Quick Canucks/Avalanche Preview

- Brandon Reid was sent back down to Manitoba, meaning Marc Chouinard or even Tommi Santala are probably back in.
- From what I saw in last night's game against the Avs and Flames, the Avs looked inexperienced, not-so-sound defensively, and have (no big secret) goaltending issues. But don't tell Jose Theodore that. He is 3-0-0 with a 1.51 GAA against Vancouver this season. (Canucks.com)
- The Canucks have a few Avalanche streaks to stop immediately: Paul Stastny has 5 goals and 4 assists in his past 7 games. Burnaby Joe Sakic, the Canuck killer, has 5 goals and 9 assists in his last 7 games. Milan Hejduk (pronounced hedge-duck) has 5 goals and 5 assists in his last 6 games. (TSN)- The Canucks have already played Colorado 4 times this season, winning only once: their last game against them on December 2nd (2-1 win). But they did not deserve to win that one. They were outshot 41-26, and Luongo played like..well, Luongod, breaking his slump against the Avs.
In fact, in the 4 games they've played against eachother, the Avs have outshot the Canucks 152-102 and outscored them 12-6. One of the biggest problems, if not the biggest problem, is the Canucks' ability to contain Colorado's speed. They just have not been able to do that all that much this season. On a really bad night against the Avs, the Canucks cannot keep up to the Avs' speed and work ethic, take too many penalties, and get buried because of it. Hopefully that is not the case tonight.
-Four more games against the Avs this year. It is time to establish dominance over them if the Canucks plan on winning the Northwest at all. These games against rivals and teams lower in the standings are must-wins.
-I wish that Reid and Moran were still in the lineup rather than Chouinard and Bulis. The Moran-Reid-Naslund line's speed would have looked good against Colorado tonight.
-My prediction? A 4-3 win by the Avalanche. Numbers don't lie...heheh. Hope I'm wrong!

Consider this an open thread! If you come by during the game, leave a comment(s). It should be a good game.

Game Time: 7:00 PM pst on Roger's Sportsnet.