Coming out of the holiday break worse for wear, the Vancouver Canucks (17-10-7) return to home ice to host the visiting Seattle Kraken (15-19-2) at Rogers Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. This will be the first of three meetings between these two teams his season. The Canucks will visit Seattle just after the turn of the New Year on Jan. 2, 2025.
The Canucks were not on the receiving end of positive injury news after Friday's practice, as head coach Rick Tocchet declared that Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, as well as star center Elias Pettersson, were both "doubtful" to feature against the Kraken on Saturday.
Hughes was a game-time decision ahead of the 4-3 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday and ultimately played the full game, including overtime. Pettersson scored twice in the win, but was unable to finish the contest due to injury.
Canucks Game Lineup
Jake DeBrusk - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander - Pius Suter - Conor Garland
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Dakota Joshua - Max Sasson - Phil Di Giuseppe
Derek Forbort - Tyler Myers
Carson Soucy - Noah Juulsen
Erik Brannstrom - Vincent Desharnais
Thatcher Demko is confirmed as the starting goalie for the Canucks against the Kraken on Saturday afternoon, with Kevin Lankinen backing him up.
Kraken Game Lineup
Jared McCann - Shane Wright - Yanni Gourde
Jaden Schwartz - Matty Beniers - Kaapo Kakko
Eeli Tolvanen - Chandler Stephenson - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Tye Kartye - Ben Meyers - Daniel Sprong
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans - Josh Mahura
Former Stanley Cup champion Philipp Gruabauer will start for the Kraken against the Canucks on Saturday afternoon. Grubauer has struggled since joining the Kraken in 2021, and this season has been no different. The 33-year-old German netminder is 3-10-0 this season with a 3.63 GAA and .877 save percentage in 13 games.
How to watch the Canucks game
Saturday afternoon's Canucks game will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Sportsnet, KONG, and KING 5. For fans unable to watch the Canucks game, Sportsnet 650 will be the radio broadcast available for your listening.