HNIC: Canadiens @ Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks will be looking to get back on track after Thursday's 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.  Tonight, they will be entertaining east Canadian rival Montreal Canadiens.  Zack Kassian will draw back in to the Canucks lineup, while Alex Edler begins his three game suspension.  Montreal's Captain Brian Gionta will not be in the lineup for the Canadiens due to a personal family matter.

Between the pipes will be a Team Canada preview matchup.  British Columbia's own Carey Price will get the start for the Habs while Montreal's own Roberto Luongo will get the start for the Canucks.

This game can be seen on CBC or RDS at 10 PM ET/7 PT.

Here are the projected lineups:

Canadiens (the bad guys):

Forwards:
Rene Bourque - Tomas Plekanec - Max Pacioretty
Alex Galchenyuk - Lars Eller - Brendan Gallagher
Travis Moen - David Desharnais - Danny Briere
Michael Bournival - Ryan White - Brandon Prust

Defensemen:
Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban
Andrei Markov - Raphael Diaz
Jarred Tinordi - Francis Bouillon

Goaltenders:
Carey Price (starter)
Peter Budaj

Canucks (the good guys):

Forwards:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Mike Santorelli
Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Jannik Hansen
David Booth - Brad Richardson - Zack Kassian
Tom Sestito - Zac Dalpe - Dale Weise

Defensemen:
Jason Garrison - Kevin Bieksa
Dan Hamhuis - Christopher Tanev
Ryan Stanton - Yannick Weber

Goaltenders:
Roberto Luongo (starter)
Eddie Lack

Things to watch for - Canadiens:

Brendan Gallagher - the former Vancouver Giant returns back to Rogers Arena.  He has a very small frame with a huge nose to the net.  He packs a lot of heart and intangibles for the Canadiens lineup.  I am sure Canucks fans would love to see him possibly one day wear the blue and green.

Alex Galchenyuk - one of the hottest scorers in the NHL right now.  The third overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft has 7 points in 4 games.  This kid has a tremendous future and is a deceivingly quick skater.  He could give the Canucks defense fits tonight.

P.K. Subban - the last Norris Trophy winner.  I like the way he plays.  He plays with an edge and plays until the very last whistle.  I hope this kind of play can reflect on his younger brother Jordan who the Canucks drafted back at the 2013 NHL Draft.

Things to watch for - Canucks:

Mike Santorelli - the glimmer of hope from the Canucks recent struggles.  He scored the lone Canucks goal against the Sharks and the game winning overtime against the Devils.  He has been called for top line duty once again.  He played over 23 minutes of ice time against the Sharks - we will see if Torts continues to rely on him for that load.

Zack Kassian - the Canucks will welcome him back to the lineup after he was serving an 8 game suspension.  He has been questioned about his conditioning by the coaching staff in recent memory, but they say he has improved in that department.  I hope he can bring his physical side in his return against a Habs team who does not play very physical.

Yannick Weber - after playing on the 4th line because of forward shortage, he will play against his former club on the Canucks blueline because of Alex Edler's suspension.  The Swiss defensemen will be paired with Canucks newcomer Ryan Stanton on the bottom pairing.  It will be interesting to see how many minutes John Tortorella will give this pairing since they have no experience together.

Prediction:
3-2 Canucks Win (Santorelli GWG)

Until next time, stay classy! -George