The Vancouver Canucks (26-19-11) play the second game of a back to back weekend when they visit the Utah Hockey Club (24-24-9) tonight at Delta Center. The Canucks are six points ahead of UHC in the Western Conference wild card race. Vancouver also holds a game in hand.

What we expect

With no morning skate, the Canucks lineup likely won’t be known until closer to game time. Following last night’s 3-1 loss in Vegas, Rick Tocchet certainly sounded like he planned to give Arturs Silovs his first NHL start since November 28th in Pittsburgh. Silovs is 1-4-1 in six big league starts this season. His lone victory came on November 16th against Chicago.
On Saturday, Jake DeBrusk scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season. His goal opened the scoring early in the second period, however it was the only goal the club was able to generate. The loss snapped the team’s three game win streak and four game point streak.
For the fifth straight outing, the Canucks were without captain and scoring leader Quinn Hughes. His status for tonight’s game remains uncertain. In his absence, Filip Hronek logged his second-highest workload of the season, playing 27:33 last night, including 10:38 of the third period. The only time he has played more was in Ottawa when Hughes was ejected early in the hockey game.
Offence remains an issue for the Canucks who have scored eight goals in their last four games. Only twice in 20 games since January 1st have the Canucks scored more than three goals in a game (a 5-4 overtime loss in Montreal on January 8th and a 5-2 victory in St. Louis on January 27th).
Elias Pettersson has gone 10 games without a goal and has just one goal in 16 games since Christmas. Conor Garland has 1+0 in his last seven games, Kiefer Sherwood has 0+2 in his last 10 games while Pius Suter has 1+1 in his past five outings.
Tonight the club completes its sixth set of back to back games of the season. The Canucks are 1-4 in the second game in that scenario. The win came in Toronto on January 11th after playing Carolina the night before.

The opponent

Like the Canucks, the Utah Hockey Club is playing for the second night in a row. Utah lost 5-3 in Los Angeles last night. Barrett Hayton scored all three goals recording his first NHL hattrick and becoming the first Utah player to score three goals in a game. 
This is how UHC lined-up against the Kings.
Clayton Keller picked up an assist and leads the team with 61 points. He and Dylan Guenther share the team lead with 20 goals on the season. Logan Cooley is tied for second in team scoring with 43 points. However, the 20-year-old has missed seven games including last night and although he’s said to be close to returning from injury he is not expected to play tonight.
Connor Ingram got the start in goal last night which means Karel Vejmelka is the likely starter tonight. Vejmelka is 13-15-4 on the season with a 2.57 GAA, .909 save percentage and a shutout.
Utah has struggled on home ice in its first season in Salt Lake City winning just nine times in 27 games (9-12-6). UHC is tied with San Jose for the fewest home wins in the NHL this season. One of those wins came in overtime against the Canucks on December 18th. Mikhail Sergachev netted the winner as Utah rallied from a 2-0 third period deficit to defeat Vancouver 3-2. Utah has been to overtime a league-high 17 times this season, one more than the Canucks.
Former Canucks defenceman Ian Cole turned 36 on Friday while Nick Schmaltz is celebrating his 29th birthday today.
Tonight is one of two head to head match-ups remaining between these teams. Utah will make its first ever visit to Rogers Arena on March 16th. 
Tonight’s referees: Justin Kea & Garrett Rank
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
Sponsored by bet365