Saturday March 11 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators - 7 p.m. - CBC, TSN1040
Vancouver Canucks: 66 GP, 26-28-12, 64 pts, fifth in Pacific Division
Nashville Predators: 68 GP, 34-21-13, 81 pts, fourth in Central Division
Time to stop thinking about Nikita Tryamkin and put the focus back on the rest of the Vancouver Canucks, who get back on the ice after their overtime win against Arizona as the Nashville Predators visit Rogers Arena.
Henrik Sedin is expected back in the lineup. Here's a look at how the lines shook out at practice over the last couple of days:
I noticed that Jake Virtanen moved up to the top line with Daniel and Linden Vey during the second half of Wednesday's game against the Coyotes. Looks like he'll get a real chance with the twins tonight.
Considering all the drama that accompanied his stint at the World Junior Championship, Virtanen has been solid since re-joining the Canucks, and deserves this look. In 22 games, he's 5-3-8 and a plus-two on a team that is tied for the fifth-worst goal differential in the league at minus-30.
Though he has been known as a reckless forward with a banging style, Virtanen has emerged as an unexpected fancy-stats darling. As Jason Botchford points out in
this article in the
National Post, he leads the team in suppressing even-strength shot attempts by the opposition. Among Canucks with more than 10 games played, he also leads the team with an average of 2.4 hits per game—just ahead of Alex Biega at 2.3.
He hasn't been undisciplined, either, amassing just 23 penalty minutes in 41 games.
“Originally, how I saw it, is that management wanted me as a guy to come in and create energy and go out there and hit guys. They weren’t really worried about the points,” Virtanen told Botchford. “You get that in your head. ‘I just got to out there and hit guys.’
“But it’s the best of both worlds when you can do both.”
It should be fun to see what Virtanen can do tonight on the top line—and on a national Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Perhaps a little bit of redemption is in order?
Don't expect to see Nikita Tryamkin in the lineup tonight. While Willie Desjardins has been complimentary about what he has seen from the big Russian so far, he is also adamant that he wants to give him the best possible chance to be successful—and that will almost certainly mean more practice time with the team before he makes his NHL debut.
Tryamkin left good impressions while working with Dan Hamhuis on Friday.
As for the Predators, they've snapped out of their midseason funk and all-but-claimed the first Western Conference wild-card spot thanks to a 9-0-5 record in their last 14 games. They haven't lost in regulation since dropping a 5-3 decision to Washington back on February 9.
In net, Pekka Rinne is looking more like his usual self than he did during the first half of the season, but the big change has come on offense. Nashville is now tied with Florida for eighth in league scoring and had scored at least four goals in five straight games before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to Calgary on Wednesday.
Filip Forsberg has been particularly hot and is now up to 28 goals on the year—two better than last season with another month to go. James Neal is second on the team with 23.
As you might expect given how well they've been playing, Nashville comes into tonight's game as a reasonably healthy team. Forward Paul Gaustad is day-to-day, while utility forwards Gabriel Bourque and Eric Nystrom are on the injured list.
A couple of other quick notes before I wrap up today.
Jim Benning put on his scouting hat and headed down to the Pacific Coliseum to watch the Vancouver Giants drop a 5-2 decision to the Portland Winter Hawks on Friday night. Word is, he was there to see Ty Ronning.
Like his father Cliff, Ty Ronning is undersized at 5'9", but he is the Giants' leading scorer, with 31 goals. It'd be a great story if he was picked by the Canucks in June.
A couple of other quick prospect notes before I wrap up for today. All good!
• Brock Boeser tallied two assists as North Dakota opened up their NCHC playoff season with a 7-1 drubbing of Colorado College.
• Thatcher Demko made 36 saves as Boston College shut out Vermont by a score of 3-0.
And finally—big news out of Sweden. The Golden Helmet is the MVP award in the Swedish Hockey League.
Rodin's a 25-year-old who was drafted in the second round in 2009 and spent two years in the Canucks' farm system before returning to Sweden. Jim Benning has said that he'd like to get Rodin back to North America next season.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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