Gameday Preview: Vancouver Canucks vs. Arizona Coyotes (April 7th)

Can the Vancouver Canucks make it two in a row on the road?

After their dominant 5-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, highlighted by a four-point performance from Elias Pettersson, the team made their way to Arizona to finish off the second leg of their road trip against Loui Eriksson and the Coyotes.

With the win on Wednesday, the Canucks found themselves just seven points back of the Dallas Stars for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference. However, given their dwindling schedule, as well as their poor home performances against Vegas and St. Louis earlier in the week, Vancouver’s playoffs hopes have essentially been erased, paving the way for a stretch of meaningless games to round out the year, starting with Thursday’s contest in Arizona.

With the tight turnaround time between contests, the Canucks are expected to ice the same roster from Wednesday night’s contest at T-Mobile Arena.

During the pre-game media availability, head coach Bruce Boudreau also confirmed that the team will still be without blueliner Quinn Hughes, who is sidelined with the flu. Hughes did not travel with the team to Vegas, but could return for Saturday’s home game against San Jose.

As a result, the Canucks will once again be turning to Kyle Burroughs as the replacement on the left side. Burroughs was solid in his return from injury on Wednesday night, logging nine hits and one blocked shot in just under 17 minutes of ice time, while also receiving praise from Boudreau ahead of puck drop.

The 26-year-old was slotted into the line-up ahead of prospect Jack Rathbone, who will likely return to Abbotsford after being called up on emergency conditions on Tuesday. However, according to General Manager Patrik Allvin, the organization is still hoping that the young blueliner will be able to suit up for a few NHL games with Vancouver before the season ends.

Thursday night’s contest will also be a homecoming for Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, both of whom are returning to Arizona for the first time since being traded.

Garland, who was drafted 123rd overall by Arizona back in 2015, notched 96 points in 164 games for the club, while Ekman-Larsson, a former first round selection for Phoenix, spent his first 11 seasons with the Coyotes before making the move to Vancouver. The veteran blueliner also served as team captain between 2018 and 2021.

With Thatcher Demko holding down the fort on Wednesday night, Boudreau also confirmed that Jaroslav Halak will be getting the nod between the pipes. The 36-year-old netminder will be squaring off against Harri Sateri, who was claimed off of waivers from Toronto on March 21st.

Sateri hasn’t played in the NHL since February 9th, 2018, a 3-1 loss to Los Angeles. His most recent win? Three days prior when his Florida Panthers beat the Canucks by the same score of 3-1.

This will be the second of three meetings between Vancouver and Arizona for the 2021-22 season. The Canucks took the first game in convincing fashion by a score of 5-1.

Puck drop is set for 7:00pm PST at Gila River Arena.

What are your thoughts heading into Thursday night’s contest in Arizona? Make sure to drop a comment below!