The Vancouver Canucks play in the final game of their four-game road trip tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s been a successful trip for Vancouver, stacking wins against the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers while dropping their match against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Canucks are starting to catch a little heat here, winning two straight games while outscoring their opponents 5-2. Freshly signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen has been a brick wall in net, winning two straight games, stopping 52 of 54 shots for a collective .963 save percentage and 0.97 goals against average. The Blackhawks have a streak of winning one game and losing the next. Their most recent loss came against the Buffalo Sabres, where they heavily outplayed their opponents, outshooting them 37-22, but couldn’t overcome a poor Arvid Soderblom .857 save percentage performance.

The last time these two met, the Canucks walked away with a 4-2 victory in the United Centre. It was Conor Garland and his running mate Dakota Joshua who did most of the damage for the Canucks, Garland scoring the first two goals of the game, with Joshua assisting on both, and potting the insurance marker later in the third period.

The Canucks are tied for 23rd in goals for (2.8), tied for 24th in goals against (2.8), 19th in shots on goal per game (28.4), and 26th in shots on goal allowed per game (27.6). The Blackhawks are 27th in goals for (2.5), tied for 19th in goals against (3), 21st in shots on goal per game (28), and tied for 19th in shots on goal allowed per game (28.5).

Since 2020, the Canucks have dominated the Blackhawks, winning seven straight and 10 of their last 11 head-to-head matches.

Check out Daily Faceoff for lineups and starting goaltenders for the Canucks and Blackhawks.

The Canucks are starting to find their groove after a slow start to the season, but they might have to continue on the streak without last year’s leading scorer, JT Miller. On the opening faceoff against the Philadelphia Flyers, Miller left the faceoff dot grimacing and headed straight to the locker room. He would return but would only take one faceoff for the remainder of the game.

The Canucks did a great job of limiting shots against a high-volume team in the Flyers, outshooting them 31-21. After holding a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame, Vancouver did a great job of clamping down and minimizing the chances by the Flyers, only allowing four shots on goal during Philadelphia’s comeback attempt in the third period. Lankinen stood on his head, finishing with a 1.92 goals saved above expected.

Defenceman Erik Brännström has been a breath of fresh air on the backend, holding his own defensively while providing solid puck-moving ability on the bottom pairing. The Canucks are in a good spot to carry over their winning streak.

On opening night against the Utah Hockey Club, the Blackhawks didn’t look too bad. The second line of Taylor Hall, Phillip Kurashev, and Tyler Bertuzzi kept generating scoring chances; it was surprising they didn’t find the back of the net. However, there’s a change coming to that line, as Kurashev — who had 54 points on a poor Blackhawks team last season — will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game.

The Blackhawks won’t be as easy of an out as they were last season. They’ve managed to beat the Edmonton Oilers, and in a convincing 5-2 fashion in game three of their season. They held the lead against the Winnipeg Jets up until the final minute of the game and let it slip through their fingers in the extra frame.

Petr Mrazek gets the nod in net tonight, and he’s been the better goaltender by far. He’s boasting a 2.53 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. If the Blackhawks can get to Lankinen, this game might be closer than anticipated.

As we highlighted earlier, Garland loves playing the Blackhawks. He finished as a point per game against them last season with three points in three games. To start this season, Garland has points in four of five games and has really been the Canucks’ best forward to this point of the season. Not just that, but Garland and Nils Höglander were bumped up to the first line with Elias Pettersson and the top power play unit. Given his history, recent performance, and lineup elevation, Garland is poised to continue on his hot start.

Now this one isn’t going to be very well received, given he’s really not been shooting much, but this is a great matchup for Pettersson. The Blackhawks are allowing the second most shots on goal to centremen this season, averaging 13 shots against to the position per game. And if Miller is out, Pettersson will need to carry the load even more, in what projects to be a favourable matchup.