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Canucks lineup notes: Foote confirms Lankinen starts, Pettersson replaces Joseph on blueline
Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jan 3, 2026, 20:22 EST
The Vancouver Canucks are making a pair of lineup changes for tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins.
As expected, Kevin Lankinen will get the start in goal while Elias Pettersson returns to the lineup and replaces P-O Joseph on defence. The forward group that faced the Seattle Kraken last night remains intact.
Pettersson has been a healthy scratch the past two games. However, he was in the lineup when the Canucks defeated the Bruins 5-4 in a shootout in Boston on December 20th. That game was the fourth win a season-high four game win streak. Despite the victory, the Canucks – playing on the second night of a back-to-back as they are again tonight – surrendered a season-high 43 shots on goal.
Head coach Adam Foote said he felt the Bruins caught young defencemen like Pettersson, Tom Willander and Zeev Buium off guard with their aggressive forecheck.
“They were buzzing and came out just flying, forechecking hard,” Foote said pregame. “I think at the start of that game our young D got overwhelmed. They probably haven’t seen a forecheck that intense in their young careers. We settled in nicely and the forwards were starting to get in front of guys and helping our D break out, so as the game went on we got more comfortable.”
The Bruins outshot the Canucks 13-4 in the first period two weeks ago and 30-13 through the first 40 minutes. On the night, the final shots were 43-23. Kevin Lankinen stopped all seven shots he faced in the shootout to record his first victory in more than a month. Lankinen has won his last two starts after a 3-2 shootout victory in Seattle earlier this week. Tonight will be his first home start since a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on December 8th. His lone home ice victory this season came on November 8th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Canucks are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Kraken last night, while the Bruins have been idle since a 6-2 win in Edmonton on New Year’s Eve. Jeremy Swaymen gets the start for Boston.
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