Thursday February 8 - Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning - 4:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 53 GP, 21-26-6, 48 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
Tampa Bay Lightning: 53 GP, 36-14-3, 75 pts, first in Atlantic Division
The Vancouver Canucks will see some changes in their lineup when they take to the ice at Amalie Arena for their rematch with the hungry Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Let's start in net, where Anders Nilsson will get the call for the first time in nearly three weeks. With the Canucks on a back-to-back that will also see them play the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, I figured he'd get into one of these two games.
Does Travis Green start him tonight in an effort to shake things up after Jacob Markstrom's first-shot/first-goal incident against the Lightning last Saturday? Maybe Green's also thinking that Markstrom gives his team a better chance to win on Friday against a lesser opponent in Carolina?
If you look at the recent sample size, Nilsson's record is solid. He has played just once in eight games since the end of the bye week, making 35 saves against the dynamic Winnipeg Jets in a 1-0 road loss in a tough building back on January 21.
Winnipeg is currently 20-3-2 on home ice this year—the best home record in the league. The Lightning aren't far behind, at 17-5-1.
Nilsson is saying all the right things about getting the start.
On Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman mentioned in his
31 Thoughts that the Canucks are looking at trying to move Nilsson at the trade deadline. A couple of good starts over the next 10 days could help draw interest, though he wouldn't be seen as valuable enough for a team like the Islanders with real goaltending issues. He has never played in an NHL playoff game.
Earlier this week, Nilsson told Jason Botchford that he does want to stay in Vancouver.
At some point, though, something's gotta give. Both Nilsson and Jacob Markstrom are signed for next season, but Thatcher Demko's getting closer and closer to making his NHL debut. If he doesn't get called up this season, he'll be right there by next fall.
It makes sense for the Canucks to move Nilsson if they can, especially if they can get an asset back in return.
We'll also see two changes at forward tonight—both due to injuries.
After leaving practice on Wednesday, Sam Gagner revealed that he suffered a sprained ankle against the Panthers.
Gagner and Brendan Gaunce are both headed back to Vancouver for treatment.
Gaunce left the rink in Tampa in a walking boot this morning.
For tonight, that means Nic Dowd draws back in on the fourth line. Reid Boucher has also been recalled from Utica and will play. Boucher's pointless in three games with the Canucks this season but caught fire after he was sent back down to Utica in January. In 13 games, he had nine goals and seven assists, earned an All-Star spot and was named AHL Player of the Month for January.
FYI, since he was returned to Utica in mid-January, Nikolay Goldobin has a goal and eight assists in nine games. Decent, but not quite up to Boucher's torrid pace.
The Canucks also announced on Wednesday that they've signed last year's Comets MVP, Darren Archibald, to an NHL contract. He has officially been recalled but there is some immigration paperwork to process. He'll join the team in Carolina on Friday, which happens to be his 28th birthday.
This makes me happy. I was advocating for an Archibald call-up last season, when he broke out to lead the Comets with 23 goals and 47 points. This year, he has had some injury issues, so he has seven goals and 16 points in 25 AHL games.
Undrafted out of the OHL, Archibald signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks as a free agent back in 2010, then re-upped for two more seasons on one-year, two-way deals. He played 16 games with Vancouver under John Tortorella during the 2013-14 season, collecting a goal and two assists, but has spent the last three years on minor-league deals.
Archibald made a strong impression at training camp this year but his lack of of an NHL contract made him a victim of the numbers game as one of the final cuts at forward.
Now, with Derek Dorsett's career at its end, Archibald's a good fit to help provide the grit factor that has often been missing from the Canucks' playing style.
Having coached Archibald in Utica, Travis Green knows exactly what he's getting here. If Archibald can duplicate his preseason performance when he gets into game action, he could be a great story during these dog days of the season.
As for the Lightning, expect them to be hungry tonight. They're coming into the game after finishing off last week's Western Canadian road trip with a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. Their position as the NHL's top dogs is also in jeopardy. They're still first in the overall NHL standings but hold just a one-point edge not only over Vegas but also over their own division rivals, the surging Boston Bruins, who also hold a game in hand.
With Ondrej Palat still out with an injury, the Lightning have recalled 22-year-old Adam Erne from Syracuse. The second-round draft pick from 2015 played 26 games with Tampa Bay last season, picking up three goals, and is expected to make his season debut tonight.
Once again, Andrei Vasilevskiy gets the nod in net.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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