Canucks @ Blues Pre Game

Canucks @ Blues SNET-VAN, TEAM 1040, 5:00PM PST

Lots to talk about today as the Canucks head into St. Louis for a game tonight.

Let's start with players that are streaking. Coming into tonights game we have some players we know can get hot who are red hot. Burrows and Samuelsson are both riding eight and six game point streaks respectively. Starting with Burrows, in his eight game streak, he's been driving the net every game getting some goals from the front of the net. It's great to see he recognized what Kesler was doing and is using it to his advantage. He looks good doing it and should keep it up for more success. Burrows is slightly banged up tonight after blocking that shot last game but I expect him to play tonight.  His x-ray was negative, however the team wants to be cautious and are having a CT scan today just in case. He will be a game time decision but if it's just swelling and pain, expect him in the lineup. Samuelsson has been getting some point time on the PP and the goals are going in. He's clearly got his confidence going and it's great to see. Last season in the playoffs Samuelsson got his game going and it would be great to see him carry this level of play into the playoffs this season. He is making a pretty good 1-2 shooting punch with Kesler on the second line right now.

Another player who is streaking is Roberto Luongo. He is seriously bringing back memories of Luongo of old lately and it's been really fun to watch. When he's in goal now I am back to expecting big saves from him in crucial situations. He's really limited the bad goals he was letting in at the start of the year and it's been very impressive to watch. He's really been lights out lately and it must be scary for other teams to be starring him down again.

Time to talk about the patch work defense we've got going on. Welcome back Sami Salo, we are glad you are back. He played pretty good in his first game and I'd expect to see his minute increase every game. He's typically a big minute guy and can play any roll. If we get everyone back for the playoffs AV and his coaching staff will have a plethora of Dmen to choose from in any situation. I am really excited about the depth guys who have been stepping up especially Chris Tanev. Tanev is clearly a very calm guy on the back end and if he doesn't let his early success go to his head I can see him being #7 next season with the big club. He obviously needs to keep putting in hard work but he is turning out to be a great find by MG. Alberts and Rome need to keep playing steady as they are currently being counted on in big situations. They are playing great and it's good to see. Next season Alberts will more than likely not being a Canuck but if he keeps up his big physical play he could be looking at a nice little raise for next season. Ehrhoff and Bieksa need to keep leading the defense right now but they are really playing good and it's good to see.

Lots of talk about how Grabner "got away". Let's be honest for a second. If he didn't get traded away he would have been in a battle for roster spot in the pre season. Everyone knows how he played this year in the preseason. This would have landed him with the Moose battling a lot of good offensive guys for a shot with the big club. If he made it up to the Canucks who knows if he would have got a chance to play an offensive roll. There's also the fact he's playing for a team who has zero pressure on them at all. They are basement dwellers in the NHL and are playing for fun. He's loose relaxed and playing great. Awesome to see but I highly doubt we would have seen it in a Canucks uniform. I'm more than happy for him as I did like his explosiveness with out team. The truth is we had to give up someone good to get someone good. Strong depth on defense was clearly something the front office wanted to focus on and they used Grabner as trade bait to get Ballard. Looking at the injuries we have suffered this year it is really good to see that we have the depth we do. The better question is, what was Florida thinking.

The Blues are a tough team to play against and were the last team to beat Luongo in regulation. They've been slumping lately and are starting to fall slightly out of the playoff race. Tonight would go a long way in building up their confidence if they could beat the number one team in the NHL and I expect them to come out with some fire in front of their home crowd. The Canucks will have to be sharp early and a quick goal would go a long way in quieting the arena. They will need a good team performance to beat the Blues tonight and a good road game.

I'll only catch the first period tonight, working at the Elton John concert in Victoria. Really looking forward to that tonight.

Should be a good game and I will record it to watch it tomorrow.

follow the twitter @bmah03 to find out when the post game is posted.

Comment below.
Enjoy the Game.
GO CANUCKS GO!