Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Preview, Lineups
The Vancouver Canucks are coming off literally their worst game in franchise history. Will Tampa Bay have Lightning strike twice by handing another brutal loss to the Canucks?
The Vancouver Canucks took a 5-2 lead into the third period against the Carolina Panthers, only to lose 8-6.
Tuesday night wasn’t any fun.
That brutal road trip is now over, and now they get the chance at a season sweep of the pre-season Eastern Conference favorite, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
VancouverCanucks
Tampa BayLightning
Vancouver Canucks
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 12-16-2
Home Record: 8-5-1
2015-16 Record vs. Lightning: 1-0-1
Goals For: 73
Goals Against: 94
Power Play: 13.5% (27th)
Penalty Kill: 82.9% (12th)
Leading Scorers: Daniel Sedin (30 GP - 9 G – 11 A -20 PTS), Henrik Sedin (30 GP – 7 G – 12 A – 19 PTS) Bo Horvat (30 GP – 8 G – 9 A -17 PTS)
Injuries: Philip Larsen (upper body, day-to-day), Alexander Edler (broken finger, late December/early January), Derek Dorsett (neck, out for season), Chris Tanev (foot, day-to-day).
WHO’S ON OFFENCE:
More from The Canuck Way
Sven Baertschi: He appears to be slowly busting out of his slump, with two goals and an assist in Tuesday’s loss against Carolina. Can Baertschi keep improving as a second-line winger?
Daniel Sedin: At least one Canuck is scoring in two-thirds of his games played.
WHO’S ON DEFENCE:
Troy Stecher: The 22-year-old rookie has been one of the lone bright spots in 2016. The Canucks have themselves a quality powerplay quarterback.
WHO’S IN NET:
Jacob Markstrom: He had to fill in after a disappointing effort from Miller on Tuesday. Once again, Markstrom gets the the chance to prove he should be the starter.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Daniel Sedin — Henrik Sedin — Jannik Hansen
Markus Granlund — Brandon Sutter — Loui Eriksson
Alex Burrows— Bo Horvat — Jack Skille
Brendan Gaunce — Michael Chaput — Jayson Megna
Ben Hutton — Erik Gudbranson
Luca Sbisa — Troy Stecher
Nikita Tryamkin — Alex Biega
Jacob Markstrom
Ryan Miller
Tampa Bay Lightning
OVERVIEW:
2016-17 Record: 15-13-2
Away Record: 8-8-1
2015-16 Record vs. Canucks: 1-1-0
Goals For: 87
Goals Against: 84
Power Play: 22.2% (7th)
Penalty Kill: 79.4% (24th)
Leading Scorers: Nikita Kucherov (28 GP - 13 G -17 A – 30 PTS), Victor Hedman (30 GP – 5 G – 17 A - 22 PTS), Valterri Filppula (29 GP – 6 G -15 A -21 PTS).
Injuries: Ondrej Palat (undisclosed, day-to-day), Nikita Kucherov (lower body, day to day), Ryan Callahan (hip, day-to-day,) Steven Stamkos (knee, four months).
WHO’S ON OFFENCE:
Valtteri Filppula: With key injuries to the Lightning’s top forwards, Filppula is producing like a fine second-liner.
Tyler Johnson: Like Hedman, his size could be a problem for a Canucks team that isn’t built on speed.
WHO’S ON DEFENCE:
Victor Hedman: He’s making a case as the Norris Trophy favorite. Hedman’s a force in his own end also chips in nicely on the score sheet.
WHO’S IN NET:
Ben Bishop: The clock is ticking on his time left with the Lightning. Not only is he fighting with Andrei Vasilevskiy for the starting job, but for a big contract in the offseason.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Cory Conacher – Tyler Johnson — Ondrej Palat
Alex Killorn – Valtteri Filppula — Jonathan Drouin
Vladislav Namestnikov – Brian Boyle — Brayden Point
Joel Vermin – Cedric Paquette — J.T. Brown
Victor Hedman – Anton Stralman
Jason Garrison – Andrej Sustr
Braydon Coburn – Nikita Nesterov
Ben Bishop
Andrei Vasilevskiy
