|
Vancouver Canucks Game Day: March 3 vs. San Jose Sharks - Tryamkin to Sign? |
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday March 3 - Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 62 GP, 24-26-12, 60 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
San Jose Sharks: 62 GP, 34-22-6, 74 pts, third in Pacific Division
The Vancover Canucks will play Game 2 of their series with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, with the gap between the two teams in the standings now stretched to 14 points.
Since their game last Sunday, the Canucks lost to the New York Islanders while the Sharks went home to destroy Montreal by a 6-2 score on Monday. Sounds about right.
The big news of the day in Canucks nation is the arrival of Brendan Gaunce from Utica. Gaunce was called up on an emergency basis when Jannik Hansen was injured in practice on Tuesday and will play his third NHL game of the season tonight.
Here's how the lines looked at the team's full practice on Wednesday.
Radim Vrbata took the morning skate today but still isn't ready to play after suffering what's now being called a groin injury. Expect to see Gaunce slot into that spot on the fourth line with Alex Burrows and Jared McCann.
Gaunce was also at today's morning skate. He couldn't practice on Wednesday because his gear got held up in transit on the way from Utica.
I find it strange that with all the injury issues the Canucks have had this season, they don't seem to have managed to generate any extra salary-cap space. It sounds like the only reason that the Canucks were able to recall Gaunce is because of the injury to Hansen, so unless there are other injuries, it seems unlikely that the team will be able to look more closely at any of the other Comets before the end of the season.
This pickle could also be impeding the opportunity to bring in Russian defenceman Nikita Tryamkin. His season is over now that his team Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg has been eliminated from the KHL playoffs, which also means his current contract has been completed.
It sounds like the objective would be to bring the 21-year-old straight to the Canucks rather than sending him to Utica—and it makes sense that Tryamkin and his agent would push for that. We'll have to watch this situation to see whether the two sides can come to an agreement and get the 6'6" behemoth over to North America.
In other news from the world of international hockey, preliminary 16-player rosters were announced on Wednesday for all eight teams that will be participating in September's World Cup of Hockey.
Four Canucks made the cut:
Of course, if I get my way, Jannik Hansen won't be a Canuck any more by the time the tournament begins. I've now set my sights on hoping that he gets dealt at the draft.
Great to see Jacob Markstrom get the nod in net for Team Sweden. It'll be an excellent opportunity for him to work in tandem with one of the best in the game, Henrik Lundqvist.
There's still space for rosters to be filled out. I had through that Bo Horvat might be a contender among the young stars on Team North America, and that our Swiss players Baertschi and Sbisa could also be in the mix for Team Europe.
I worry that if this tournament is successful, it bolsters the NHL's position not to send its players to the 2018 Olympics, but the format is interesting and it'll be fun to have some quality hockey to watch in September.
One other quick note from the infirmary:
Sutter has now been sidelined for just over three weeks since taking that puck to the face in Denver on Feb. 9. The original prognosis was six to eight weeks, so it'll be down to the wire whether or not he's able to return to game action this season.
Ryan Miller gets the nod in net tonight for the Canucks, while North Vancouver's Martin Jones will once again get the start for the Sharks.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»