VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Both the Sharks and Canucks are making changes to their fourth lines for Game 2 tonight.

As expected, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault is using Jeff Tambellini. After being a scratch in Game 1, Tambellini is replacing Tanner Glass, who did not skate in warm-ups with the Canucks.

Tambellini will be playing only his second playoff game this year and second of his career. He made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 6 at Nashville and made a critical defensive play against Martin Erat late in the second period to help preserve the Canucks' 2-1 lead that wound up being the final score.

He will play on the left side of center Cody Hodgson and right wing Victor Oreskovich.

"It's a great opportunity, we're in a good spot so far, I'm just looking to add to what the guys did in Game 1," Tambellini said this morning. "We have a line with Cody in the middle is a guy that can make a really good play and is a reliable centerman, he's got a lot of energy. Hopefully I can bring an element of speed to that and really try to them (the Sharks) in their zone as much as we can."

Ben Ferriero is replacing Jamal Mayers on the Sharks' fourth line and will be in a right wing role beside center Scott Nichol and left wing Ben Eager. Ferriero played all seven games against Detroit, contributing a goal and six penalty minutes.

Sharks defenseman Jason Demers is again a scratch. He was not on the ice for warmups.

Demers was a surprise scratch in Game 1 after playing in all 13 games over the first two rounds of the playoffs. He did not skate Tuesday in the Sharks' full practice at the University of British Columbia and was not on the ice in their optional skate at Rogers Arena this morning.

The team has remained mum on what may ail Demers, if he has an injury at all. Kent Huskins, who played Sunday for the first time since Feb. 19, will again be paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic to start the game.

Here are the rest of the lineups for Game 2, including the line combinations, defensive pairs and goaltending depth, which, of course, is still the same:

SAN JOSE

Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Devin Setoguchi
Ryane Clowe - Logan Couture - Dany Heatley
Kyle Wellwood - Joe Pavelski - Torrey Mitchell
Ben Eager - Scott Nichol - Ben Ferriero

Dan Boyle - Douglas Murray
Ian White - Niclas Wallin
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Kent Huskins

Antti Niemi
Antero Niittymaki

VANCOUVER

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Mason Raymond
Raffi Torres - Maxim Lapierre - Jannik Hansen
Jeff Tambellini - Cody Hodgson - Victor Oreskovich

Dan Hamuis - Kevin Bieksa
Alex Edler - Sami Salo
Aaron Rome - Christian Ehrhoff

Roberto Luongo
Cory Schneider

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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Alex Burrows wasn't complaining about having two days off between Games 1 and 2. It allowed him to be a daddy for a little while.

Burrows' wife Nancy gave birth to the couple's first child, Victoria, on April 27 at B.C. Women's Hospital. It was the day after he scored the biggest goal of his career and one of the biggest in Canucks' history, the overtime winner in Game 7 against Chicago.

He didn't have much time to celebrate the momentous occasion because less than 24 hours after Victoria was born, the Canucks were playing Game 1 against Nashville. It's been a whirlwind since then for Burrows, but he said his wife has been phenomenal and their families are still visiting from Montreal so they can help out with all the household chores.

"I try to help out as much as I can in the afternoon by changing diapers and cooking dinner, that kind of stuff," Burrows told NHL.com, "but (Nancy) knows once 9:30 or 10 o'clock comes around, the spare bedroom is mine and I'm going to bed."

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Joe Thornton wanted to get the series off to a bang, so before the puck even dropped in Game 1 he verbally challenged Ryan Kesler to a fight. Kesler didn't oblige and Thornton was kicked out of the circle, but the two admitted Tuesday that it did happen.

"Opening draw last game, Thornton asked me to fight," Kesler said. "I'm not going to engage in that, I'm not going to respond to that. He can talk to me all he wants and he's not going to get anything from me."

When asked why he did it, Thornton said, "Why not?"

"I assume, let's fight," Thornton said smiling. "Let's start the series off with a bang. That's about it."

Was he surprised that Kesler was not a willing combatant?

"No," Thornton said, laughing now.

Well, then was he trying to channel his inner Dave Schultz?

