Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Vancouver Canucks will be aiming to improve their first-period play after scoring 11 of 17 goals in the third through their first three games.
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The Vancouver Canucks are set to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, with projected line-up changes centered on Vancouver’s goaltending and potential illness-related uncertainty among its skaters.
Through the first three games of the season, the Canucks have scored 17 goals, tied for the league lead with the Edmonton Oilers. Of those 17 goals, 11 have come in the third period, highlighting a pattern of stronger late-game production.
Vancouver’s late push has included a four-goal third period against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, a result that left head coach Manny Malhotra frustrated about the team’s slow starts.
Malhotra said after a Thursday loss to the Oilers that he was “great to see the response in the third,” adding that it is “even a little bit more frustrating” because the Canucks “have to start that way.”
Captain Elias Pettersson also pointed to the team’s opening periods, saying, “I don’t like the starts of these last two games — or the first game,” and that “we’ve got to start on time” with “the same hunger as we ended the last two games.” He added that the responsibility is “on everyone, including myself; we’ve just got to start better.”
The Canucks are expected to face a tougher opponent in the Golden Knights, with the matchup also coming as the second half of back-to-back games.
Projected Canucks lines for the game include Marco Rossi – Elias Pettersson – Linus Karlsson, Liam Öhgren – Paul Cotter – Brock Boeser, and Arshdeep Bains – Max Sasson – Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Other projected forward pairings are Drew O’Connor – Aatu Räty – Brendan Gallagher and Zeev Buium – Filip Hronek, with Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander also listed.
In net, the Canucks’ starting goaltender is expected to be Kevin Lankinen, after Leevi Meriläinen backstopped Vancouver earlier.
Up front, an anticipated question involves whether Jake DeBrusk will return to the lineup. Malhotra indicated DeBrusk was not a healthy scratch; instead, the coach said DeBrusk was sick, and the projected line-up leaves his status as the one uncertain spot.
For Vegas, the Golden Knights are coming off a loss to the Anaheim Ducks and will be looking to bounce back, potentially with changes after coach Ryan Craig shuffled lines during that game.
Projected Vegas lines are led by Brett Howden – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone, alongside Ivan Barbashev – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner, and Braeden Bowman – Tomas Hertl – Victor Olofsson.
Other projected forward groupings include Trevor Connelly – Nic Dowd – Marc Gatcomb and Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore pairing with Parker Wotherspoon – Rasmus Andersson, plus Jeremy Lauzon – Noah Hanifin on defence. Carter Hart and Adin Hill are listed as the projected goaltenders.
The expected starting goalie for Vegas is Carter Hart, though the projected line-up notes he “hasn’t been great to start the season,” with the Golden Knights having the option of starting backup Adin Hill against Vancouver.
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