The Canucks hope to soar past the Jets this evening

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Canucks enter this evening’s action eight points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the general message in the room this morning was they are not out of it. Vancouver will have to leap over three teams to grab the final wild card spot, and Jake Virtanen says the push begins with a win tonight.

“We are trying to make the playoffs. Winning games is the most important and we are going to try and do that. We still have the belief in this locker room. Willie Desjardins comes in every day and tells us we have to come every day and prepare to win. We obviously want to win.”

The Canucks continue to deal with injuries. Alex Burrows will not play tonight, while Chris Tanev will be a game-time decision with a lower body injury. Tanev hopes to play and says their is some real momentum in the locker room.

“We have to win our games in hand and go from there. I think we have two games in hand on Minnesota and three games on Colorado. We have to win those before we talk about playoffs.”

The Canucks have had the Jets number in Vancouver dating back to when the team was the Atlanta Thrashers. Vancouver has won six straight against the Jets at Rogers Arena.

Jacob Markstrom gets the start in net for the Canucks as the team aims for a third straight win for the first time this season. He says he has been enjoying the increased workload.

“You always want to play. I am just trying to be ready whenever I get called upon and the coach tells me I am playing. Everyday is pretty much the same, even if I am not playing I try to be ready and you always have to be ready.”

The Canucks sent Brendan Gaunce to the AHL this morning while recalling Alex Grenier. Gaunce played in four games in his latest NHL stint, collecting no points. Grenier will be in the lineup for Vancouver tonight. It will be his fourth game in just four days.

It is the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Jets beat the Canucks 4-1 on November 18th.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. and you can watch the game on Sportsnet.

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