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Canucks Blog: Nucks Misconduct
Man “Hey at least we got a point” is a true sentiment once again, but I’m pretty tired of having to feel that way. We have 3 more games until the Olympic break and tonight we face a Canucks team that has a couple significant injuries as well. Kevin Bieksa is on IR with an undisclosed injury (probably saving himself for the Olympics… oh wait), Henrik Sedin has injured ribs and has missed the last 6 games, and Yannick Weber, Chris Tanev, Andrew Alberts, and Mike Santorelli are all out of the lineup as well. On the downside, the Wings are playing back-to-back games and since we’re so old (average age of 27, wait whaaat?)….. We’re so young that we may not be ready to play? I don’t know.
On a more personal note, I want to reach out to y’all on something important. I’d like each and every one of you to consider donating money so that Jeff can quit his day job and write all the morning skates. When I do the morning skates the Wings are a pathetic 7-12-7, while they are a much more impressive 13-6-5 when Jeff does them. Think about it guys, for the good of the team. Based on those results, the fact that I’m writing this means the Wings only have a 27% chance of winning. I’m sorry.
The Expected Lineup
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Justin Abdelkader |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Jurco |
| Joakim Andersson | Darren Helm | Daniel Alfredsson |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Patrick Eaves |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Jakub Kindl | Brendan Smith |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard |
| Jonas Gustavsson |
Scratches: Brian Lashoff, Todd Bertuzzi, & Daniel Cleary
Injuries: Johan Franzen (concussion), Pavel Datsyuk (knee),
LTIR: Stephen Weiss (groin)
| CANUCKS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 24-19-12 (60 pts; 4th in Pacific) | Record | 24-19-12 (60 pts; 5th in Atlantic) |
| 2.48 (22nd in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.54 (18th in NHL) |
| 2.52 (12th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.73 (15th) |
| 14.0% (28th) | Power Play % | 16.6% (22nd) |
| 85.6% (4th) | Penalty Kill % | 82.7% (13th) |
| Ryan Kesler (19 goals) | Goal Leader | Henrik Zetterberg (16 goals) |
| Daniel & Henrik Sedin (40 points) | Points Leader | Henrik Zetterberg (47 points) |
Opponent Outlook
Player to Fear: Ryan Kesler leads the team in goals, has the second most points, and is on a point streak with 4 in his last 2 games.
X-Factor: Daniel Sedin. How will he play without his brother?
Familiar Faces: Nah
Thumbs up (One Thing to Like About Vancouver): Kevin Bieksa
Thumbs down (One Thing to Dislike About Vancouver): I don’t really like John Tortorella. I don’t dislike him per se, but He’s a hothead who loses control a d makes himself and sometimes by extension his team and the NHL look foolish.
Bullets of Knowledge
- The Red Wings are 85-54-18-6 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against the Canucks.
- Last 10 games: Vancouver 3-7-0. Detroit 4-4-2./
- Howard is 10-5-2 with a 2.62 GAA, .910 SV% in 17 career games against Vancouver./
Prediction: We lose because I wrote this.
