[Hyack]

Vancouver at Tampa Bay



The Vancouver Canucks will look to close out their four-game road trip on a winning note tonight when they battle Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For the fourth time since the Olympic break the Canucks have an opportunity to string together wins in consecutive games. But all the talk of going for that elusive second straight victory is starting to sound like a broken record so maybe what the Canucks need most is to forget the fact they haven't won back-to-back games since mid-January and instead just focus on winning one game: tonight's. Vancouver is coming off a 4-3 shootout win yesterday afternoon against the woeful Panthers but they'll face a tougher test against a Lightning squad that is fighting to book their ticket to the post-season.

The Lightning come into tonight's game as winners of two straight games and having earned points in each of their last four outings (2-0-2). They are coming off a 3-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and could potentially leap frog all the way from fifth place in the Eastern Conference to a tie for third-place with a victory tonight. This is the second and final meeting between the Canucks and Lightning this season. Tampa Bay was 4-2 victors are Rogers Arena back on New Year’s Day. Eddie Lack, who took the loss that night, will likely get his 11th consecutive start for the Canucks tonight. Ben Bishop is the expected starter for the Lightning.

Puck drop at 4:30 pm PT - Live on Sportsnet Pacific

[Hyack]

Just had a look through the NHL stats, the only category the Canucks had any real presence in was......"penalties".....with 3 players in the top 30!

1 Tom Sestito .......191 minutes

9 Zack Kassian ......118 minutes

18 Kevin Bieksa ......100 minutes

Can't see an "own goal" category, but the team would probably be close to the top 10 in that one....

[sandorski]

woot ppg burrows, 2 more for the tie

[sandorski]

Hyack Hyack:

Just had a look through the NHL stats, the only category the Canucks had any real presence in was......"penalties".....with 3 players in the top 30!

1 Tom Sestito .......191 minutes

9 Zack Kassian ......118 minutes

18 Kevin Bieksa ......100 minutes

Can't see an "own goal" category, but the team would probably be close to the top 10 in that one....

I'm not superstitious, but clearly some Voodoo Witchdoctor has put a hex on Stanton tonight.

[sandorski]

woo burrows, 2 more for the tie

[sandorski]

booyah shg hansen, 1 more for the tie

[sandorski]

Meh, at least they have been scoring more goals. Goaltending is an issue now though.

[Alta_redneck]

Nucks need to follow the Oiler's rebuilding plan.

http://www.cbc.ca/irrelevantshow/main-b ... broadcast/

[Hyack]

Vancouver vs Nashville



The Vancouver Canucks will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a victory tonight when they host Shea Weber and the Nashville Predators.

With each passing day the Canucks' hopes of making it to the playoffs gets slightly dimmer and, while Vancouver certainly hasn’t helped their cause by failing to pick up some much needed points along the way, the only thing they can do at this point is continue to keep trying to win the next one. There have been some positives for the Canucks lately even though they haven't been able to string wins together. On their recently completed four-game road trip, which ended with a 4-3 loss in Tampa Bay, they got strong contributions from their newly-formed top line of Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows and Nicklas Jensen, who combined for seven goals and 14 points.

Vancouver certainly hopes that trio will continue their point-producing ways when they battle a Predators team that has suddenly had difficulties keeping the puck out of their own net. The Predators come into tonight's game having lost back-to-back games, most recently dropping a 5-1 decision to the Oilers last night, while being out-scored by a combined 9-2 during that stretch. This is the third and final meeting between the Canucks and Predators this season. The road teams have been victorious in each of the first two clashes, with Nashville being the most recent victor earning a 2-1 win at Rogers Arena back on January 23. Eddie Lack is expected to get the start for the Canucks. Vancouver may without blue-liner Chris Tanev, who left after suffering a hand injury in the first period of the Canucks' loss in Tampa Bay on Monday.

Puck drop at 7 pm PT - Live on Sportsnet Pacific

[sandorski]

woot jensen for the lead

[sandorski]

woo edler

[sandorski]

Shutout Lack! woot

[Hyack]

2-0 victory and Lack's 4th shutout, another small step for the team towards making the playoffs. The guys thankfully now have 3 days off to R&R before facing Buffalo Sunday afternoon.

[Hyack]

Vancouver vs Buffalo



The Vancouver Canucks will seek a rare second straight win tonight when they close out their two-game home stand hosting the Buffalo Sabres.

You'd have to think if the Canucks are going to string together consecutive victories at any point between now and the end of the regular season that there's no better opportunity than tonight to do so considering they're facing the league's worst team. Then again the Canucks have had a recent history of coming up empty even when facing supposedly inferior competition. But perhaps getting a few reinforcements will be the momentum boost the Canucks need to finally get over that hump. Daniel Sedin will be back in the lineup tonight while Ryan Kesler is also a possibility to return. Vancouver will lose one key member of their lineup, however, in Alex Burrows, who suffered a left hand injury in the victory of the Predators on Wednesday.

The Sabres, like the Canucks, are looking to string together back-to-back wins for the first time in what seems like ages. They are coming off a 3-1 win over Edmonton on Thursday – a victory that snapped a seven-game losing streak. Buffalo has not won consecutive games since a three-game win streak to close out the month of February. They have won consecutive road games just once this season back in October and that two-game road win streak was separated by a three-game home stand. This is the second and final meeting between the Canucks and Sabres. Vancouver blanked Buffalo 3-0 back on October 17 thanks to a 25-save performance by now ex-Canuck Roberto Luongo. Eddie Lack gets the start once again for the Canucks tonight while the Sabres will counter with rookie Nathan Lieuwen. Prior to puck drop, the Canucks will honour Henrik Sedin for suiting up in his 1,000th career NHL game. Henrik appeared in the milestone game back on March 12 in Winnipeg.

Puck drop at 5 pm PT - Live on Sportsnet Pacific

[sandorski]

woot richardson. one more for the tie