Lineup Notes: Meriläinen Projected To Start, Karlsson Moves Up To The First Line As Canucks Face The Hurricanes

The Vancouver Canucks begin a three-game home-stand today as they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Rogers Arena. The Canucks have dropped their past seven games, having gone winless on their most recent east-coast road trip. Here are the lineup notes for October 20, 2026. 

The biggest change to the lineup is to Vancouver’s first line, in which Linus Karlsson comes up to take Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s spot beside Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. The trio of Lekkerimäki, Pettersson, and DeBrusk found offensive success together during the road trip, though they appear to have been broken up for tonight’s game. 

After missing Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it appears Marco Rossi will miss another game due to illness. The forward did not participate in Vancouver's optional morning skate ahead of the game and missed practice the day before. 

In net, Leevi Meriläinen is projected to start against the Hurricanes tonight. The goaltender has had a strong start to the 2026–27 season despite Vancouver’s record, putting together a 2.51 GAA and .925 SV% through six games played in. His last start was on October 15 against the Florida Panthers, during which he stopped 36 of 39 shots faced.  

As today's morning skate was optional for the Canucks, tonight's projected lineup is based on Vancouver's lines from Monday's practice. 

Projected Lineup: 

DeBrusk – Pettersson – Karlsson

Cotter – Chytil – Boeser

Öhgren – O’Connor – Lekkerimäki

Bains – Sasson – Gallagher 

Pettersson – Hronek

Oleksiak – Willander

Buium – Schenn 

Meriläinen 

Lankinen 

Game Information: 

Start time: 7:00 pm PT 

Venue: Rogers Arena

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: KiSS West Coast 

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