Vancouver Canucks lines vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Oct. 8, 2026)
The Vancouver Canucks brought in two older veterans to help renew the culture for their rebuilding team: Brendan Gallagher and Luke Schenn.
Both are expected to be healthy scratches on Thursday as the Canucks take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
That’s okay, of course — even expected. Both are in the twilight of their careers, and were not necessarily intended to be everyday players when they were acquired. They were meant to provide veteran leadership without standing in the way of younger players getting in the lineup.
What’s interesting is that both have zeroes on the scoresheet in different ways.
Schenn is the only Canuck this season who has yet to be on the ice for a goal against.
That’s zero goals against in just under 50 minutes of ice time, including nearly seven minutes on the penalty kill. In fact, the Canucks have outscored their opponents 1-to-0 with Schenn on the ice while shorthanded.
The Canucks have even outshot their opponents at 5-on-5 with Schenn on the ice. He leads the Canucks in Corsi percentage, with shot attempts 41-to-35 in the Canucks’ favour.
That said, he’s also shown that his lack of mobility can be an issue, with two interference penalties already from being caught flat-footed.
Gallagher has a zero on the other end of his stat sheet: he’s the only Canucks forward who has yet to record a point.
That’s more a testament to how many goals the Canucks have scored through four games and how many players have gotten in on that scoring than it is an indictment of Gallagher. After all, it’s not unusual for fourth-line forwards to fail to register a point in a four-game span.
More than that, Gallagher is the only Canuck who hasn’t been on the ice for a Canucks goal in any situation.
Like Schenn, Gallagher has shown a lack of foot speed, and against a team like the Hurricanes, that can be dangerous. It’s not too surprising that this is the game where both veterans will be in the press box.
Meanwhile, what they’re bringing off the ice in terms of leadership has meant far more than any zeroes in the box score.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
With Schenn and Gallagher presumed scratches, the Canucks will have a younger lineup against the Stanley Cup champs.
Here are the Canucks’ projected lines:
Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Paul Cotter – Marco Rossi – Brock Boeser
Liam Öhgren – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson
Arshdeep Bains – Aatu Räty – Drew O’Connor
Zeev Buium – Filip Hronek
Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander
Elias Pettersson – Victor Mancini
Kevin Lankinen
Leevi Meriläinen
When the Canucks initially practiced with new lines ahead of their road trip, it looked like Aatu Räty would be scratched, with Drew O’Connor playing at centre. With Gallagher sitting, however, Räty will presumably slot back in as the fourth-line centre.
Victor Mancini is expected to make his season debut. He struggled in camp and the preseason, but has the skating and size to be a solid contributor on the Canucks’ blue line. This is a big season for Mancini to prove himself.
The Canucks’ starting goaltender is expected to be Kevin Lankinen.
Carolines Hurricanes projected lines
The Hurricanes got off to a shaky start to the season with an overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in their home opener, a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, and barely eking out an overtime win over the hapless Philadelphia Flyers.
They’re coming off a big 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens, however, and they are still the Cup-contending Carolina Hurricanes. They’re an exceptionally dangerous team, and the Canucks will face a tough test trying to contain them.
Here are the Hurricanes’ projected lines, courtesy of Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News:
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – William Carrier
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson – Mark Jankowski – Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Mike Reilly
Pyotr Kochetkov
Brandon Bussi
Sebastian Aho has been the most dangerous Hurricane to start the year, with four goals and seven points through four games.
The Hurricanes’ starting goaltender is expected to be Pyotr Kochetkov, making his second start of the season. He allowed two goals on just 18 shots against the Flyers.