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[GDT] Canucks @ Avalanche


Boddy604

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Twitter reports saying Markstrom will get the start vs Colorado and Willie will "consider splitting the goalie duties this week".

Looks like the kid line is being reunited. Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen. So this also means Vrbata is being bumped down to the 3rd to play with Dorsett and Sutter.

The Sedin and Vey lines stay intact.

Finally, a coaching move I agree with.\

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http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=867671&navid=DL|VAN|home

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The Canucks open a short two games in two days road trip tonight when they face the Colorado Avalanche in the first of three head-to-head meetings this season.

After going winless on their recent three-game home stand, capped by a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Flames on Saturday, getting a bit of a respite on the road has to be considered a good thing for the slumping Canucks. While tonight's meeting against the Avalanche isn't a divisional affair, it could still prove critical down the road. Colorado sits six points up on the Canucks and currently occupies the final Wild Card playoff spot in the West.

Look for a couple of line-up tweaks tonight for Vancouver, most notably the reuniting of the 'Kid Line' of Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen and Vrbata moving down to play alongside Sutter and Dorsett. Jacob Markstrom will make his first post-All Star break appearance tonight. Markstrom, who is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, will be looking to extend his personal career-high win streak to four games.

Puck drop at 6 pm PT – Live on Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040, or online at tsn1040.ca.

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56ba4243a5b71_screenshot-canucks.nhl.com

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Scouting Report

  • Colorado concludes its four-game home stand tonight looking to avoid going winless on it. So far, they've been out-scored 10-6 and out-shot 125-81 while going 0-2-1.
  • The Avs have had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net on home ice this season. At home, they're averaging 2.96 goals against per game compared to just 2.56 on the road.
  • The Avs opened the scoring in their eventual loss to Winnipeg on Saturday snapping a four-game streak in which they fell behind first. Colorado has not fallen behind first very often this season – just on 23 of 55 occasions. They boast one of the league's best win percentages when trailing first at .304 (7-14-2).
  • Forward Mikhail Grigorenko, a former junior scoring star with the Quebec Remparts where he played for his current coach Patrick Roy, will be a name to watch. His modest four goals and 15 points are already a career-high, but what's notable is he recently replaced Jarome Iginla on Colorado's top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene. Grigorenko scored a goal on Saturday following the promotion.
  • Much like the Flames, the Avs are a team that boasts a high-scoring blue-line. Twenty-six of their 148 goals have come off a stick of a defenceman, led by Tyson Barrie's eight.
  • Avs D Nick Holden's next point will be his 20th of the season. Once he reaches that mark, he will be the fourth Avs' defenceman to reach the 20-point mark. Colorado had just three defencemen reach the 20-point mark a year ago.
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Just now, Boddy604 said:

Twitter reports saying Markstrom will get the start vs Colorado and Willie will "consider splitting the goalie duties this week".

Looks like the kid line is being reunited. Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen. So this also means Vrbata is being bumped down to the 3rd to play with Dorsett and Sutter.

The Sedin and Vey lines stay intact.

Finally, a coaching move I agree with.

Look for Vrbata to play worse somehow because he is further from the Sedins.

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6 minutes ago, Boddy604 said:
3 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Vrbata is a pouter.  He's been pouting all season, because he's not playing with the Twins.  The sooner he's traded the better.

Shame, really. Vrbata has talent, yet he chooses to be a child. 

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Willie. Use the lines that have worked before.

Hansen hasn't done much now on the Sedin line. Break them apart and go with what's worked in the past and put back Vrbata with the Sedins. And then put Virtanen/Hansen on the second line.

 

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Should make this a practice summary thread like me, Elvis and GStank have been doing for the last little while. You will get more replies by doing this too. 

Line combos at practice: Sedin-Sedin-Hansen Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen Dorsett-Sutter-Vrbata Burrows-Vey-Etem Extras McCann & Cracknell

 

Hamhuis on road trip with #Canucks mothers: "I'm pretty excited. My Dad has been on 7 trips before, but this will be the first for my Mom."

 

Desjardins on having Sven Bo & Jake on a line together: "It's important they've been together before. Hopefully they can give us energy."

 

Desjardins confirms Markstrom will start tomorrow in Denver and that he'll think about splitting the goalie duties this week.

