Red Wings visit Canucks as Vancouver fights to end eight-game losing streak
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The Detroit Red Wings visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. Puck drop is 7 pm PT (7 am PKT).
- Vancouver has lost eight games in a row. Detroit has played overtime in four of its last five games.
- Forward Liam Ohgren looks set to sit as a healthy scratch for Vancouver. Marco Rossi returns after missing two games with illness.
The Vancouver Canucks host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Rogers Arena. They need a win badly. Vancouver has lost eight straight games, according to Canucks Army.
The Red Wings have won the last three meetings between these teams.
Why the Canucks are sliding
Vancouver is 2-8-1 to start the season. That puts the team 30th out of 32 NHL teams, according to Detroit Hockey Now. The latest loss was 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
That was the eighth straight defeat. Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Arshdeep Bains scored the Vancouver goals, according to Canucks Army.
The big problem is defense. The Canucks allow 4.63 goals per game. That is the worst number in the league.
Their penalty kill sits at 63.9 percent. That is also the worst in the league. Both numbers come from Detroit Hockey Now.
Vancouver has given up three or more goals in 10 of its 11 games.
The offense has been the lone bright spot. Karlsson has eight points in 11 games. He has scored in back-to-back games.
Brock Boeser brings a four-game point streak into tonight. He has one goal and three assists in that span, according to Canucks Army. Boeser also assisted on Lekkerimaki's first career power-play goal on Tuesday.
Goalie is a concern too. Kevin Lankinen is expected to start tonight. The signs came from the morning skate, according to Canucks Army.
Lankinen sat out the optional session. That is not his normal game-day routine. Starter Thatcher Demko is out after hip surgery, according to the league preview.
Backup Leevi Merilainen was the only goalie to skate this morning.
The Ohgren decision
The biggest lineup news is Liam Ohgren. The 22-year-old forward may be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. He stayed on the ice long after the group left.
That is often a sign a player will sit. That is often a sign a player will sit, according to Canucks Army.
The numbers explain the move. Ohgren has two goals and three assists in 11 games. But he has just one point in his last eight outings.
The league's projected lineup already lists him among the scratches. Marco Rossi returns to the lineup in his place. Rossi missed two games with illness.
Rossi started the season hot. He scored three goals and four points in the first two games. But he has not scored in his last seven outings, according to Canucks Army.
Tonight he centers a line with Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser. Drew O'Connor moves from center to the wing. He will play with Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson.
Detroit's road test
The Red Wings are 3-3-3. They have earned at least one point in six of their last seven games. Detroit Hockey Now reports this.
But this road trip has been tough. They lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. Detroit trailed 3-0 in the third period.
Then Viktor Arvidsson, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat tied the game. Canucks Army reports this.
Close games are the norm for Detroit. The team has gone to overtime in back-to-back games. Four of its last five games went past 60 minutes.
Five straight games have been decided by one goal. Tonight is just the third road game of the season. Detroit lost both road games so far.
Both losses came in shootouts.
DeBrincat is the engine of the team. He leads the club with six goals and 11 points. Nobody else on the team has more than six points this season.
DeBrincat recently signed a seven-year deal. It pays $13 million per season, according to Detroit Hockey Now. In his last five games he has four goals, two assists, and a plus-6 rating.
Captain Dylan Larkin has one goal and four assists for five points in seven games. He had two points in the Seattle loss. Detroit's penalty kill ranks 28th at 68.8 percent.
That could be a weak spot against any team.
The rookies are a bright spot. Detroit leads the NHL in rookie scoring. First-year players have four goals and 12 points.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard leads that group with two goals and six points. He also has 38 hits. That leads the team and all NHL rookies, according to Canucks Army.
Goalie matchup
John Gibson starts in goal for Detroit. The veteran is 2-3-1 this season with a 3.58 goals-against average and a .873 save percentage, according to Canucks Army. But his record against Vancouver is strong.
Gibson is 15-5-2 against the Canucks in his career. He has a 2.04 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage, and four shutouts. He even shut out the Canucks at Rogers Arena last December.
Detroit called up Michal Postava from Grand Rapids of the AHL on Thursday. He will back up Gibson. Daniil Tarasov tweaked something in practice on Wednesday.
Coach Todd McLellan said it is not serious, according to the league preview. Forward Compher returns tonight after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury.
Sheldon Dries was sent to Grand Rapids to make room.
What to watch
The projected lines are set. For Detroit: DeBrincat with Emmitt Finnie and Viktor Arvidsson on the top line. Brandsegg-Nygard, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond on the second line.
Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, and Carter Mazur on the third. Nate Danielson, Compher, and Keegan Kolesar on the fourth.
For Vancouver: O'Connor, Pettersson, and Karlsson on the top line. Cotter, Rossi, and Boeser on the second. Jake DeBrusk, Filip Chytil, and Lekkerimaki on the third.
Ohgren, Max Sasson, and Brendan Gallagher on the fourth if Ohgren plays.
History favors the visitors. Detroit has won eight of the last 10 meetings, according to Canucks Army. The Wings have won the past three in a row.
They took both games last season. The scores were 4-0 at Rogers Arena and 5-1 in Detroit.
The game starts at 10 pm ET on DSN in the United States. In Canada, watch on SNE, SNO, and SNP. The broadcast details are listed on the league site.
DraftKings lists Detroit as a 1.5-goal favorite at plus-145. Vancouver is plus-1.5 at minus-175, according to Detroit Hockey Now.
DeBrincat's seven-year extension with Detroit that pays him $13 million per season. Vancouver is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Islanders that started this rough stretch. The early-season NHL standings show both teams near the bottom of their conferences.
What happens next
For Vancouver, this is the middle game of a three-game homestand. A ninth straight loss would deepen the crisis. A win could finally steady the season.
The team scores enough to compete. The defense and penalty kill must improve first.
For Detroit, this is the second game of a four-game Western road trip. Postava could get his chance against Calgary or Edmonton, according to Detroit Hockey Now. The Red Wings keep taking games past 60 minutes.
Tonight they will try to win one in regulation instead.
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