Vancouver Canucks give their defence pairs a big shakeup
If Vancouver Canucks fans had a nickel for every former Canucks captain who became captain of the New York Islanders, they’d have 10 cents. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s strange that it has happened twice.
Bo Horvat was named captain of the Islanders ahead of this season, following in the footsteps of Trevor Linden, who served as captain of the Islanders for one full season after he was traded to Long Island.
He’s actually the third former Canuck to become captain of the Islanders, as Mike Peca was their captain for three seasons in the early 2000s, but he never captained the Canucks.
On Tuesday night, Horvat will face his former team for the first time with a “C” on his chest.
“To say you were a captain of two NHL teams is obviously super humbling, and I’m very grateful for that,” said Horvat after Tuesday’s morning skate. “My time in Vancouver, it was special to me and my family. The community still means a lot to me, and the fan base. To have that same kind of passion here, and the fan support and the community support here as a captain, it’s a full-circle moment for sure.”
Horvat has been lights-out to start the season, with four goals and six points in five games, but his team has struggled, winning just two of their five games.
Perhaps a visit from his former team, which has had its own struggles in the early days of a rebuild, will be just what the doctor ordered.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
The Canucks have found something with their top line of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. That trio keeps putting the puck in the net.
The rest of the Canucks’ lineup? Well, that’s a work in progress.
Here are the Canucks’ projected lines, courtesy of The Athletic’s Thomas Drance:
Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Paul Cotter – Marco Rossi – Linus Karlsson
Liam Öhgren – Drew O’Connor – Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains – Max Sasson – Brendan Gallagher
Elias Pettersson – Filip Hronek
Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander
Zeev Buium – Luke Schenn
Leevi Meriläinen
Kevin Lankinen
While the forward lines have been shuffled a little, with Aatu Räty once again coming out of the lineup, the big change is on defence.
After a strong performance against the New York Rangers, Elias “D-Petey” Pettersson has been bumped up to the top pairing with Filip Hronek.
Pettersson has been hitting his stride in recent games, but primarily in a third-pairing role. This will be a test to see how well he handles bigger minutes and tougher competition.
Zeev Buium has been partnered with Hronek for most of the season, and that pairing has seriously struggled to stay connected defensively and hasn’t provided much offensively, either. Perhaps the steadier play of Pettersson will help Hronek, who needs to find his game.
Jamie Oleksiak gets back into the lineup and will be back with Tom Willander, while Buium will play with Luke Schenn — a duo that was paired together for most of training camp.
In addition, Buium was bumped off the second power play unit when the Canucks ran special teams. Tom Willander will be the lone defenceman on PP2 against the Islanders.
The Canucks’ starting goaltender is expected to be Leevi Meriläinen after Kevin Lankinen got lit up for another six goals by the Rangers.
New York Islanders projected lines
The Islanders will be looking to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’re well rested, with two days in between games, while the Canucks will be playing their third game in four nights.
Here are the Islanders’ projected lines, courtesy of Newsday’s Andrew Gross:
Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Brayden Schenn – Calum Ritchie – Viktor Eklund
Ondrej Palat – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Anthony Duclair
Matias Maccelli – Casey Cizikas – Simon Holmstrom
Logan Stanley – Matthew Schaefer
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Tony DeAngelo – Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Adam Pelech missed Monday’s practice for maintenance, but is expected to be in the lineup against the Canucks.
The Islanders’ starting goaltender is expected to be Ilya Sorokin, making his fifth start in six games. Sorokin has a sterling .937 save percentage despite his 2-2-0 record.