Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks will take on the Calgary Flames as the Canucks kick off their final homestand of the year. Tonight is the first of five remaining home games for the Canucks.
It’s also Pride Night and we’ll have extensive coverage of the night as a whole in this evening’s edition of The Stanchies, which will be written by Cody Severtson.
But for now, let’s get into what went down at morning skate!
What we saw
Here’s how the Canucks appear as though they’ll line up tonight.
- Aidan McDonough will play the second game of his NHL career tonight after making his debut in Chicago last weekend.
- McDonough’s best friend since first grade Jack Rathbone was also called up under emergency conditions after the club decided to shut down Filip Hronek for the season. Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed both McDonough and Rathbone will be in the lineup tonight.
- Vitali Kravtsov is out of the lineup tonight, with Jack Studnicka slotting back in.
- Dakota Joshua gets another shot alongside Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko on the top line. Joshua looked good in that role on Tuesday night.
- Thatcher Demko was the first goaltender off the ice, and he’s your projected starter tonight.
SCENES FROM MORNING SKATE PRESENTED BY BETWAY
What was said
Elias Pettersson spoke about his club continuing to finish the season strong, and facing a good Calgary Flames team that’s chasing down a playoff spot.
“We want to finish the season off good,” said Pettersson. “We’ve been playing good lately. Last game was not the best but I think lately has been good so we want to keep that going.
“It’s Calgary. It’s always tough games against them. We’re aware where they are in the standings, so we’re gonna bring our best effort and see where it takes us.”
Aidan McDonough shared his excitement about getting back into the lineup, and what he learned in that first game.
“A lot of things,” said McDonough. “You know, guys close on you a lot quicker. Guys defend a lot harder and faster. I think I’ve just been learning every day. It’s been a lot but I think, you know, hoping to kind of build off of what I did the other night in Chicago. It’s my first time playing a game here in front of the fans, so I’m really excited and looking forward to it.”
Rick Tocchet talked about the opportunity for the organization’s depth defencemen to have an audition period with Filip Hronek shut down for the season.
“Well, it’s a good thing in the sense that our depth of the organization is being challenged. Wolanin comes up, Juulsen comes up, you know, Brisebois comes up, now Rathbone. Maybe a couple other guys will get in here in the next couple of weeks. It’s a good evaluation for the organizational depth of defenceman.
Tocchet also told reporters that Andrei Kuzmenko isn’t going to be wearing the club’s pride jerseys, which Tocchet called a family decision.
Puck drop between the Canucks and Flames is scheduled for 7 PM!
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