Vancouver Canucks Announce Big Lineup Changes & Starting Goaltender To Face off Vs the Blues

Two days after being shut out by J.T. Miller and the New York Rangers, Adam Foote's Vancouver Canucks will be back in action as they start a three-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues.

With injuries continuing to be an issue for the club, Patrik Allvin had to call up yet another forward from the American Hockey League, brining former Stanley Cup champion Mackenzie MacEachern up to the NHL before the team flew to St. Louis.

On Thursday morning, the Canucks hit the ice in St. Louis and fans got a closer look at tonight's lineup, some changes to the forward group, as well as who will be getting the start between the pipes against the Blues.



With the injury to Conor Garland, who didn't accompany the team to St. Louis, Kiefer Sherwood has been inserted into the top-six, according to Sportsnet's Dan Murphy, while Brock Boeser has been bumped up to the first line alongside Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk.

Mackenzie MacEachern will make his Vancouver Canucks debut on the team's third line tonight, skating with Aatu Raty and Drew O'Connor, while the fourth line of Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson will remain intact for another game.

On the blue line, it appears Adam Foote has completely changed things up, with Elias Pettersson on the top pairing with Filip Hronek, while Marcus Pettersson will be playing alongside Tom Willander on the second pairing and Tyler Myers will slide down to the third pairing where he's slated to be with Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Coming into the season, the Vancouver Canucks reportedly didn't want to overwork Thatcher Demko and risk another injury and after starting three of the last four games, he'll be getting some rest.

Sportsnet's Dan Murphy is reporting that Kevin Lankinen will be getting his fifth start of the season for the Canucks and his second against the St. Louis Blues this month.

Lankinen, a native of Helsinki, Finland, has a 1-3-0 record with a 3.74 goals against average and an .873 save percentage in four games this season.

Puck drop for tonight's game against the St. Louis Blues is set for just after 5 p.m. PT and can be viewed in British Columbia on Sportsnet Pacific.