Canucks vs Kraken Game Day: Don’t blow the lead this time

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Vancouver Canucks vs. Seattle Kraken

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When: Thursday, 7 p.m., Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle

TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650

The buzz: The Canucks are officially reeling. First there was the epic collapse on Saturday against the Kraken. Then there was the meagre effort against Calgary on New Year’s Eve. And now the Kraken are feeling good about themselves: They beat the Canucks, and then Utah on Monday. Now, all this said, the Kraken have mostly struggled this year. And even without Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, the Canucks have been able to break out pretty cleanly against Seattle.

• Guillaume Brisebois was involved in line rushes on Thursday morning, but then wasn’t involved in penalty killing drills, according to observers on the scene, so whether he draws in is unclear. Rick Tocchet said he’s looking at a game-time decision on his blue line, indicating there’s perhaps a mild injury concern with one of his defencemen.

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• The Miller line remains intact, but the other three lines are being juggled, a source on the scene said. But what the details are aren’t known at the moment — we’re not there, so can’t tell you.

• Thatcher Demko gets the start. Kevin Lankinen will play Friday, Tocchet said.

The history: Seattle won on Saturday, coming back from 4-1 down in the final five minutes. That was just the third time in NHL history a team has won in such a fashion.

The hope: The Canucks did control most of the game on Saturday, but were undone by their own poor execution in the final stages of the game. They needed 60 minutes worth of play, but only managed 55 minutes on Saturday.

The fear: The team seems very low on confidence. Without Hughes, they’re struggling to create scoring opportunities. Tuesday in Calgary was case in point; they were badly out played by the Flames.

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The top guns: With no Pettersson or Hughes, Conor Garland is suddenly the Canucks’ leading scorer. But his goal on Saturday against Seattle was the only goal he’d scored in all of December, so he’s not exactly hot. Brock Boeser, on the other hand, is on fire: He has six goals in the last four games.

The wounded: Canucks: Filip Hronek (shoulder, four weeks), Elias Pettersson (undisclosed, day to day), Quinn Hughes (undisclosed, week to week). Kraken: Jordan Eberle (pelvis, two months), Joey Daccord (upper-body bruise, day to day)

The quote: “We were a little antsy at times,” Rick Tocchet said of his team on Tuesday. He was happy how hard they’re working, but disappointed in how they managed a pair of crucial moments that led to goals.

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The latest: Joey Daccord remains on the shelf for Seattle; he didn’t practice Wednesday. The Canucks again are likely to face Phillipp Grubauer, who has struggled this season.

The lineup: 

DeBrusk-Miller-Boeser

Höglander-Suter-Garland

Heinen-Blueger-Sherwood

Joshua-Sasson-PDG

Hughes-Myers

Soucy-Juulsen

Forbort-Desharnais

Demko

The prediction: Surely Vancouver will start the year off right, right? Look for a 4-2 win for Vancouver, revenge for Saturday’s disappointment.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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