It's appropriate that the Vancouver Canucks are in California right now because they've been in-n-out of the playoff picture this week.
The Canucks' two losses on the weekend, paired with a couple of wins by the Calgary Flames, had the Canucks just outside of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday's game. The overtime win popped them back up over the Flames by one point but the Flames still have a game in hand.
It's a precarious position to be in, especially because the Flames aren't the only team potentially challenging for that final playoff spot. The Utah Hockey Club is only four points back of the Canucks, the St. Louis Blues are just a point behind them, and even the Anaheim Ducks are lurking and could prove problematic if they go on a run late in the season.
The Canucks would love to get away from the brink and move to more comfortable climes by reeling in one of the Los Angeles Kings or Colorado Avalanche ahead of them but that would require stringing some wins together. Getting a second win in as many nights on Thursday against the Ducks would be a good place to start.
The Ducks are eminently beatable. The Canucks have already beaten them once already, a 5-1 win back in November that represents their largest margin of victory on the season. That's also the game where they had their highest number of shots on goal with 37; that's more than they've had in their last two games combined.
But the Ducks aren't a pushover either. They have wins over a couple of very good teams this month in the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings and they have a solid goaltending tandem that keeps them in most games. Given the Canucks' offensive struggles — they've scored more than three goals in a game just once in their last 19 games — that's a bit of a concern.
The Canucks might also be missing a defenceman on Thursday night. Tyler Myers took a puck to the throat on Wednesday night and left the ice in distress. After the game, head coach Rick Tocchet said that Myers "dodged a bullet" and might be available for Thursday's game but Tocchet has said similar things before.
UPDATE: According to Tocchet, Myers will be playing but that the team has some guys who are "banged up" and he's "almost 100 per cent" that the team will once again dress seven defencemen to be safe.
One of the players who is arguably still banged up is Quinn Hughes. While Hughes returned to the lineup on Wednesday, he wasn't quite at 100 per cent and said after the game, "Can't say I felt my best tonight but I got through the game."
Hopefully, both Hughes and Myers are in the lineup. Hughes is crucial for the Canucks and Myers has found chemistry with Marcus Pettersson to form a solid second pairing. With both of them in the lineup, the Canucks actually have a legitimate top-four on defence.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
With only an optional morning skate, it's hard to accurately predict the lineup. With that in mind, we'll make some assumptions and then update when the Canucks take the ice for warm-up.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
On defence, one of Elias Pettersson, Derek Forbort, or Carson Soucy would have to come out of the lineup if the Canucks dressed six defencemen and both Hughes and Myers are in the lineup. Even if they use seven defencemen, however, one of those three could still get scratched as the Canucks also have Vittorio Mancini available.
Pettersson was the low-minute man on defence on Wednesday but Tocchet has talked about wanting to keep him in the lineup. He could come out in a back-to-back situation but he also has the youngest legs of the three, so might have more energy.
Forbort played a major role on the penalty kill on Wednesday, particularly the overtime 4-on-3. That might keep him in the lineup over Soucy, who played under a minute on the penalty kill.
Of course, Mancini could simply be scratched again with the Canucks combing back with the same winning lineup from Wednesday.
The Canucks' starting goaltender is expected to be Arturs Silovs after Kevin Lankinen got the start against the Kings.
Anaheim Ducks projected lines
The Ducks will be without Robby Fabbri on Thursday, as he has just gone on the Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury. Trevor Zegras will also miss the game as he serves the second game of a three-game suspension.
Here are the Ducks' projected lines, courtesy of Sporting Tribune reporter Zach Cavanagh:
Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Troy Terry
Mason McTavish - Leo Carlsson - Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier - Isac Lundestrom - Sam Colangelo
Ross Johnston - Jansen Harkins - Brett Leason
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov - Jacob Trouba
Brian Dumoulin - Drew Helleson
Lukas Dostál
Oscar Dansk
The Ducks' starting goaltender will be Lukas Dostál, who has a .910 save percentage this season and has won five of his last seven starts.
With John Gibson out with an injury, the Ducks have called up Oskar Dansk, who hasn't played in the NHL since 2021, to be their backup.
