasn't expecting the Canucks to follow up with news of two substantial contract extensions.
Derek Dorsett, 28, was re-upped for three years at a cap hit of $2.65 million per season, while 25-year-old Sbisa's deal is for four years at $3.6 million.
I may be in the minority, but I don't mind these deals. As Murph points out, these two new additions have brought much-needed grit to the Canucks lineup—something that has been sorely lacking for the past couple of seasons.
I sang Dorsett's praises yesterday in choosing him as my Unsung Hero of the year. Digging a little deeper—Dorsett leads the team with 163 hits this season while Sbisa is right behind with 149.
Sbisa gets hammered for his risky defensive play, but I think we've seen substantial improvement from him this season—even when paired with Kevin Bieksa. He's also a great skater for a stay-at-home defenseman, which is a rare quality.
Sbisa seems like a pretty sharp cookie who has been willing to own his mistakes over the course of the year. He's young and he plays a role that the Canucks need. I don't mind seeing him locked up for the next four years.
The deals probably mean that Shawn Matthias won't be in the budget for next season, since he'll be looking for a raise on his $1.85 million cap hit. Brad Richardson only made $1.15 million this season, so there might still be room to keep him around at a similar salary.
Restricted free agents who will be needing new deals include Linden Vey ($735,000), Ronalds Kenins ($715,000) Sven Baertschi ($833,000), Yannick Weber ($850,000), Ryan Stanton ($550,000) and Jacob Markstrom ($1.4 million). I suspect most of those deals could be completed without much more than the 10 percent raise that's required to retain the player's rights.
Until we get a clearer idea of where the salary cap will land next season, it's tough to know whether or not the Canucks will need to purge a veteran or two over the summer in order to make room for some fresh blood.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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