Ducks practice lines (10/26): Gauthier-Carlsson-Caulfield Malott-Granlund-Sennecke Nesterenko-McQueen-Killorn Greer-Washe-Colangelo Vatrano-Klepov Lacombe-Warren Hinds-Helleson Mitchell-Luneau Jensen Dostál | Husso #FlyTogether
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Canucks Game Day: Can new lines help snap the losing streak in Anaheim?
Photo credit: Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2026, 14:08 EDT
The Vancouver Canucks (2-10-1) kick off a brief two-game California road trip when they face the Anaheim Ducks (5-6) at Honda Center. Opening faceoff is set for 7pm PT.
The Canucks are mired in a 10-game winless skid, while the Ducks snapped a five-game losing streak in their last game.
What we know
The Canucks are trying a new approach. After a full team practice and travel to Southern California on Monday, Manny Malhotra elected to go without any kind of morning skate today. As such, it will be closer to game time before the lineup for tonight’s game is revealed.
At Monday’s practice, Malhotra had Jake DeBrusk skating with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, Drew O’Connor on a line with Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Marco Rossi between Liam Öhgren and Arshdeep Bains, while Max Sasson centred a line with Paul Cotter and Brendan Gallagher. Linus Karlsson took a maintenance day and did not practice on Monday, but is expected to play tonight, so another forward will be bumped. Karlsson could easily swap in for either Bains or Gallagher.
On defence, expect Jamie Oleksiak to return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the second time this season on Sunday night against Minnesota. Oleksiak spent Monday’s practice paired with Victor Mancini. Filip Hronek missed practice, but is expected to be in the lineup tonight.
The Canucks have alternated starts for Leevi Meriläinen and Kevin Lankinen over the past five games. Meriläinen stopped 30 of 34 Minnesota shots in Sunday’s loss. Lankinen last played on Thursday against Detroit. He has not won since opening night in Edmonton.
The Canucks are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Wild – the team’s 10th straight setback (0-9-1). Max Sasson and Brock Boeser each scored their third goals of the season. On the winless skid, the Canucks have managed just 20 goals in 10 games, scoring more than two goals in a game only once (a 6-3 loss to Carolina last Tuesday).
The Canucks have been held to fewer than 20 shots on goal in five straight games, lowering their season average to just 19.8 shots per game.
The Opponent
The Ducks return home following a four-game road trip that ended with a 5-4 win in Philadelphia on Saturday. Prior to that, the club had dropped five straight games scoring just nine goals in the process.
Bennett Sennecke scored his team’s leading sixth goal of the season against the Flyers, while Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist to boost his team-leading total to 13 points on the season. Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals last season, has just two goals so far this season. They both came in the home opener and he has gone eight without scoring.
The Ducks are the youngest team in the NHL, and their roster includes Nikita Klepov, who is the youngest player in the league this season. Klepov, the 15th pick in June’s NHL Draft, and Winnipeg’s Viggo Bjorck are the only 2008-born players to appear in a game so far this season.
The Ducks roster features six first-round draft picks since 2022 (Leo Carlsson, Bennett Sennecke, Roger McQueen, Nikita Klepov and the injured Pavel Mintyukov, along with Cutter Gauthier, who was a Philadelphia draft pick).
Anaheim won its home opener 3-2 over Florida, but has dropped its last three on home ice.
News and notes
The Canucks took three of four head-to-head meetings with the Ducks last season, including both games in Orange County. Marco Rossi scored with 9.5 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Canucks a 4-3 victory in their last visit on April 12th.
The Ducks will be in Vancouver next Tuesday.
The referees for tonight’s game are Garrett Rank and Ben Betker.
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Breaking News
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Vancouver CanucksTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$87,295,050
$71,329,167
Projected Cap Space
$16,704,950
$42,170,833
Current Cap Space
$19,405,750
$42,170,833
Active Players
23/23
13/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
1
1