Gameday preview: Canucks vs Golden Knights (April 3)

After a few days off, the Vancouver Canucks are back in action as they take on the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Arena.

The Canucks are coming off a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues and are trying to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. They have a 2% chance at the playoffs according to a model from Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic. (Paywalled.) Vancouver also sits fifth in the Pacific Division and sits seven points behind the Dallas Stars for the final wild card spot.

The Canucks and Golden Knights last met on November 13 in Sin City. The Golden Knights won 7-4. This is the second of four meetings between Vancouver and Vegas and the first of a back to back as they meet again on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.

For Vegas, they have won their last four games. However, they are only a point behind the Stars for the final wild card spot and their playoff odds are at 45% according to Luszczyszyn’s model.  The Golden Knights have gone 11-12-1 since the All Star Break. A big reason for that is the injury bug.  Numerous players such as Max Pacioretty, (Undisclosed) Reilly Smith, (Knee) Nicholas Hague (lower body) and William Carrier (lower body) have been out for some time.

For the Canucks, they did not hold morning skate on Sunday but practiced at 8 Rinks in Burnaby on Saturday. Here is how they lined up.

Bo Horvat returned to practice after dealing with a with a non-COVID related illness which saw him leave the game in the first period against the Blues. It looks like Brad Richardson has caught the illness Horvat had. Tucker Poolman and Jason Dickinson could play on Sunday. Dickinson has been out since he collided with Erik Gudbranson of the Calgary Flames on February 24 with an undisclosed injury. Poolman has been out for awhile with a non-COVID related illness.

“Definitely feeling a lot better now,” said Horvat to the media on Saturday on his illness. ” It kicked in in the afternoon, felt worse and worse, eventually had to call it. It sucked, the timing of it all.”

It is very likely that Thatcher Demko will start between the pipes for the Canucks.

Players to watch

Vegas Golden Knights- Jonathan Marchessault: It seems like Marchessault always scores against the Canucks and they have to find a way to prevent him from scoring. Marchessault leads the Golden Knights in goals with 27 and points with 56.

Vancouver Canucks- Elias Pettersson: Pettersson had a two-goal effort in the loss against St. Louis and has 10 points in his last 10 games including five goals.

It is an early start time as the puck drops at 4:00 PM. You can watch the game on Sportsnet Pacific or listen to it on Sportsnet 650.