The Vancouver Canucks (4-1-2) shoot for a fifth consecutive victory when they host the surging Carolina Hurricanes (5-2) at Rogers Arena. After a team day off Sunday, the Canucks were back on the ice for a full team skate this morning.
What we saw
Morning skate #Canucks lines
Höglander. Pettersson. Garland.
DeBrusk. Miller. Boeser.
Heinen. Blueger. Sherwood.
Bains. Suter. Sprong.
Extras: Joshua, Åman
Hughes. Hronek.
Soucy. Myers.
Brännström. Desharnais.
Forbort. Juulsen.@Sportsnet650 pic.twitter.com/1e4oiUo5Wu
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) October 28, 2024
Kevin Lankinen makes his fifth straight start in goal and the Canucks will go with the same forward combinations that beat Pittsburgh 4-3 on Saturday. Rick Tocchet says he’s toying with the idea of one change on defence which would likely be Noah Juulsen in for Vincent Desharnais.
Derek Forbort was back on the ice with the group for the first time this morning since taking time off to mourn the passing of his father Keith. Dakota Joshua took part in his first full group session without a non-contact jersey. Tocchet says Joshua will not play Wednesday, but could make his season debut on the team’s upcoming road trip. The big winger will address the media at some point this week for the first time since his testicular cancer diagnosis.
The Canucks got one goal from each of their four forward lines in the second period on Saturday. Elias Pettersson, Kiefer Sherwood, JT Miller and Arshdeep Bains scored 5:52 seconds apart with the first three goals coming in a 65 second span to erase a 2-0 deficit.
Brock Boeser rides a five-game point streak into action tonight. He has two goals and three assists over that span. Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood both have four-game point streaks intact.
If the Canucks are victorious tonight, the five consecutive wins would match the longest win streak from last season (twice).
The opponent
The Hurricanes roar into town having won three straight and five of their last six. They outshot the Kraken 39-19 in a 4-1 win in Seattle on Saturday night. Carolina sits second in the NHL in average shots on goal per game (35.0) and is the league leader in fewest shots surrendered (25.7) on a nightly basis.
Martin Necas leads Carolina in scoring with nine points (3+6) while defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere has the team lead in goals with four. Three of them have come on the power play which tops all NHL blueliners in that category.
Fredrik Andersen has allowed six goals total on the season and two goals or fewer in all four of his starts including on Saturday in Seattle. He and Pyotr Kochetkov have alternated starts in the Carolina net this season and it appears Kochetkov will get the start tonight. This morning the Canes recalled former Canuck Spencer Martin from their AHL affiliate. He is expected to back-up tonight. That is the only line-up decision Rod Brind’Amour has had to make however as Carolina has used the same 18 skaters in all seven of its games so far this season.
Veteran Brent Burns is the second oldest player in the NHL only months younger than Ryan Suter. Both defencemen are 39. Burns still averages 21:10 of ice per night and tonight will appear in his 1423rd NHL regular season game. That is 36th all-time among NHL skaters and 11th all-time among defencemen.
The Canucks and Hurricanes will conclude their two-game season series in Raleigh, NC on January 10th. The Canucks took both meetings last season winning 4-3 at home and 3-2 on the road.
Tonight’s referees: Wes McCauley & Corey Syvret
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
What we heard
Rick Tocchet on knowing the Canucks need to be sharp against Carolina: “Yeah, you play Carolina, they play a fast game so turnovers you know it’s going right back at you. Limit your turnovers. They shoot a lot of pucks so that means you have to box out and you have to know where your man is. We call it bird watching. You can’t be looking at the puck the whole time. You have to know who your man is and you have to play a responsible game.
Teddy Blueger on success of his line lately: “We’re just playing hard. I think we’re on the same page as far as the way we want to play and possessing the puck in the offensive zone. Hino (Heinen) is a real smart guy with a good shot and Woody (Sherwood) is physical and brings a lot of energy, so I think just kind of complimenting each other well in different ways like that.”
Quinn Hughes on what he’s seen from Erik Brännström so far: “He’s been really good, making smart plays and being solid defensively. He hasn’t given anything up. I grew up watching him and playing against him and he was always a terrific player, so I can’t say I’m surprised. I think the longer this goes, the better he’ll play and the more comfortable he’ll feel.”
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