Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens - Thursday Feb. 6 - 4:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, RDS, TSN-Habs
Vancouver Canucks 27-22-9 63 points fourth in Pacific Division
Montreal Canadiens 30-21-6 66 points third in Atlantic Division
With three teams breathing down their neck and a raft of injuries still to be handled, the Vancouver Canucks will look to end their five-game losing streak when they visit the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday.
They'll have to do it without captain Henrik Sedin, who has been pulled from the lineup by John Tortorella for the next two games.
Torts' comments are not up yet on Canucks.com, but I did find them over on YouTube. He speaks positively about Roberto Luongo, Raphael Diaz and the player he coached back in Tampa Bay who just got named to the Canadian Olympic Team, Martin St. Louis. Other than that, a lot of "yes" and "no" answers to questions about all the injuries. If you'd care to watch it:
The clip does not include Torts' comments about whether or not Henrik should go to Sochi if he's not well enough to play for the Canucks.
NHL.com has the full story. Here's the key quote:
To me -- and I've been in these situations before -- that is a family matter and that is the player's matter. That is his country and it's a very, very delicate situation. Right now do I want him to go? Absolutely not. I'm thinking about our hockey club. But I am not having a conversation with him about that. That's his call.
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out over the next week. What do you think will happen?
In the meantime, the Canucks have a game to play tonight, and a losing streak to try to stop. Thankfully, a couple of forwards will be re-joining the lineup:
Meanwhile, Montreal has just one name on its injured list. Travis Moen is day-to-day and won't play with a lower body injury. Quite a contrast.
The road hasn't been especially easy for the Canadiens lately, either, though Carey Price is rounding nicely into Olympic form. He's 2-1-1 in his last four starts, with two shutouts, and has allowed just four goals in four games.
Compare that to an embattled Luongo, whose entire defense has literally deserted him for the sick bay. It's easy to understand why some might thing that Price is now the front-runner for Team Canada. I expect in the end, Mike Babcock will play both men during the preliminary round, then try to go with the hot hand. It's a story with legs as Price and Luongo face each other once again in Roberto's hometown.
The outcome was positive for Vancouver the last time they visited the Bell Centre, though that was back in the happy days of December, 2011. Luongo and the Canucks out-dueled Price and the Habs 4-3 in a shootout—and Cody Hodgson scored the winning goal.
Who might have the grease on their stick tonight?
Player Movement
Tonight's game comes just three days after the Canucks and Canadiens swapped players on Monday. Both Raphael Diaz and Dale Weise will have early opportunities to show their old bosses why they shouldn't have been dealt.
The pre-Olympic trade deadline is now less than 24 hours away, at noon Pacific time on Friday. So far, crickets all around the league. Teams will be back in action for less than two weeks before the season-ending deadline comes along on March 5, so even if Vancouver would like to make some roster changes, the schedule and this year's tight salary cap situation still make it hard to get anything done in the short term.
Though he still can't let go of the fact that Pavel Bure walked out on the Canucks, then ultimately had his number retired by the team, Iain MacIntyre of the
Vancouver Sun has a very good column today which addresses Tortorella's criticism of his player personnel earlier in the week. MacIntyre says it's not indicative of a rift between Torts and Gillis, and reminds us once again that it's unlikely we'll see any big moves during the season: he thinks summer would be more likely.
Neither the league, this year’s artificially-suppressed salary cap nor the contracts of the Canucks’ core players are structured for a quick and massive overhaul. If substantive changes occur, they’re far more likely to be in the summer, measured and deliberate.
Click here for the whole story.
As the Canucks limp towards the Olympic break, their hold on eighth place in the Western Conference is becoming ever more tenuous. Phoenix and Dallas are now both one point behind Vancouver, with Winnipeg also just two points back. The Jets are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and play tonight. A win over Washington combined with a Canucks loss would vault Winnipeg into the eighth spot.
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