Vancouver Canucks @ Philadelphia Flyers

4:00 PM PST, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA.

TV: SNE, Radio: SN 650

The Vancouver Canucks roller coaster has been in full steam lately. A pair of strong outings against the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues sandwiched a loss to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

The Canucks still boast an average 9-8-2 record, but after a recent stretch of 3-5-2, it’s safe to say they’re not trending well.

Philadelphia boasts a plethora of top-end talent, and this may cause some problems against a depleted blue line. It’s evident that this is a team that misses Chris Tanev and Troy Stecher. With all due respect to the likes of Erik Gudbranson, Derrick Pouliot, and Alex Biega, they’re all playing over their heads.

With regards to the lineup, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen. Will Virtanen play (he should)? Will Gaunce dress? Who plays with the Twins? No one knows, and that’s been a trend so far this season under Travis Green.

They may have their work cut out for them against an OK, but talented Flyers club. Or they’ll dominate. No one really knows what to expect anymore.

The Opposition

The Flyers are an extremely top heavy team, with little offence the further you go down the roster.

Jakub Voracek has 25 points in 20 games, while Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux boast 22 apiece. The next highest scoring forward? Wayne Simmonds, with 12, then Valterri Filppula with ten.

The defence is contributing some offence, most notably Shayne Gostisbehere, who has put up 16 points in 17 contests. Ivan Provorov, a rising star on the blue line, also has nine.

Despite these issues, the Flyers have still managed to be a respectable 8-8-4 record, just one point behind the Canucks.

After being an issue for a number of seasons now, the Flyers are also getting some solid goaltending. Michal Neuvirth has an excellent .926 SV% through six contests, while Brian Elliott has a not-horrible .907.

The Canucks

The Triple-B line continues to be red-hot, with all three of Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat, and Sven Baertschi punching above a 60-point pace. It’s safe to say the three are a legitimate top line, and they’ve been exciting to watch.

The rest of the lineup hasn’t been as effective.

Thomas Vanek has maintained a solid pace, and Loui Eriksson has put up some points since his return from injury, but little else has impressed. The Sedins have failed to put up much in the way of consistent offence. Markus Granlund, of 19 goals last season, has just three. Derek Dorsett has (expectedly) slowed down after his seven goal start., and Sam Gagner continues to do a lot of.... Nothing.

Meanwhile, the blue line has an impressive... One goal, now that Chris Tanev is out of the lineup. Safe to say, this team, like the Flyers, needs to see more scoring outside of their big guns.

Should they fail to see any sort of improvement in supplementary scoring, it may be worth considering a call-up for either Nikolay Goldobin or Reid Boucher, who are both putting better than point-per-game numbers in the AHL.

They continue to get strong netminding, with Anders Nilsson and Jacob Markstrom posting a .929 and a .910 respectively.

Game Day Battle Hymn

The Canucks have been an exciting, if unpredictable team to follow thus far.

For each Washington Capitals domination or Pittsburgh Penguins win, there’s a loss to a depleted Anaheim Ducks squad, or the Golden Knights with a fourth-string goaltender.

It has been, by near definition, a roller coaster. Has it been fun? Yeah, for the most part. But it’s hardly been stable, and perhaps, after two years of nothingness (brought to you by Willie D.), that’s exactly what this fanbase needs.

Hang on, folks. It could get wild.