It's game day!
In the midst of the furor created by Jim Rutherford's comments confirming the rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the Vancouver Canucks have to play a game on Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators like there's nothing amiss.
J.T. Miller, at the very least, had to deal with a Predators beat reporter asking him about Rutherford's comments, replying with, "I'm not commenting on this." It's an unfortunate intrusion into what has been a positive couple of games for the Canucks, who will be looking for their third straight win.
"We've got some history with this team and it's just a fun building to play in," said Miller. "We've been working as a team to try to bring consistency more nights than not. We've had two good ones in a row; it would be nice to at least put out a really good effort tonight and try to get three."
The Canucks are expecting two players back from injury to help their efforts, one who will welcomed by fans and one perhaps less so: Dakota Joshua and Noah Juulsen.
Joshua's last game on January 3 was also against the Predators, where he appeared to injure his left leg in a collision with Roman Josi in the second period. Joshua actually returned to the game and played a regular shift in the third period, which may not have been advisable given he subsequently missed nearly four weeks of action.
"I want to get back and get involved early," said Joshua. "Get back to being the player I know I can be — making an impact any way possible."
Juulsen, meanwhile, has missed nearly two weeks with an unknown injury, with his last game coming on January 14 against the Winnipeg Jets. Prospect defenceman Elias Pettersson has played the last two games in his stead but is likely to come out with Juulsen's return.
They'll be facing a Predators team that looks quite different from the one the Canucks faced in the first round of the playoffs last year, but the addition of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei has not gone according to plan. The Predators sit 14th in the Western Conference, well back from the playoff race, and have scored the fifth-fewest goals per game and allowed eighth-highest goals against.
Accordingly, the message from Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet heading into the game is a simple one: attack.
"Lately, we've been on these guys to really attack the middle of the ice, the interior — even on the rushes, instead of staying along the boards, get that puck into the middle of the ice," said Tocchet. "Good things happen when you get to the middle of the ice. Obviously, in the offensive zone, there are times we can attack the interior and, when you attack, you've really got three or four options: you can hit the weak-side defence, you can funnel the puck to the net, you can actually shoot yourself, or you can take it to the net. If you just defer to the point all the time or you just stay on the boards, you're limiting your options."
We'll see if that message resonates and whether the Canucks can block out the off-ice noise to get a third straight win.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
With Joshua and Juulsen returning, Max Sasson and Pettersson (Est. 2004) are expected to come out of the lineup. What the lines and pairings will look like is a bit up in the air, however, with the full picture unknown until game time.
The Canucks' projected lines, then, are based on how they dressed in their previous game, just with Joshua and Juulsen plugged into Sasson and Pettersson's spots, and will be updated after the team takes the ice for warm-up:
It should be noted that Aatu Räty has been called up from the Abbotsford Canucks after putting up 13 points in his last 7 games during Abbotsford's eight-game winning streak. It's possible that he will also get into the lineup, perhaps with Linus Karlsson coming out in his place.
UPDATE: No Räty tonight, which is a bit of a shame, as it means he missed the Abbotsford Canucks' game, where they'll be going for their ninth-straight win, for nothing. Or, rather, an NHL paycheck on his two-way contract, which is a little bit more than nothing.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Thatcher Demko, which might come as a surprise after back-to-back wins for Kevin Lankinen. Demko has an .867 save percentage this season with a 3-5-3 record, while Lankinen has a .906 save percentage and 18-8-6 record.
Some of Lankinen's worst performances, however, have come when he's started multiple games in a row with minimal rest and he's been at his best after a game off. The Canucks have a tough game against the Dallas Stars coming up in two days, so Lankinen could get that start after a game off. Combine that with a need to get Demko into a rhythm for the rest of the season and it's understandable why the Canucks would go back to Demko.
Nashville Predators projected lines
While this season hasn't gone as planned for the Predators, they shut out the Canucks in their last meeting and have won five of their last six games.
Filip Forsberg has been on fire in that time, with 7 goals and 14 points in those six games, while Stamkos has 5 goals and 8 points. Josi and Marchessault both have 1 goal and 7 points in that same span.
In other words, the Canucks can't take this Predators team lightly and will have a tough task ahead of them shutting down the top line. They'll also have to keep an eye on Fedor Svechkov: the rookie centre has three goals in his last four games.
Here are the Predators' projected lines, courtesy of 102.5 The Game's Nick Kieser:
Filip Forsberg - Steven Stamkos - Jonathan Marchessault
Gustav Nyquist - Ryan O'Reilly - Vinnie Hinostroza
Tommy Novak - Fedor Svechkov - Zachary L’Heureux
Cole Smith - Michael McCarron - Colton Sissons
Roman Josi - Justin Barron
Brady Skjei - Nick Blankenburg
Adam Wilsby - Luke Schenn
Juuse Saros
Justus Annunen
The Predators' starting goaltender is expected to be Juuse Saros, who has a .900 save percentage and 2.88 goals against average in 37 starts this season.
