Canucks Gameday Preview: Third and final meeting against the Senators

After coming out victorious in their first two meetings, the Vancouver Canucks are set to play their third and final game in their mini-series against the Senators tonight.

Vancouver currently sits in fourth place in the Canadian division, but it’s worth noting that they’ve also played the most games among the seven teams. So far, the Canucks have taken advantage of a shallow Ottawa squad, but they’ll need to be even better tonight if they hope to extend their winning streak to three.

Let’s take a look at how the two sides will matchup tonight.

Vancouver’s lineup

The Canucks will stick mostly to the lineup they had last night, which looked like this.

The only definite change will be in net, as Braden Holtby is set to make his first start in almost a week after Thatcher Demko played in the two previous games.

Even though Vancouver has outscored Ottawa 12-2 thus far, they’ll need to put in a better performance tonight in order to pull out a win. Demko has largely masked the team’s defensive miscues over the past few days, which is likely why the team decided to play him in consecutive games for the first time this season.

The other lineup change might be re-inserting Olli Juolevi on to the bottom pair, which would leave Jalen Chatfield as the odd man out. Juolevi was a surprise scratch last night, and the reason for this decision isn’t clear since he has been solid this season and scored his first career goal on Monday.

Other than these tweaks, the Canucks will likely stick to the same lineup they had last night.

Ottawa’s lineup

Following their loss on Monday, the Senators decided to switch things up by re-inserting a few players into the lineup, most notably Colin White. They ultimately decided to go with the following lines last night.

With the way White performed yesterday, it’s unlikely he’ll be forced to watch in the press box again, so the Senators seem destined to roll with the same lines tonight.

Like Vancouver, the only change will likely come in net, as Matt Murray should get the nod after Marcus Hogberg played in last night’s game.

Players to watch

Jordie Benn: Benn struggled mightily last season but has seen a resurgent in play this year. He has become an unlikely partner for Quinn Hughes and has performed adequately in Travis Hamonic’s stead, so it will be interesting to see if he continues his solid play and how that might affect the defensive pairings once Hamonic returns to the lineup.

Colin White: As previously mentioned, White played well last night and will look to carry his momentum into this game. After having a breakout season two years ago, White has largely struggled since and was scratched during the first meeting between the two teams. He has showcased solid offensive abilities in the past, so the Canucks will need to key in on him if he does indeed perform well again tonight.

Puck drops at 7 PM Pacific Time, as Vancouver will look to extend their winning streak to three. If they do so, the team will have dug themselves out of the hole they created to begin the season and will be right back in the mix in the Canadian division. Go Canucks go!