Brock Boeser and Jonathan Lekkerimäki swapped lines at morning skate as the Canucks, losers of seven straight, get set to face the Golden Knights tonight.
Vancouver (3-17-1) opens a back-to-back in Vegas, then travels to Salt Lake City to meet the Utah Mammoth on Monday. The Golden Knights (13-5-3) dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Predators on Friday.
| Forwards |
| DeBrusk - EP40 - Lekkerimäki |
| Öhgren - Rossi - Karlsson |
| Cotter - Chytil - Boeser |
| DOC - Sasson - Gallagher |
| Defense |
| Buium - Hronek |
| EP25 - Willander |
| Oleksiak - Crotty |
Dan Murphy posted the lines from the skate, and the headline is Lekkerimäki skating next to Elias Pettersson while Boeser slides down to play with Paul Cotter and Filip Chytil.
The timing is interesting. Boeser is riding a six-game point streak and picked up the 500th point of his NHL career Friday, assisting on Pettersson's goal in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers.
That goal was Pettersson's first at 5-on-5 this season and lifted his team-leading total to 21 points in 21 games. Lekkerimäki brings 7 goals to the top line, which is a fair reason to give him the look.
Still, moving Boeser off that line in the middle of a streak is a gamble. This team has scored six goals in its last four games, and Boeser has two of them.
On defense, Filip Chytil and Tom Willander both returned from injury Friday, and Cameron Crotty made his Canucks debut with 12:18 of ice time. Based on the skate, the same six defensemen go again tonight.
Who starts in goal for the Canucks in Vegas?
Kevin Lankinen did the starter's routine at the skate, according to Murphy. But Leevi Meriläinen was the first of the three goalies off the ice, which points to him.
If Meriläinen gets the nod, it will be his fifth straight start and his ninth in the last 10 games. Lankinen hasn't won since opening night, and the usage tells you where the coaching staff stands.
Vancouver has recalled Nikita Tolopilo from Abbotsford, and he is expected to make his season debut Monday in Utah. The Mammoth, who lost 5-6 in a shootout to the Sharks on Saturday, have dropped five straight themselves.
The Canucks have won once in their last 18 games (1-16-1), so a second goalie change could be coming sooner than Monday if tonight goes badly.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Will moving Boeser down and Lekkerimäki up pay off for the Canucks?
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