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And down on the farm, the Utica Comets have suddenly sparked to life winning 5 in a row.

Thatcher Demko - our goalie of the future - was being the superstar it's hoped he'll be. Jake Virtanen looks like he may have finally fixed the clinker in his thinker and remembered he's a hockey player. Who wouldn't want a player like him when he's playing like one. The big power forward who can speed up and down the wing crashing and bashing to put the puck in the net?

Even Cole Cassels - the guy who stifled McDavid in the run to the 2015 memorial cup, but disappeared at the AHL level is starting to spark, they say.

And Joe Labate - we've seen him up here - just keeps improving and he wasn't that bad in pre-season. Good even. He's my hopeful pick for the next Alex Burrows. Grit.

Utica will be dangerous next year, I'll wager, when all the new talent we have in Juniors, the NCAA, and Europe start moving up or over.

   

Canucks needs to do a serious rebuild. This draft might not be as good as the last 2 years but if they have another bad season next year then there might be a better crop of players. Patrick and Hischier seem decent but don't think they could be compared to Laine/Matthews and McDavid/Eichel. If they let some of their younger players play more, learn more then they'll become valuable assets in the near future.

   

That's the rap for this year's draft anyway. Isn't it? Some say it's soft.

On the other hand, I've heard Benning say it's better than people think.

Benning's shown a gift for seeing talent other people miss, so I'll ride with him. I think Columbus will be coughing up the second this year we're supposed to get for them talking to Torts , and we could get an extra first from San Jose. All we have to do is hope San Jose wins the cup.

And there's other stuff than the draft cooking in the background.

In general, I'm optimistic about this rebuild/transition myself. We fans might have to tolerate a little pain for a few years before the talent we have coming up now or futures Jim can snag will develop though.

   

CANADIENS (37-21-8) at CANUCKS (28-30-7)

Vancouver Canucks forward Loui Eriksson will miss 1-2 weeks after injuring his knee in a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. Forward Nikolay Goldobin, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a trade for forward Jannik Hansen on Feb. 28, will take Eriksson's spot on the second line with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. Goldobin scored in his Canucks debut Saturday, a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings, but Desjardins was wary of putting too much pressure on the 21-year-old. "It's a tough spot, you guys are expecting a lot from him," coach Willie Desjardins said. "We're pushing him up the lineup quite a bit and that's hard. People have to know it's going to take him time but he has the talent to be a good player." Goldobin played 5:51 against Los Angeles but had 12:41 of ice time after Eriksson was injured. He also will get some power-play time on the power play. Vancouver is six points behind the St. Louis Blues (69) for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. "You'd love to play the young players if they earn the ice time," Desjardins said. "But at the same time were six out and the boys in that room still want to make the playoffs."

Puck drop at 7:00pm PT

   

I'm curious about who is going to start in goal tonight...

   

Since they played the #2 backup goalie Richard Bachman in Sunday's 2-1 win over Anaheim, I'm pretty sure they will have Ryan Miller back between the pipes tonight against the Canadiens. That game was Bachman's first start in 16 months, he hadn't played for the Canucks since Oct 30, 2015.

   

That's what I was thinking too although Bachman played very well against Anaheim.

   

Nice one. Chaput tip-in. 1-1.

6 minutes to go now. Getting tense.

   

The guys played a great game tonight, they just couldn't get the breaks they needed. Out shot 38-28, they managed to tie the score 1-1 with Chaput's 4th goal of the season at 12:49 of the 3rd period. Paul Byron scored the winner at 1:13 in OT to give the Habs at 2-1 victory. Their next game in this 5 game home stand is Thursday when they host the NY Islanders.

   

Crappy lucky bounce in OT. Too bad. The guys did great tonight considering how much better the Canadiens are doing this year. A point is a point though.

   

Right wing Nikolay Goldobin won't play because of the flu, leaving the Vancouver Canucks with 11 healthy forwards against the Islanders. Vancouver will dress seven defensemen, with Alex Biega expected to play forward on the fourth line. Defenseman Nikita Tryamkin also is expected to return after missing six games with the mumps. Vancouver is seven points behind St. Louis for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. The Canucks are 2-0-1 in their past three games after losing the previous four but couldn't get an extra point in a 2-1 overtime loss against the Montreal Canadiens to start a five-game homestand on Tuesday. "We know we need points to even have a slight chance of making it," captain Henrik Sedin said. Vancouver traded veteran forwards Jannik Hansen and Alexandre Burrows before the March 1 NHL Trade Deadline for a prospect, a draft pick and Goldobin, who scored in his Canucks debut on Saturday. "It would be easy for them to get deflated and they've never done that," coach Willie Desjardins said. "The positive is our attitude. The room still competes hard, they come out and believe they can find a way to win, even when they are down they think they can come back."

Puck drop at 7:00pm PT

   

The Canucks tie the score in the 3rd period again tonight, this time with only 20 seconds left, Troy Stecher scores with an empty net to make it 3-3....

   

And go down to the Islanders 4-3 at 1:33 into OT. Saturday has Pittsburgh in town.

   

This guy says there's a drinking problem on the team.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2017/03/09/t ... ng-culture

   

Damn! I thought they'd come back in OT but... oh well.

   

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