Kane played 18:58 time-on-ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, his highest total of nine games, but might be unable to play on Thursday due to a hand injury. Kane is amid one of the worst stretches of his career in terms of productivity, being limited to only three points (2G / 1A) in his last 14 games.
Lankinen will draw the front-end of Nashville's back-to-back in Dallas on Friday before the team travels home to host the Islanders on Saturday. Lankinen coincidentally faced the Stars his last time out, allowing three goals on 29 shots as the Predators edged a 4-3 victory. He may have a hard time producing a repeat performance on Friday with Nashville being +150 underdogs in Dallas. The Predators' backup owns a 5-3-0 record on the season along with a .901 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.
Patera will get the night off on Thursday after starting last night's game in Colorado. Logan Thompson is set to start while recent call-up Isiah Saville will serve as his backup.
Demko did not play on Tuesday, the back end of a back-to-back, a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders, but will return to the crease on Thursday in search of his third straight win. Demko has been unspectacular lately, allowing three or more goals in six of his last seven games, but his .898 SV% in that stretch has been enough to salvage a 5-1-1 record. The Canucks are +113 road underdogs against a Pittsburgh Penguins club that handily defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in their last game.
Patera will be the surprise starter on Wednesday after all after Adin Hill was a late scratch due to his undisclosed injury. Patera hasn't played since December 10th, when he allowed four goals on 38 shots enroute to a 5-4 victory over the Sharks. He'll have his hands full on Wednesday as the Golden Knights travel to Colorado to take on Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche.
Demko has started three straight games for the Canucks and will start again on Monday, the front end of a back-to-back. Demko has been solid all season but is amid a weaker run of play, allowing three or more goals in four of his last five games (3-1-1), posting an uncharacteristically low .891 SV%. The Canucks are coming off a 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on the weekend but are +129 road underdogs against a New York Rangers club that has collected at least a point in three of their last four (2-1-1).
Demko has started three straight games for the Canucks and will likely start again on Monday, the front end of a back-to-back. Demko has been solid all season but is amid a weaker run of play, allowing three or more goals in four of his last five games (3-1-1), posting an uncharacteristically low .891 SV%. The Canucks are coming off a 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on the weekend but are +129 road underdogs against a New York Rangers club that has collected at least a point in three of their last four (2-1-1).
Demko will start his second straight game and look for his third consecutive victory for the Canucks on Thursday. The 28-year-old Demko has helped his team collect a point in his last seven games (6-0-1), allowing three or fewer goals five times and posting a serviceable .917 SV%. The Canucks are -147 road favourites against a St. Louis Blues team that has lost two straight, being outscored 6-3.
Karlsson is expected to skate on a line with Andrei Kuzmenko and Nils Aman in his first game since December 5th. Through three games this season, Karlsson has yet to record a point while averaging 10:26 time-on-ice.
Linus Karlsson is expected to re-enter the Canucks lineup on Thursday as Hoglander will be a healthy scratch for the first time in nearly two months. Hoglander has zero points in his last four games, firing only three shots on goal in the process.
Aman will return to the lineup after sitting out the last contest for the Canucks and will join a line with Andrei Kuzmenko and Linus Karlsson. Through 14 games this season, Aman has four points (2G / 2A), nine blocks, and is averaging 10:38 time-on-ice.
Karlsson had seven goals, 16 assists, 10 PIMs and +8 plus/minus through 25 games played with Abbotsford (AHL) and has been recalled to Vancouver for the second time this season. The 24-year-old last appeared on December 5th for the Canucks and has yet to pick up a point in three games and only 10:26 TOI/GP.
Aman appears to be the odd-man out on Tuesday as Nils Hoglander (undisclosed) is seemingly fit to play after all. Aman has two goals and two assists in 14 games this season.
Hoglander has only one point (1G / 0A) in his last seven games and was a game-time decision on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators as he deals with an undisclosed injury. He'll skate alongside Pius Suter and Sam Lafferty on Vancouver's fourth line.