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Just now, cuporbust said:

Struggling 

Yes, he's struggling, but he also makes no bones about his coming here to play with the Twins.  He led the team with 30+ goals last season, playing with the Twins, and this season he's struggling, but not playing with the Twins.  He's pouting.  :bigblush: 

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Just now, Alflives said:

Yes, he's struggling, but he also makes no bones about his coming here to play with the Twins.  He led the team with 30+ goals last season, playing with the Twins, and this season he's struggling, but not playing with the Twins.  He's pouting.  :bigblush: 

Lol. Okie doak 

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I know you don't want to break up a good line but I'd really like to see Etem, McCann and Vbrata together. Perfect mix of everything - speed, skill, passing, shooting, youth and veteran presence. McCann's play could get Vbrata going, and Etem could clear room for them on the ice.

Lets wait until the Vey, Etem and Burrows trio cool off first though.

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18 minutes ago, cuporbust said:

Struggling. U think he's happy not scoring ? Of coarse he's unhappy. All of a sudden it's because he's not happy with the Canucks ? Has he said that? 

Most folks here probably don't realize it, but Vrbata played a dual role before he came here - he was both a sniper and a guy that was used on Phoenix's shutdown line.

The fact a pair like Baertschi and Horvat needed a veteran presence with them isn't hard to conceive, really.   Imo Vrbata deserves some credit in Baertschi's progress, both in an example of how to play the game sense - and in an on-ice support sense.   The Canucks have had some hard times with kids playing tough minutes this season - I think the 'production' of players like Vrbata should probably be kept in context in that sense - and considered as somewhat of a stepping stone situation.

Vrbata's been on the underside of 50% ozone starts - 17th on the team actually - his relative corsi is a +3.... all in all, he just hasn't had the quality of scoring chances he had last year, and he has squeezed the stick a bit at times, but I'm not a fan of characterizing a player as "pouting" based solely upon the assumption that they expect to be playing with the Sedins - and I think a lot of people underplay the quality of his play based upon unrealistic expectations that he be a kind of player he in fact is not.

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1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Vrbata is a pouter.  He's been pouting all season, because he's not playing with the Twins.  The sooner he's traded the better.

'Vrrbs' needs to buy a vowel

Signed in good faith? Hey, I call foul!

He decided to pout?

Well suck on this trout!

At the end of the day, we're tossin' white towel!!

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12 minutes ago, oldnews said:

Most folks here probably don't realize it, but Vrbata played a dual role before he came here - he was both a sniper and a guy that was used on Phoenix's shutdown line.

The fact a pair like Baertschi and Horvat needed a veteran presence with them isn't hard to conceive, really.   Imo Vrbata deserves some credit in Baertschi's progress, both in an example of how to play the game sense - and in an on-ice support sense.   The Canucks have had some hard times with kids playing tough minutes this season - I think the 'production' of players like Vrbata should probably be kept in context in that sense - and considered as somewhat of a stepping stone situation.

Vrbata's been on the underside of 50% ozone starts - 17th on the team actually - his relative corsi is a +3.... all in all, he just hasn't had the quality of scoring chances he had last year, and he has squeezed the stick a bit at times, but I'm not a fan of characterizing a player as "pouting" based solely upon the assumption that they expect to be playing with the Sedins - and I think a lot of people underplay the quality of his play based upon unrealistic expectations that he be a kind of player he in fact is not.

That's all well and good but it doesn't discount what everyone's eyes see.

He's playing perimeter, he's taking less shots, he's less aggressive on the puck, and the shots he does take are coming from farther out. And missing the net altogether.

I'm not sure if he's pouting but he is October Baertschi, playing with zero confidence. 

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2 minutes ago, Boddy604 said:

That's all well and good but it doesn't discount what everyone's eyes see.

He's playing perimeter, he's taking less shots, he's less aggressive on the puck, and the shots he does take are coming from farther out. And missing the net altogether.

I'm not sure if he's pouting but he is October Baertschi, playing with zero confidence. 

That's all and well - he's getting less scoring opportunities, ramalamadingdong.   He's more of a pitch and catch player than Baertschi and Horvat, who have been creating their opportunities primarily on the rush, as part of their transition game.   Vrbata is a good fit for them without the puck.  Are they an ideal fit for him with it?  Yeah, probably not - but why bother with context when it interferes with the projections of the CDC pouter parade.  Vrbata, relatively, knows nothing about pouting.

 

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