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Vancouver Canucks Game Day: March 9 vs. Arizona Coyotes, Tryamkin En Route
March 9, 2016, 2:22 PM ET [336 Comments]
Carol Schram
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Wednesday March 9 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Arizona Coyotes - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN1040

Vancouver Canucks: 65 GP, 25-28-12, 62 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
Arizona Coyotes: 66 GP, 28-32-6, 62 pts, fifth in Pacific Division

It's a fight to the death for fifth place in the draft order as the Vancouver Canucks kick off a four-game homestand against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

Currently tied at 62 points, the Coyotes and Canucks were both passed in the standings by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Assuming an outright loss, the loser of tonight's game will be all alone in 26th place in the NHL standings, while the winner could climb as high as 23rd. An overtime loss would move the losing team into a tie with the idle Buffalo Sabres at 63 points.

The Canucks held an optional practice when they got back into town on Tuesday, where coach Willie shared the latest injury updates.




Today, the action kicks of at Rogers Arena with a P.R. moment, as the team announces that the Canucks for Kids Fund is donating $1 million to B.C. Childrens' Hospital.




Injured players Henrik Sedin, Alex Edler and Brandon Sutter were all on hand for the announcement.




Word is that Sutter is skating.




After having played just 20 games this season, it'd be nice to get Sutter back on the ice before the end of the year, even if it is for some mean-nothing games. Hopefully Dan Hamhuis was able to offer some advice on how to keep his strength up while dealing with his broken jaw!

Sutter was injured on February 9, so he has now been out for exactly a month. The season ends one month from today, on April 9.

Of course, the other big player personnel move of the day yesterday was the Canucks' announcement that Nikita Tryamkin has indeed been signed to a contract.




Word is that the big man is on his way—and it might not be too long until we see him on the ice.




Tryamkin's contract is a two-year deal, so that covers the last month of this season and the 2016-17 campaign, after which he'll be a restricted free agent.




Here's how that "out clause" works, that we've been hearing about:




The Canucks have never had a player who looks like this in their lineup before. Heck, who looks like this, other than Zdeno Chara?

Chara, for the record, is listed at 6'9" and 250 pounds while the NHL's other defensive behemoth, Dustin Byfuglien, is 6'5" and 260.

Tryamkin is coming into a great situation to make his NHL debut, with no pressure beyond worrying about his own performance. After last Monday's morning skate in L.A., Ben Kuzma of The Province spoke with Radim Vrbata, who suggested that "because the Canucks probably won’t make the playoffs, young players can “play free" and “try their best” and “stuff you wouldn’t normally try if you were going for a playoff spot.”"

For the most part, the young players have been fun to watch since the playoff dream disintegrated. The scenario will be the same for Tryamkin.

If the Benning regime hits a home run with the franchise's first Russian-born player drafted in nearly a decade, that'd go a long way to relieving some of the heat that he has been facing.

The Canucks held yet another Town Hall meeting for their season-ticket holders on Tuesday night, where they announced the Tryamkin signing as well as dealing with the usual questions from their most important customers.




In his 30 Thoughts column from Tuesday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggested that maybe part of the Canucks' P.R. problem is that they give *too* much of a voice to their fans.

If the Canucks lead the league in something, it’s fan forums. There was one last summer, there was one the day Chris Higgins was sent down and there was one last week. There’s another on Tuesday. That is too much. By all means, have a couple of them. Answer questions, explain reasoning, kiss babies. But, every time I read the transcripts, they come across as tense and difficult. It’s not the way an organization should be run, because it poisons the relationship and creates doubt. At some point, you have to stand up and say, “We love your support, we can’t be who we are without it, but we can’t be explaining ourselves every other week.”


I wonder if the communication model will change going forward?

As far as tonight's game goes, the Canucks will ice the same lineup up front that got pasted by the Kings on Monday. One big difference, though:




Markstrom's presence will mean a tougher road to that high draft pick, but I'm still glad he's playing tonight. I feel more confident about the team when he's in net.

As for the Coyotes, their big news of the day involves the player they acquired as part of the John Scott deal back in January. Jarred Tinordi was suspended for 20 games today after failing a drug test.




Tinordi has been in and out of the lineup since being acquired by the Coyotes—pointless in seven games. He played most recently on March 3 against Anaheim.

Much more significantly, Arizona's top defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is also questionable for tonight's contest. He left Arizona's game against Colorado on Monday with a shoulder problem and is said to be day-to-day. Defenseman Zybnek Michalek missed his team's last game with an injury but is expected to play tonight, and Kyle Chipchura will be back with the Coyotes after missing a brief spell to be with his wife when she gave birth to their child.

Expect to see Louis Domingue in goal once again. The rookie was outstanding last time the Coyotes came to town, backstopping his team to a 3-2 win back on January 4.

With that, you're up to date. Enjoy the game!
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