The Vancouver Canucks kick off their first road trip of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
After losing their first two games of the season, one in overtime and one in the shootout, the Canucks are expected to make some changes to their lineup as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning. One player who was expected to miss the game, however, will be an option for the Canucks, as Tyler Myers is on the road trip and practiced with the team on Monday.
The veteran defenceman left Friday's game early in the first period after appearing to hyperextend his knee in a collision with the Philadelphia Flyers' Joel Farabee. Myers didn't put any weight on his right leg when he left the ice and did not return to the game. Thankfully, there was no real damage done and Myers could be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
"I think we dodged a bullet," said head coach Rick Tocchet. "There's a good possibility that he'll be in. It's more of a pain tolerance and I think he's starting to feel better. No structural problems."
With Myers a game-time decision, whether the defence changes all that much will depend on whether he's ready to go. The forward lines, however, will see a significant change in the top-six.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Based on how the Canucks practice on Monday, as well as Tocchet's comments on Tuesday morning, Arshdeep Bains will get into his first game of the season and in a prime position to boot: on the Canucks' top line alongside J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser.
Here are the projected lines, which will be updated if changes are made during the pre-game warm-up:
"Early in the season, you want to try different things," said Tocchet. "I want to get Bains in the lineup, I don't want to see him sit. Young guys shouldn't sit that long and I think he deserves to play tonight."
Tocchet likes the potential fit of a straight-ahead player like Bains with the Miller line.
"I think Millsy loves guys that get on the forecheck, that help him out. Bains has that kind of identity," said Tocchet. "Plus, you saw the two goals in exhibition — he can score, even on the power play from that flank. And he can make plays under pressure. I think he's a guy that we have our eye on that he's going to push some jobs and hopefully can be consistent."
One of the players whose job Bains is pushing for is Daniel Sprong, who is a likely healthy scratch after he was on the outside of line rushes at Monday's practice. Sprong had two significant errors on goals against in each of the Canucks' first two games, as fans got a distinct look at the defensive issues that have kept him from sticking with one team for longer than two seasons throughout his career.
Danton Heinen, bumped from the Miller line by Bains, is likely to skate with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk on the second line. Neither of the Canucks' two top-six lines has fully clicked yet, so shuffling Heinen to Pettersson's wing is worth a shot.
The bottom-six forwards, however, are likely to stay the same. Teddy Blueger had a great game from the fourth line on Friday, while Nils Höglander and Conor Garland have been two of the Canucks' best forwards to start the season, so keeping those lines together makes sense.
On defence, Vincent Desharnais could come into the lineup, either in place of Noah Juulsen on the third pair or with Carson Soucy on the second pair if Myers isn't ready to play.
Somewhat surprisingly, Arturs Silovs will be the Canucks' starting goaltender despite giving up six goals on 26 shots in the home opener against the Calgary Flames. Tocchet could have come back with Kevin Lankinen after a strong performance against the Flyers but is instead getting Silovs back into the net in hopes of getting him back on track.
Tampa Bay Lightning projected lines
The Lightning's home opener was originally supposed to be on October 12 against the Carolina Hurricanes but was instead postponed by Hurricane Milton.
The impact of the hurricane has been felt across the area, including by the Lightning players themselves, many of whom were unable to return to their homes after their first game of the season in Carolina.
In hopes of boosting the spirits of those impacted by the hurricanes, the Lightning discounted tickets for their first three home games, including their new home opener Tuesday against the Canucks, and gave out hundreds of free tickets to first responders and recovery workers.
Some of the recovery workers in the building on Tuesday night will be cheering on the Canucks, however, as they include power-line workers from B.C.
The Lightning won their first game of the season 4-1, with Nikita Kucherov recording a hat trick and an assist to go with it. His line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point is sure to be a handful for the Canucks.
Here are the projected lines, courtesy of Bally Sports' Gabby Shirley:
Jake Guentzel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Nicholas Paul
Michael Eyssimont - Conor Geekie - Conor Sheary
Zemgus Girgensons - Luke Glendening - Mitchell Chaffee
Victor Hedman - Janis Moser
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Darren Raddysh - Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Rookie Conor Geekie is coming off an impactful preseason, not only putting up 4 points in 4 games but also earning a suspension for coming off the bench to start a fight with Florida Panthers forward Josh Davies after he hit newly minted Lightning captain Victor Hedman.
The move was illegal in the eyes of the NHL but it didn't hurt his reputation with his new teammates. Neither did it hurt his bid to make the Lightning out of training camp. He's one to watch out for, not just because he's got plenty of skill, but because he won't hesitate to throw his 6'4" frame around in his bid to stay in the lineup.
Unsurprisingly, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to be the Lightning's starting goaltender. Vasilevskiy has played in at least 50 games in all but one of his last eight seasons and that was a season shortened by a global pandemic.
