Canucks G Marstrom out for opener

There is no shortage of intriguing storylines involving the Canucks, but for today we’ll look at the match-up, the Canucks’ new faces, and fan’s expectations. Not a soul from management will be calling this a “rebuild” year. Dorsett, Prust, Bollig and Matt Stajan all earned game misconducts for a late-game scuffle, and the teams finished with 74 combined penalty minutes in a 5-1 Canucks win.

Vancouver opens the season on the road tonight with a match-up against Calgary in the Saddle Dome.

Bachman played most of last season with the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL, finishing with a 2.38 goals-against average and a. 918 save percentage in 23 games. You can bet Willie Desjardins and his crew haven’t forgotten about that series and what could have been.

So, ahead of the puck dropping on the 2015-16 season, let’s ponder a few questions that may get answered along the way.

Bo Horvat may have seized the second-line centre job that was originally earmarked for Sutter, but one could argue that Sutter is now playing as a sort of 1B pivot.

Two rookies cracked the opening night roster, Jared McCann centered the third line with Hansen and Burrows, and Ben Hutton was paired on defence with Luka Sbisa. The team will have to make a decision at the trade deadline though, as Vrbata is on the previous year of his contract.

Vancouver piled up 101 points last season, but lost to Calgary in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

He’d finish the night with a goal and an assist. The top line, of course.

McCann didn’t get an assist on Alex Burrows’ 4-1 goal, because Dennis Wideman tipped into his own net, but his play that led to the goal was, like a Cuba Libre, sublime. I’ll be surprised if they make the playoffs this coming season.

Calgary got off to a decent start on Wednesday, taking the play to the Canucks in the early going. To play in the Big Boy Division, the Canucks have to put on their big-boy trousers. Bartkowski appears on the Canucks lineup paired with Dan Hamhuis. The blue line factors in here, as well. Frank Corrado will hopefully be given more of a shot, and with Yannick Weber and potentially Jordan Subban at a few point, the defence looks like it will be able to produce at the same level as previous year at the very least.

Fast forward to when Vancouver was eliminated by Calgary in the first round of the playoffs and it was the Flames’ ability to “get in on the forecheck” (an oft-used phrase by Benning) that proved a deciding factor. Last season, Ramo went 15-9-3 with a. 912 save percentage and a GAA of 2.60.

Juri Hudler scored the only goal for the Flames and Ryan Miller stopped 25 of 26 shots.

The Flames will also trot out prized acquisitions Dougie Hamilton and Michael Frolik, acquired in the summer, and 18-year-old Sam Bennett, who’s now 19. No doubt the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks spent the previous 24 hours before their first game of the year in inpatient anticipation for the first puck drop.