Hunter Shinkaruk to make NHL debut as lineup shuffles up

It’s go time for Hunter Shinkaruk. A few days after being called up, and a day after Alex Burrows was confirmed to be heading on personal leave, it appears that the 21-year-old winger will be making his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens.

Shinkaruk has 10 goals and 3 assists with the Utica Comets this season, making him one of the AHL’s top goal scorers. Our friends at Daily Faceoff have Shinkaruk projected to play with Adam Cracknell and Derek Dorsett, though that’s subject to change.

Also of note, Brandon Sutter stays out of the lineup. His “bumps and bruises” lower-body injury is certainly taking its time to heal, as this is the third consecutive game that he’ll sit out.

In between the pipes, Jacob Markstrom will start. The 25-year-old missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury, but following a two-game conditioning stint with the Utica Comets, made his NHL season debut against Columbus. In that game, he stopped 42 of 45 shots in a(n increasingly rare) Canucks victory.

Ryan Miller, who will be backing him up, is 0-4-1 in his last five games, with his last victory coming on November 2nd. In that stretch, he’s had a 0.876 save percentage.

The Canucks drop the puck against the Habs at 4:30 PM at the Bell Centre.