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Vancouver, BC – Last summer the Vancouver Canucks used the slogan ‘change is coming’ to usher in a new era of management and coaching. And now, with their backs to the playoff wall heading into Thursday’s possible elimination game against Calgary, change is indeed upon them. 

Sven Baertschi, acquired by the Canucks at the trade deadline from the Flames, will be inserted into the lineup for Game 5 and will skate on the left side on a line with Nick Bonino and Radim Vrbata. while Shawn Matthias moves to the middle to centre Chris Higgins and Brandon McMillan. That leaves Jannik Hansen to play right wing with the Sedins and Derek Dorsett moving on to a line with Bo Horvat and Ronalds Kenins.

The team practiced for about 45 minutes on Wednesday at Rogers Arena where they will try to extend this series tomorrow and force it back to Calgary.

The Canucks need to find a way to generate some offence and it has to come Thursday night. Through the first four games of the series, the Canucks have managed just eight goals and one of those was into an empty net. In their three losses to the Flames, the Canucks have scored a grand total of four goals.

Willie Desjardins also provided an update on Alex Burrows who was taken to hospital in Calgary during the morning skate on Tuesday. Burrows has been released from hospital, but has not yet returned to Vancouver. The coach revealed that Burrows will miss the remainder of the series.

*Without Burrows and Brad Richardson, the Canucks penalty kill took a huge hit on Tuesday night with the Flames scoring on each of their first two power plays before the game was 10 minutes old. Richardson usually starts the PK for the Canucks and Burrows has been a tireless worker while short-handed all season. With those two sidelined, the Canucks needed to stay out of the penalty box. But early calls on Ronalds Kenins and Nick Bonino put the Canucks to the test and they weren’t able to kill off either minor. In the regular season, the Canucks were second in the NHL with a penalty kill percentage of 85.7. Through four games in this series, the Canucks’ PK is last among all teams in the playoffs at 63.6% (7-11).

*The Canucks employed a ‘shot-block-at-all-costs’ system just a year ago. If ever there was a group of players that should be able to figure out a way to penetrate the fortress the Flames have built in front of Jonas Hiller, the Canucks are it; except that they haven’t been it. Calgary blocked 29 shots on Tuesday night after blocking 30 in Game 3. Far too many Canucks shot attempts are dying in the shin pads of Flames players willing to throw themselves in harm’s way. In the series, Calgary has blocked a total of 94 Canuck shot attempts, led by Kris Russell with 19, Deryk Engelland with 18 and TJ Brodie with 13. Chris Tanev is the best of the Canucks shot-blockers so far, stepping in front of a dozen Calgary shot attempts to this point in this series. No one else has more than eight,

*Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The best defenceman in this series does not play for the Vancouver. This is the 43rd playoff series the Canucks have been involved in all-time and it’s hard to imagine the Canucks have had the best blueliner in more than a handful of those. This time around, Kris Russell is that guy. Russell leads the series in points (2+2=4), is second in ice-time (26:37) and seems to be getting stronger as the series progresses. It was no secret heading into the playoffs that offensive contributions from the defence were a huge part of the Flames success all season, and the Canucks have not been able to thwart that. Russell has four points, while Dennis Wideman and TJ Brodie have three points apiece. The three d-men are all in the Flames top five scorers in this series.

*This series has not been a dazzling coming-out party for Shawn Matthias. Prior to the opening game, the big winger expressed his excitement about getting his first chance to take part in an all-Canadian playoff matchup in his second appearance in the chase for the Stanley Cup. However, he hasn’t been able to carry that excitement with him out on to the ice. Matthias’ first period goal in Game 3 is his only point of the series. Despite being promoted to a top-six role with Nick Bonino and Radim Vrbata for the first two periods on Wednesday night, Matthias failed to register a shot on goal and was credited with just a single shot attempt in close to 12 minutes of ice time. In the series, Matthias has just one point, four shots on goal, one blocked shot and has recorded seven hits; that’s not enough. But Game 5 provides another opportunity for Matthias to leave his mark..

*Dan Hamhuis didn’t like the line of questioning last week regarding the Canucks’ recent playoff history. But the core group that has been here throughout can’t escape it. The Canucks are now 2-13 in their last 15 playoff games, and going back to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final have been outscored 60-32 in their past 20 post-season games. Chew on those numbers for a moment. The Canucks, as a team, have scored eight goals in each of their last four playoff series (eight vs BOS in 2011, eight vs LAK in 2012, eight vs SJS in 2013 and eight so far through four games against Calgary). And while Hamhuis is correct that many of the faces have changed over those years, the core remains the same. And so does a beleaguered fan base that has clearly grown tired of watching the same storylines unfold in three of the past four springs.