The Vancouver Canucks play their first game of a five-game road trip tonight, headlined by this weekend’s back-to-back that pits them against the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club. This week could be a potential make or break for the team’s playoff chances, and realistically, they could gain some decent ground in the standings if they can take advantage of this opportunity. Let’s take a look at what this week could have in store for the Canucks.
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Feb 22: @ Vegas Golden Knights
Vancouver’s first match of the road trip takes place in Vegas, where they’ll face a Golden Knights team that has hovered at the top of the Pacific Division since the start of the season. Vegas is the only team on this list that has almost guaranteed their spot in the playoffs, and will undoubtedly be Vancouver’s biggest challenge within the next week. However, they are also playing with a shortened lineup, as Vegas is currently missing Shea Theodore and possibly William Karlsson (expected to return February 24). Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and Noah Hanifin also played during the 4 Nations Face-Off, with all three players’ last games occurring on Thursday. However, Vancouver is without both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson.
Feb 23: @ Utah Hockey Club
The day after facing off against Vegas, Vancouver will take on Utah. With Thatcher Demko out at least until March 1, goaltending is the department that will probably take the most notable hit this week, as Vancouver has two back-to-backs in a row. Seeing as they have a three-day break between their back-to-backs, it’s possible that Lankinen could start three of these four games — but with Demko’s status currently unknown, it wouldn’t be a good idea to overwork their current starter. The likely scenario is that Artūrs Šilovs starts this game, making this his first NHL game played since November 27. He has yet to play against Utah in his career, but has faced the Arizona Coyotes twice (both instances occurring in April 2024). It’s not likely that Vancouver will be able to push the same level of speed that they’ll probably exhibit in the game before, given that this is the second of a back-to-back (and they’ll have another back-to-back to contend with a few days after). Utah will also be playing the second of a back-to-back, with their first game taking place against the L.A. Kings in California. Expect a low-event, grinder’s game with a small score count.
Feb 26: @ L.A. Kings
Vancouver’s match against the Kings is the first game of their second back-to-back this week, and the game that means the most to them in the standings. The Kings are currently the closest team to Vancouver on this list in the standings, with only two points separating these teams from flip-flopping their respective playoff spots. It will be important for Vancouver to grab two points from the Kings in order to help their playoff campaign, but it’s negligible if they lose this game and still manage to win the four others. L.A. will be sporting a boosted blueline with Drew Doughty, who received a bit of a refresher during the 4 Nations Face-Off after missing 47 of the team’s 53 games due to a broken ankle. The Canucks will have had two days off prior to this game, meaning they will probably see Lankinen back in net. With L.A.’s style of play, it’s unlikely that this game will feature high scoring.
Feb 27: @ Anaheim Ducks
The second-half of the Canucks’ second back-to-back of the week is against the Anaheim Ducks. While the travel situation will be easy for Vancouver, this is still the fourth game they will be playing in six games, meaning they’re bound to be tired. This also comes after all but two players on the team have had two weeks off. Of all the games on this road trip, this game should be the one they seek to get points from — but given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it was a close matchup. One thing to make note of is that despite their subpar record, Anaheim is currently fifth in the entire NHL in team SV% with .906. This is being supplemented by the play of both Lukas Dostal and John Gibson, who have both snatched games for their team. As the second of a back-to-back, it’s likely Šilovs who will be starting this game, but don’t count out the team starting Lankinen for a second straight game in order to secure two points. Optimisitcally, Vancouver comes into Anaheim and puts up a winning effort regardless of how tired they may be.
Mar 1: @ Seattle Kraken
A game in Seattle will be the closing stop on this west-coast road trip. If Lankinen plays against both L.A. and Anaheim, then this game will be Šilvos’. If Šilovs gets the start against the Ducks, then Lankinen will take this one. Seattle is in an interesting situation here, as the Kraken’s last game before this one takes place on February 25, while their next game after isn’t until March 4. This means they have three games between this game and the two that surround it. The Kraken will come into this game with lots of rest, and also won’t have to worry about tiring out their players for their next game. Since Vancouver’s previous game will have been on the 27th, the team will have had a little rest compared to how they’ll be faring on the second halves of their two back-to-backs. With Seattle’s waves of offensive depth, Vancouver may need to buckle down and suppress all offensive surges that come their way — especially in the third period.
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