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Canucks Game Day: Chytil out, Lankinen starts vs. Golden Knights in final game before Olympic break
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Photo credit: © Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Feb 4, 2026, 16:04 EST
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The Vancouver Canucks (18-32-6) conclude their quick two-game road trip when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights (25-16-14). Puck drop is at 7 pm PT at T-Mobile Arena.
This is the final game for the Canucks before the Olympic break.

What we know

The Vancouver Canucks held a morning skate in Vegas. Lineup details are limited, but according to the Canucks Insider account on X, Kevin Lankinen makes his second straight start in goal. The move is a bit of a surprise, given that Lankinen is headed to Milano to represent Finland at the Olympics. Starting tonight runs the risk of injury days ahead of his national team duty. Also, Lankinen has struggled of late with just one win in his last 10 starts. He has allowed three or more goals in his last seven starts. With Nikita Tolopilo having played well in recent outings against the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, it seemed like the big Belarusian would return to the Canucks net tonight. In his career against Vegas, Lankinen is 3-3-2 with a 2.96 GAA and a .905 save percentage.
Filip Chytil is not expected to play due to migraine issues that forced him to leave Monday’s 6-2 loss in Utah after two periods. He managed to play just six games in his return from a three-month layoff. Based on practice in Sin City on Tuesday, Aatu Räty will return to the lineup at centre, and Max Sasson will move to left wing with Jonathan Lekkerimäki on the right side. Drew O’Connor is expected to skate on the right wing with Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane. Jake DeBrusk spent practice on the left wing with David Kämpf and Linus Karlsson.
Against the Mammoth on Monday, Liam Öhgren and Teddy Blueger had the Vancouver goals while Conor Garland had a pair of assists. Öhgren has points in back-to-back games, while Blueger has four goals in his last six contests. Garland was excused from practice on Tuesday for maintenance, but the veteran winger is expected to suit up tonight.
There are not expected to be any changes on defence. Victor Mancini appears to be a healthy scratch for a fourth consecutive game.
With the loss in Utah to open this two-game trip, Adam Foote’s crew has dropped seven straight road games, getting outscored 33-11 in the process. The Canucks are 1-8 in their last nine games away from home.

The Opponent

The Golden Knights are struggling, having lost five straight (0-3-2) and with just one victory in their last eight outings (1-5-2). They lost 3-2 at home to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday and followed that up with a 4-3 setback in Anaheim on Sunday. Mitch Marner and Ivan Barbashev have each scored in three straight games.
With their swoon, the Knights have come back to the pack in the Pacific Division. On January 17th, Vegas had a four-point lead atop the division with two games in hand on the Edmonton Oilers. The team enters play tonight tied with the Oilers and one point ahead of the Ducks.
Jack Eichel leads the Knights with 64 points, followed by Mitch Marner with 56 and Mark Stone, who has 55 points in just 39 games. Pavel Dorofeyev leads the club with 24 goals, while Tomas Hertl has 22. Newcomer Rasmus Andersson has played six games since being acquired from Calgary. The veteran defenceman has a goal, two assists and has registered 19 shots while averaging 21:48 of ice time.
Vegas boasts a top-five power play in the league, operating at 25.3%. Thirteen of Dorofeyev’s goals have come with the man-advantage, while Hertl has 11. 
Goaltending has been an adventure for the Golden Knights this season. They have the lowest 5-on-5 save percentage in the league (88.7%). Akira Schmid has 15 of the team’s 25 wins, Carter Hart has five, while Adin Hill has just three in the 11 games he has started this season. Schmid gets the start tonight. His last win came on January 17th against Nashville.
The Golden Knights are the least penalized team in the NHL. They have taken 138 minor penalties, which is 14 fewer than the Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils, who are next on the list, and 100 fewer than league-leading Boston.
Along with Los Angeles, Vegas is tied for the NHL lead with 14 losses beyond regulation time. The Knights are 6-8 in overtime and 1-6 in shootouts.

News and notes

This is the first of three meetings this season between these teams. They will face off again in Vegas on March 30th and then play a week later in Vancouver on April 7th.
While the Canucks are off until February 25th against Winnipeg after tonight’s game, the Golden Knights still have one more game to go. They are right back at it tomorrow night at home to Los Angeles.
The referees for tonight’s game are Cody Beach and Tom Chmielewski. This will be Chmielewski’s seventh time working a Canucks game this season. That is more than any other referee.
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