Vancouver Canucks Gameday Preview #12: A Duel With Dylan Larkin And The Detroit Red Wings

The Vancouver Canucks (2–8–1) enter their 12th game of the 2026–27 season on an eight-game losing streak. They’ll take on the Detroit Red Wings (3–3–3) tonight in hopes of registering their first win since October 3. Vancouver dropped their last game by a score of 6–3 against the Carolina Hurricanes, while Detroit is coming off a 4–3 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken. 

While Vancouver’s losing streak looks rough on paper, on a game-by-game basis, the Canucks have also dealt with one of the tougher schedules in the NHL through the start of the season. Of their 11 games, seven have taken place on the road, while six were part of a near two-week road trip against some of the league’s best teams on the east coast. All things considered, Vancouver has produced some fair attempts at comeback efforts, though certain lapses — particularly during third periods as of late — have resulted in them throwing away their leads or ties. 

One of the biggest issues Vancouver has had as of late is generating shots on net. This was a glaring struggle on Tuesday night, as the Canucks produced a total of only 17 shots compared to Carolina’s 44. While the Hurricanes may be a heavy shot-suppression team, Vancouver’s shooting struggles extend past Tuesday night. They currently sit at the bottom of the league in shots per game with an average of 20.7. To generate more offence, Vancouver will want to get the puck to the net much more often.  

Marco Rossi

After spending the past two games out of the lineup due to illness, Canucks centre Marco Rossi is expected to make his return to play. During Vancouver’s practice on Wednesday, Rossi skated between Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser on the team’s second line. This season, he’s skated with these two on two other occasions — October 8th’s 7–2 loss to the Hurricanes and October 11th’s 6–2 loss to the New York Rangers. Rossi’s last point came on October 1 against the Edmonton Oilers, during which he scored two goals and one assist.   

Dylan Larkin

The NHL as a whole has an undoubted interest in former Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin given his status as one of a couple stars that could find themselves playing for a new team in the next couple of weeks. Reportedly, the forward recently extended his trade list to 10 teams — the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, Utah Mammoth, Carolina Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils. In seven games this season, Larkin has a goal and four assists.  

Vancouver Canucks (2–8–1): 

Points: 

Elias Pettersson: 3–8–11

Brock Boeser: 2–6–8

Linus Karlsson: 3–5–8

Jake DeBrusk: 3–4–7 

Paul Cotter: 4–3–7

Goaltenders: 

Leevi Meriläinen: 1–2–1

Kevin Lankinen: 1–6–0

Detroit Red Wings (3–3–3): 

Points: 

Alex DeBrincat: 6–5–11

Viktor Arvidsson: 4–2–6

Emmitt Finnie: 3–3–6

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård: 2–4–6

Lucas Raymond: 1–5–6

Goaltenders: 

John Gibson: 2–3–1

Daniil Tarasov: 1–0–2

Game Information: 

Start time: 7:00 pm PT 

Venue: Rogers Arena 

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: KiSS West Coast

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