The Vancouver Canucks (5-2-3) continue their California road trip when they visit the Anaheim Ducks (4-5-2) at Honda Center. 
The Canucks are coming off a dramatic 3-2 victory in San Jose on Saturday night in which they scored the winner with just 26 seconds remaining.

What we saw

Aaty Räty was recalled from AHL Abbotsford this morning and will be plugged into the line-up. The 21-year-old Finn had an assist in the three NHL games to start this season before being sent to the minors. He also won 60.9% of the face-offs he took. Räty will centre the fourth line tonight with Nils Höglander and Daniel Sprong. He spent all of training camp and much of the preseason playing with Höglander.
Pius Suter is holding the hot hand, scoring twice on Saturday and three goals in his last three games. Suter will start tonight on left wing with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland. With four goals on the season, Suter is tied with JT Miller – one off the team lead held by Brock Boeser.
Kevin Lankinen will make his second straight start after stopping 21 shots in San Jose. Lankinen has gained at least a point in the standings in each of his seven starts this season (5-0-2). Lankinen has won both of his career starts against the Ducks.
It is Hockey Fights Cancer night in Anaheim which would have been an incredible time for Dakota Joshua to make his season debut after his testicular cancer diagnosis in early September. However, the big winger remains on the injured list and will not play tonight. He is, however, a distinct option for Thursday in Los Angeles.
Jake DeBrusk has to hope the floodgates will open after scoring his first goal as a Canuck in the third period on Saturday in San Jose. DeBrusk went the first eight games without a goal in Boston last season before scoring. However, he then went seven more games before scoring again.
The Canucks are 0 of their last 12 on the power play over the past four games. On the season, they are 5 for 31 (16.1%). They’ve also surrendered a pair of short-handed goals.
Both JT Miller and Elias Pettersson have feasted on the Ducks in recent seasons. Miller has eight goals and 24 points in 22 career games against Anaheim while Pettersson has six goals and 13 points in 17 career games versus the Ducks.
Thatcher Demko joined at the end of this morning’s skate and took shots from teammates. That’s another step in the progression to participating in a full practice as he works his way back from injury. Veteran defenceman Derek Forbort left practice yesterday after getting shaken up during drills. He was not on the ice this morning.

The opponent

The Ducks are back in action following a 4-2 loss to Chicago on home ice on Sunday. Brock McGinn and Mason McTavish scored for Anaheim, who has dropped back-to-back games and four of its last five. Lukas Dostal made 25 saves in goal. The 24-year-old Czech has been in goal for all four of the Ducks victories this season and leads all NHL goalies that have started five or more games this season with a .937% save percentage. Dostal has faced the most shots in the league this season (318) and has made the most saves (298).
Troy Terry leads the Ducks in goals (5) and points (9). He is the only player on the team with more than six points in the early going this season. As a team, Anaheim has scored a league-low 24 goals and is 32nd in the league, averaging 2.18 goals per game. The Ducks have the fewest points in the league from their defence corps, which has generated three goals and 10 points – that’s five points behind 31st-ranked Dallas Stars. Despite their overall offensive struggles, the Ducks have opened the scoring in seven of their 11 games so far and are 4-1-2 in those contests. They’re 0-4 when their opponents strike first.
The Ducks allow the most shots on goal per game in the league, averaging 35.1. Anaheim is also last in the league in face-off win percentage, at 42.5%.
Rookie Cutter Gauthier had 12 shot attempts on Sunday against Chicago. However, only two were on net, another two were blocked, and eight missed the target. The Ducks have five players on their roster born in either 2003 or 2004 — no other team in the NHL can say that.
The Canucks swept the Ducks in their three-game season series last year with a pair of one-goal wins and a two-goal victory. These teams will clash four times this season, with the next meeting coming on February 27th in Anaheim.
Tonight’s referees: Jean Hebert & Corey Syvret
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on calling Aatu Räty up and plugging him in against the Ducks: “It was a perfect thing for him to go down for a couple of weeks. He did a really nice job offensively down there. I think him being up early, now he goes down and comes back up, I think the game will be a little slower for him in the sense of with his mind. I think that’s a good recipe for success sometimes. I anxious to see how he plays.”
Tocchet addresses Derek Forbort’s injury situation: “He’s being evaluated today. He was evaluated yesterday and he has to go and get evaluated again today.”
Tocchet on riding the hot hand of Kevin Lankinen: “With the schedule the way it’s been, it’s easier for a coach if you have a hot goalie to play him. But saying that, though, I still believe in Silovs. We’re not giving up on him. I think there’s a lot of stuff there to like about him. He can’t sit on the sidelines too long, but Lanks, how do you not play the kid? The guy is on a roll.”
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