We can safely start in the crease. There are only two goalies on this roster, and while both have their merits, there isn’t much mystery about which one is the leading man. Demko is the starting goaltender, and he’ll be the one minding the net on October 9, barring some unforeseen circumstances. Lankinen backs him up.

The blueline is also relatively easy to figure out here, though there are some questions surrounding health to consider. Both Forbort and Joseph appeared to suffer through some minor injuries during camp that kept them out of some preseason action. If either is still banged up, it stands to reason that they’ll be in the pressbox to start. There has even been some speculation that one of the two will be placed on IR after opening day rosters are set, and that Mancini will be quickly recalled to cover their absence.

But assuming both Forbort and Joseph are healthy enough to start, it’ll be Forbort in the lineup. Joseph seems like the designated ‘extra’ in this situation, and there’s little doubt that the starting six are Hughes, Hronek, M. Pettersson, Myers, E. Pettersson, and Forbort.

There is some interesting speculation to be had about how the pairings will be arranged. Hughes/Hronek is a lock, but the other two pairs could be mixed and matched. We saw the younger Elias Pettersson playing on the right side of Marcus Pettersson during the preseason. The default answer is Marcus Pettersson and Myers as the second pairing, and Forbort and Elias Pettersson on the bottom pairing. However, it’s also possible that Elias Pettersson starts in the top four with Marcus Pettersson, while Myers forms a reliable veteran pair with Forbort.

The forward corps is where the toughest decisions will be made. Two forwards will have to sit on opening night, and it’s not immediately apparent who those two forwards will be.

Certain players are established enough as veterans that we can safely pencil them in. This includes the senior Elias Pettersson, Boeser, DeBrusk, Kane, Garland, Chytil, O’Connor, Blueger, and Sherwood. Even among that set, however, there are plenty of questions about line placement.

The two scratches will almost certainly have to come from the quintet of Cootes, Lekkerimäki, Karlsson, Räty, and Bains.

The final preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers featured this forward lineup:

Karlsson and Räty sat out as extra forwards. And it’s easy enough to see the Canucks just rolling with this same lineup into Game 1. But it’s nowhere near guaranteed.

We think it’s fairly safe to say that Cootes and Lekkerimäki will be in the lineup. For one, neither has much business in the pressbox as the two youngest members of this team. If Lekkerimäki were going to be a healthy scratch, there’d be no real need to have him on the roster currently, as he’s waivers-exempt and could be sent down to gain more ice-time in Abbotsford at any point. If he’s on the opening day roster, it’s because he’ll also be in the opening night lineup.

Cootes is a slightly different case, because, due to his age, he cannot be assigned to the AHL. It’s NHL or juniors for him. But by the same token, Cootes would already be in Seattle right now if the plan was for him to be a healthy scratch.

We imagine that Cootes will be scratched from time to time during his stint with the Canucks, both to give him some space to grow and to delay the count on the nine games he can play before he ‘burns’ a year of his entry-level contract. But that scratch will not come in Game 1. That would send the entirely wrong message to an 18-year-old who made the team on his own merits and against all odds.

So, we’re down to two of Bains, Karlsson, and Räty being the scratches on opening night.

Karlsson seems like the best bet to be scratched as of right now. He had the quietest camp and appeared to receive the fewest opportunities to show his stuff higher in the lineup. He’s a capable utility forward that the team obviously wanted to avoid losing on waivers, but he might need to wait a bit before he gets to show it this year.

The decision between Bains and Räty is a little more difficult. We could see either slotting into that wing spot alongside Chytil and Garland. Bains was there already, and Räty certainly has the shot required to be a top-six winger.

We could also see Kane in that spot, which would then slide Bains or Räty into the bottom six. We don’t mind the idea of Räty riding shotgun with Cootes to give the young centre a little extra support up the middle and on draws.

That spot, however, could easily go to O’Connor or Sherwood, leaving Bains or Räty down on the ostensible fourth line with Blueger. And at that point, it’s a bit of a toss-up. Bains brings more footspeed and forechecking ability, Räty brings a better array of offensive skills and that faceoff domination.

At this point, it’s a toss-up. Pick one, and know the other is going to be rotated in sooner rather than later.