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The Vancouver Canucks opened their season with a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames at home on Thursday.
The Canucks will now go on the road to play the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in a pivotal Pacific Division game at 10 p.m. ET. Ahead of the game, here is what the Canucks lineup is projected to look like.
Canucks projected lines
Forwards
- Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
- Arshdeep Bains - Filip Chytil - Conor Garland
- Evander Kane - Braeden Cootes - Jonathan Lekkerimaki
- Drew O'Connor - Aatu Raty - Kiefer Sherwood
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Vancouver won 5-1 on Thursday as the offense had a great game. The Canucks were led by Filip Chytil, who scored twice, Brock Boeser scored, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Kiefer Sherwood also scored.
“It was nice to see the different guys chip in at the end,” Sherwood said after the game, via NHL.com
Braeden Cootes made the team out of camp after he was selected No. 15 in the 2025 NHL draft. In his NHL debut, Cootes skated in 11:14 but was a -1. Whether or not he will get past the nine NHL games before burning a year of his entry-level contract is to be seen.
Defense
- Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
- Marcus Pettersson - Tyler Myers
- Derek Forbort - Elias Nils Pettersson
The Canucks blue line is led by Quinn Hughes, who remains one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Vancouver ran back the same six defense from last season.
Goalies
- Thatcher Demko
- Kevin Lankinen
Vancouver could start Lankinen on Saturday, but it makes sense to go back to Demko against the Oilers.
Demko is the better goalie, and on Thursday, he stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced.
“I think the first game is huge,” Demko said. “Just keep the momentum building and especially the turnover we had from last year in our room and our coaching staff too. It's a testament to the work everyone put in the summer and then through camp. Obviously 81 left but it was a good first one for sure.”
Lankinen will likely start his first game on Monday against the Blues.
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