After finally stashing a key win in their back pockets, the Vancouver Canucks (27-20-11) close out the second leg of a back-to-back and their fourth game of a five-game road trip with a meeting with the Anaheim Ducks (25-25-7) at 7 p.m. at Honda Center on Thursday night.
Importantly, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes made a surprise return to the lineup against Los Angeles Wednesday night, leading the team in power play ice time and finishing second only to Filip Hronek in overall ice time. He assisted Conor Garland's overtime game-winning goal, extending his point streak to nine games, and helped keep the Canucks alive in the playoff race for the time being. Thursday night's game against Anaheim is only a continuation of that necessity.
Canucks Game Lineup
Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Nils Hoglander
Dakota Joshua - Filip Chytil - Conor Garland
Drew O'Connor - Pius Suter - Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson - Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort - Carson Soucy
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will own the crease for the Canucks against the Ducks on Thursday night. The Latvian has struggled to the tune of a 1-5-1 record, a 3.82 GAA, and a .862 save percentage, but played arguably his best game of the season on Sunday, stopping 30 of 32 shots in a losing effort against Utah. Thursday's game against the Ducks will be a big opportunity for Silovs to prove himself on a personal level and on a team level, given the circumstances the Canucks are in.
Ducks Game Lineup
Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Troy Terry
Leo Carlsson - Mason McTavish - Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier - Isac Lundestrom - Sam Colangelo
Ross Johnson - Jansen Harkins - Brett Leason
Pavel Mintyukov - Jacob Trouba
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Brian Dumoulin - Drew Helleson
Standout youngster Lukas Dostal will be tasked with keeping Anaheim in the playoff race as the Ducks' starting goalie against the Canucks Thursday night. The 24-year-old is 16-14-5 this season with a 2.93 GAA, a .910 save percentage, and one shutout after overtaking John Gibson (upper-body) as the de facto starting goaltender.
How to watch the Canucks game
Thursday night's Canucks game will be streamed on Sportsnet Pacific, Victory+, KCOP-13, and TVAS. For fans unable to watch the Canucks game, Sportsnet 650 will be the radio broadcast available for your listening.