Fresh off a potentially season-saving 3-0 shutout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Vancouver Canucks (19-13-10) conclude their five-game road trip with a 5 p.m. matchup with the Winnipeg Jets (29-12-3) at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night. This will be the first of three meetings between these two teams this season, with the Canucks playing the hosts on March 18 and March 30.
The Jets are tied for first in the NHL in wins with 29, so the Canucks' desperate push to regain footing in the wildcard race is not going to get any easier. Plus, the Canucks have just one win in their last five games against the Jets and four wins in their last 10. Yikes.
Head coach Rick Tocchet deemed defenseman Filip Hronek a game-time decision for Tuesday night's contest. We're assuming Hronek will play for the Canucks against the Jets, but this post will be updated as more information becomes available.
Canucks Game Lineup
Jonathan Lekkerimaki - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander - Pius Suter - Kiefer Sherwood
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Phil Di Giuseppe
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy - Noah Juulsen
Derek Forbort - Tyler Myers
Thatcher Demko is expected to be the Canucks starting goalie to close out this five-game road trip against the Jets on Tuesday night. Demko returned from a week-long battle with back spasms on Friday night, stopping 18 of 20 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jets Game Lineup
Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Gabe Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers - Adam Lowry - Alex Iafallo
Nino Niederreiter - Rasmus Kupari - Cole Perfetti
Dominic Toninato - David Gustafsson - Morgan Barron
Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg - Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley - Ville Heinola
Vezina Trophy frontrunner Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start for the Jets against the Canucks on Tuesday night. Hellebuyck, 31, is 26-6-2 this season with a 2.02 GAA, a .928 save percentage, and a tied career-high six shutouts. Hellebuyck has already saved 27 goals above expected, per Moneypuck, leading the NHL by a significant margin.
How to watch the Canucks game
Tuesday night's Canucks game will be streamed on Sportsnet Pacific and TSN3. For fans unable to watch the Canucks game, Sportsnet 650 will be the radio broadcast available for your listening.