The Carolina Hurricanes are headed for British Columbia to face the Vancouver Canucks for their second and final time this season in game three of their five-game Western Conference Road Trip.

The game is scheduled for 10:00 PM EDT.

In the Hurricanes’ last game, they had their league-leading seven-game winning streak ended by the Calgary Flames as they lost 3-2. But while a loss to the Flames wasn’t that big of a deal, what was a big deal was how it came about – another injury to a key player as Mark Jankowski was unable to hit the ice, instead being shipped back to Raleigh due to a lower-body concern. You can read all about the game here!

Meanwhile, things haven’t exactly been peachy for the Canucks. Saturday, they ended their own six-game Eastern Conference road trip – which ironically began with the Hurricanes – and only managed to log a single point in the standings due to an overtime loss to the Florida Panthers Thursday. The Canucks will be playing on two days of rest as they open their three game homestand Tuesday.

In the Crease

Brandon Bussi had a decent showing in Sunday’s game against the Flames, and has played well this season despite what the statistics may show – after all, statistics don’t factor in defensive breakdowns and miscues. While Pyotr Kochetkov would have more rest, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bussi make the start against the Canucks, as well, with Kochetkov taking the next game against the Edmonton Oilers.

This season, Bussi’s goals against average is 2.98, with a save percentage of .882.

Meanwhile, I imagine the Canucks will likely play Leevi Merilainen over the typical starter, Kevin Lankinen. Between the two, Merilainen has had considerably better numbers (and outcomes) in his last five starts compared to Lankinen, posting a save percentage above .900, as opposed to Lankinen, who has faced notably less shots with a save percentage below .800. At just 24-years-old, he has really been emerging as an interesting goaltender to watch this season.

This season, Merilainen’s goals against average is 2.51, with a save percentage of .925.

Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines

William Carrier – Sebastian Aho – Andrei Svechnikov

Bradly Nadeau – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake

Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Martinook – Felix Unger Sorum

Eric Robinson – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Nicolas Deslauriers

Defense

Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield

K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker

Shayne Gostisbehere – Mike Reilly

Goaltenders

Brandon Bussi / Pyotr Kochetkov

Projected Vancouver Canucks Lines

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Paul Cotter – Filip Chytil – Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren – Drew O’Connor – Linus Karlsson

Arshdeep Bains – Max Sasson – Brendan Gallagher

Defense

Elias Nils Pettersson – Filip Hronek

Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander

Zeev Buium – Victor Mancini

Goaltenders

Leevi Merilainen / Kevin Lankinen

Special Teams

Carolina Hurricanes power play: 25.6% (7th, down one spot from previous game) Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 91.4% (3rd, down one spot from previous game)

Vancouver Canucks power play: 20.0% (16th) Vancouver Canucks penalty kill: 58.1% (32nd)

Hurricanes Game Notes

The Hurricanes will play five games for the Western Conference Road Trip, spanning Saturday to Saturday. The order in which they will play will be the Winnipeg Jets (Saturday), Flames (Sunday), Canucks (Tuesday), Oilers (Thursday), and finally the St. Louis Blues (Saturday).

Monday, the Hurricanes put Taylor Hall on injured reserve.