Barely clinging to life in the Western Conference wildcard race, the Vancouver Canucks (20-17-10) host the Washington Capitals (33-10-5) at Rogers Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday night for a game that may very well decide the fate of their 2024-25 season. The Canucks have just two wins in their last 10 games, which ties them with the San Jose Sharks for the fewest in the NHL.
Elias Pettersson, the defenceman version, will make his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. Pettersson, 20, was with Vancouver briefly earlier in the season. The Canucks' former third-round pick has played 44 AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks in his short time in North America, recording one goal, 14 assists, and 16 points.
Canucks Game Lineup
Pius Suter - J.T. Miller - Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Hoglander - Max Sasson - Phil Di Giuseppe
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy - Elias Pettersson
Derek Forbort - Vincent Desharnais
Kevin Lankinen is expected to be the Canucks' starting goalie against the Capitals on Saturday night after battling a small illness. Lankinen last played for the Canucks on Jan. 14 and is 16-8-6 this season with a 2.63 GAA, a .903 save percentage, and four shutouts.
Capitals Game Lineup
Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Connor McMichael
Aliaksei Protas - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
Taylor Raddysh - Lars Eller - Ethen Frank
Andrew Mangiapane - Nic Dowd - Brandon Duhaime
Rasmus Sandin - John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary - Matt Roy
Charlie Lindgren is confirmed to be the Capitals' starting goalie against the Canucks on Saturday night. Lindgren, 31, has stopped each of the last 31 shots he's faced and heads into this matchup with the Canucks with an 11-8-2 record, a 2.53 GAA, and a .905 save percentage with one shutout.
How to watch the Canucks game
Saturday night's Canucks game will be streamed on CBC, CITY, Sportsnet, and Monumental Sports Network 2. For fans unable to watch the Canucks game, Sportsnet 650 will be the radio broadcast available for your listening.