The Vancouver Canucks (9-6-3) open a six-game road trip when they visit the Ottawa Senators (8-9-1) at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario.
The club has won six straight road games and will try to extend that streak tonight. The club record for consecutive road wins is nine, set in 2010-11.

What we saw

Max Sasson makes his National Hockey League debut tonight. The Birmingham, Michigan native was recalled from AHL Abbotsford on Thursday. He has four goals and five assists in 16 games in the minors this season. Sasson was a free agent signing by the Canucks in March 2023 out of Western Michigan University. A natural centre, Sasson is expected to start on the wing tonight with Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains.
The Canucks headed east following a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Quinn Hughes, Kiefer Sherwood and Conor Garland scored the Vancouver goals. Sherwood has scored in back-to-back games. Elias Pettersson had his first two-assist game of the season and had four goals and four assists on the club’s six-game homestand.
A rested Kevin Lankinen, who hasn’t played since a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators last Sunday, will get back in net tonight. He has dropped back-to-back starts and three of his last four after starting the season 7-0-2.
Erik Brännström returns to Ottawa where he broke into the NHL and played 266 games. He was a healthy scratch when the Senators hosted the Canucks last November. Now he’s averaging 14:32 in Vancouver, has scored in two of the last five games and has two goals and six points on the season.

The opponents

The Senators are out to snap a four-game losing skid (0-3-1) following a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Ottawa outshot the Golden Knights 40-32, including 18-5 in the third period, but came up a goal short. Adam Gaudette and Drake Batherson scored for the Senators, while Linus Ullmark made 29 saves. He gets the start in goal again tonight. Ullmark is 4-6-1 on the season with a 3.00 goals against average and an 88.7% save percentage.
Brady Tkachuk leads the team with nine goals, one better than Gaudette, Batherson and Josh Norris. Tim Stutzle is the team’s top scorer with 23 points.
Gaudette is the only player in the NHL with eight or more goals who averages under 11 minutes of ice time per game (10:19). He has eight goals on 25 shots this season for an outrageous 32% shooting clip. He saw just 7:14 of ice on Thursday night – his second lowest ice time of the season.
Tkachuk had six shots on 11 attempts and added seven hits against Vegas. He is second in the league in shots on goal (80), third in the league in hits (85) and tied for third in minor penalties taken (11). He was also on the ice for all three of the Golden Knights goals on Thursday.
Their 40 shots on goal performance on Thursday was the fourth time the Senators have reached the mark this season. They are third in the league, averaging 32.6 shots per game.
The Senators power play went one for three against Vegas and sits sixth in the NHL at 27.0%. It has been lights out on home ice this season, converting at a league-best 37.8%.
After a 4-2 start under Travis Green, it’s been a slog for the Senators, who are just 4-8-1 in their last 13 outings. They are in the midst of a four-game homestand against Pacific Division teams: Edmonton, Vegas, Vancouver and Calgary.
The Canucks took both ends of the season series against the Senators last season, winning 5-2 in Ottawa and 6-3 in Vancouver. The Senators will be in Vancouver on December 21st.
Tonight’s referees: Jean Hebert & Carter Sandlak

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on Canucks dealing with adversity as they set out on six-game road trip: “I thought our five-on-five play the last two games has been pretty good. If we can trend that way, the results will come your way. We know we’re shorthanded. We know this team has some adversity right now. This is where you learn from it and you can build off it.”
Tocchet on team needing to focus on the task at hand: “When you look at the team is struggling and the team is 2-4 on the homestand, I think all you’re doing is putting gasoline on the fire. You can’t listen to the outside noise. You have to look at what’s in front of you, take what’s in front of you and just chip away at it. That’s the only thing you can do. We know the cavalry and have some guys coming back soon – I don’t know when – but they will come back. In the meantime, there are opportunity for guys and be grateful for these opportunities.”
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