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Canucks take new lines out for a spin ahead of first road trip

Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
|
Oct 6 2026, 10:24 pm
Canucks take new lines out for a spin ahead of first road trip
Aatu Räty is back to being a healthy scratch as the Vancouver Canucks leave for a six-game road trip. (Sergei Belski/Imagn Images)

The Vancouver Canucks are taking this show on the road, and they’re taking some all-new lines with them.

While the Canucks have played one road game so far, that was in isolation to kick off the season. On Tuesday, after a 9 a.m. practice, the Canucks took off for Raleigh, North Carolina, where they’ll embark on a six-game road trip that should be the toughest test for the positive vibes that have surrounded the team so far.

The East Coast swing will see the Canucks face the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, then the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning — six games in ten days.

The Canucks debuted some new lines on Tuesday morning, with Jake DeBrusk returning from an illness that saw him miss two games over the weekend.

It looks like DeBrusk’s return will knock Aatu Räty out of the lineup, with Marco Rossi moving from Elias Pettersson’s wing on the top line back to centre on the second line.

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Paul Cotter – Marco Rossi – Brock Boeser
Liam Öhgren – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson
Arshdeep Bains – Drew O’Connor – Brendan Gallagher
Aatu Räty

Instead of moving Paul Cotter back into the bottom-six as a centre, head coach Manny Malhotra is keeping him in the top-six on Rossi’s wing.

With Cotter staying in the top six, Drew O’Connor will step into the middle on the fourth line between Arshdeep Bains and Brendan Gallagher, leaving Räty as a healthy scratch once again.

Räty has one goal in his two games this season, and has dominated in the faceoff circle, going 16-for-26 for a 61.5 per cent success rate.

Despite those positive assets, Räty started the season as a healthy scratch, and it looks like he’ll be right back in the press box for the six-game road trip.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Lekkerimäki will move back up to the top line alongside DeBrusk and Pettersson. Lekkerimäki has two goals and an assist through three games, and was one of the two goalscorers in the Canucks’ 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

Liam Öhgren and Linus Karlsson, who started the season as top-six forwards, skated with Max Sasson on the third line at practice.

The defence will see a mild shakeup as well. While the top two pairings will remain the same, it looks like Luke Schenn will come out of the lineup.

Zeev Buium – Filip Hronek
Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander
Elias Pettersson – Victor Mancini
Guillaume Brisebois – Luke Schenn

That means 24-year-old Victor Mancini will likely play his first game of the season against the Hurricanes on Thursday on the third pairing with Elias “Junior” Pettersson.

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