The Vancouver Canucks ought to look a little bit more like themselves on Friday night.
, "All the stars are here!" Specifically, the Canucks will be getting two stars back on the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes: Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko.
Technically, Demko returned to the lineup but that was just as the backup to Kevin Lankinen. Going through the regular game-day routine and warmup, however, proved that he has recovered from the back spasms that took him out of the game in .
Demko only missed three games, which is a relief considering the last time he got injured he missed nearly eight months.
Pettersson hasn't played since last year. Okay, so it was only December 23 when in the third period. But that's still last year.
There has been no clarity provided by the Canucks regarding Pettersson's injury, which has caused him to miss six games. Pettersson had just broken out of a slump when he got injured, scoring two goals against the Sharks with shots that looked like vintage Pettersson.
“It feels good,” said Pettersson in the intermission of that game, quipping, “Reminds myself that I’ve still got it."
Assuming no one else comes out of the lineup to injury, the Canucks will be getting very close to their full roster. Filip Hronek and Dakota Joshua will be the only two players out of the lineup due to injury, with Joshua expected to be out for about a week or so, while Hronek could make his return near the end of the month.
Nearing a full complement of players comes at the right time for the Canucks. They've lost five of their last six games and face a tough opponent on Friday.
The Hurricanes are arguably the best puck possession team in the NHL, with sparkling underlying numbers at 5-on-5. Of late, those underlying numbers have led to middling results, as the Hurricanes are 4-4-1 in their last nine games.
Still, the Hurricanes are a top ten team in both goals for and goals against. The Canucks have to hope that getting Pettersson and Demko back will help put a dent in both of those numbers.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
We won't know exactly how the lines will look with Pettersson back until the Canucks take the ice for warmup but we can make some educated guesses.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
There are a few players who could come out of the lineup for Pettersson. The Canucks could return Jonathan Lekkerimäki to the AHL and put Pius Suter on the wing with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Alternately, Suter could stay at centre and Max Sasson could be bumped to the press box or the wing.
If Sasson stays in the lineup, one of Nils Höglander or Phil Di Giuseppe will likely come out. Höglander has provided some energy on the forecheck lately and he looks like he could bust his scoring slump at any moment, but has also made some mental mistakes that have proven costly, such as his late penalty against the Montreal Canadiens.
UPDATE: Höglander is not on the ice for warmup, so he appears to be the one coming out of the lineup.
Warmup also revealed some other changes to the lines and pairings. Suter will centre the third line, with Sasson getting promoted to his wing along with Kiefer Sherwood. Danton Heinen will move to the fourth line with Teddy Blueger and Di Giuseppe.
On defence, Derek Forbort is now paired with Noah Juulsen, while Carson Soucy playing with Vincent Desharnais.
With so many other stories surrounding the Canucks, the underwhelming play of Danton Heinen has gone a bit under the radar. Originally expected to be a utility winger capable of playing in a top-six role, Heinen has largely landed on the fourth line this season. If not for his solid work on the penalty kill, he could be a candidate to be scratched.
The Canucks' starting goaltender is expected to be Demko, with Kevin Lankinen slated to start the second half of back-to-back games on Saturday.
Carolina Hurricanes projected lines
The Hurricanes are playing on the second half of back-to-backs, so their energy could wane as the game progresses. Look for them to try to get the jump on the Canucks early in the first period, a time when the Canucks have been vulnerable, in order to get a lead that they can sit back and defend if they get tired late in the game.
Martin Necas has been the most dangerous player for the Hurricanes this season, leading the team with 15 goals and 48 points in 42 games.
Here are the Hurricanes' projected lines:
Jack Roslovic - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Eric Robinson - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Juha Jaaska - Jack Drury - Jackson Blake
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Ty Smith - Sean Walker
Dustin Tokarski
Pyotr Kochetkov
The Hurricanes starting goaltender is expected to be Dustin Tokarski. The 35-year-old AHL journeyman has won three of his four starts for the Hurricanes this season with an .894 save percentage.