"No, I'm not that tough," Thornton said. "He's competitive. I like playing against competitive guys. It makes you elevate your game.  You want to win every inch out there. It's a great battle."
   
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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Todd McLellan gave a bit of an explanation as to why Joe Thornton was named the Sharks' captain prior to this season when he was asked a question about Jumbo Joe on Monday.

Here is what he had to say:

"I thought last year he showed real good signs of growth, the ability to lead the team. As a result when we were looking at our vacant captaincy, he proved to us in the playoffs last year that he was a real good candidate. We picked him and throughout the year he's had an excellent season. Many will say his numbers are down, which they obviously are, but ultimately I think the results are up when you look at Jumbo's play. That may sound strange, but I truly believe he's come a long way. His leadership ability in the locker room is very strong. I think he does it as much by example now on the ice as he does it verbally in the locker room, so he's come a long, long way."

Thornton had a goal and an assist in Game 1 and now has 13 points in 14 playoff games this season. He finished the regular season with 70 points in 80 games, his lowest offensive output since he had 68 points in 2001-02 with the Bruins.

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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Daniel Sedin watched Ryan Kesler try to skate over Douglas Murray in Game 1. He had to cringe when he saw Kesler get stood up like he was skating into a tank.

Sedin recalls playing with Murray in Sweden when the two were younger. Daniel was smaller, but Murray?

"Big. He was a man was he was 12," Daniel said Monday. "He was a big guy back then, too."

And knew how to inflict some pain even without trying, sort of like he does now, or like he did to Kesler on Sunday.

"How much does he weigh, 300 pounds?" Daniel said jokingly of Murray, who checks in at 6-3 and 240 pounds. "He's a big guy and he uses that to his advantage. I think it hurts every time you run into him. It doesn't have to be a big hit on him to get hurt."
 
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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- San Jose has one big change in its lineup for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals as defenseman Kent Huskins has drawn back in and will play for the first time since Feb. 19. Huskins had been considered a healthy scratch in the playoffs save for Game 1 of the first round against Los Angeles.

Jason Demers is instead scratched for the Sharks. Demers, who played in all 13 games of the first round, was not on the ice for pre-game warm-ups. He had 2 goals and an assist over the first two rounds. Huskins will be paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Not surprisingly due to the potential physicality in this series and the size of the Sharks' forwards, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has inserted Victor Oreskovich into the lineup for fourth-line duty with Cody Hodgson and Tanner Glass. Oreskovich last played in Game 2 against Nashville.

Oreskovich is playing instead of the injured Mikael Samuelsson and in place of the smaller Jeff Tambellini, who played in Game 6 against Nashville and likely would have been in if the Canucks were playing Detroit instead of the Sharks. Oreskovich is 6-3 and 215 pounds so his size and physicality could prove valuable against San Jose.

San Jose is keeping a bigger lineup up front as well and will use Jamal Mayers and Ben Eager on the fourth line with Scott Nichol.

Of course, Roberto Luongo will start in Vancouver's net and Antti Niemi will do the same for San Jose.

Here are the lines, defensive pairings and goaltenders from pre-game warm-ups:

SAN JOSE

Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Devin Setoguchi
Ryane Clowe - Logan Couture - Dany Heatley
Torrey Mitchell - Joe Pavelski - Kyle Wellwood
Ben Eager - Scott Nichol - Jamal Mayers

Dan Boyle - Douglas Murray
Ian White - Niclas Wallin
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Kent Huskins

Antti Niemi
Antero Niittymaki

VANCOUVER

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - Chris Higgins
Raffi Torres - Maxim Lapierre - Jannik Hansen
Tanner Glass - Cody Hodgson - Victor Oreskovich

Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Bieksa
Alex Edler - Sami Salo
Aaron Rome - Christian Ehrhoff

Roberto Luongo
Cory Schneider

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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The Canucks scored the game-winning goals in Games 3, 4 and 6 against Nashville on the power play.

San Jose's 51 power play opportunities are the most of any team in through two rounds.

The Canucks killed off 20 of 21 penalties against Nashville and finished the regular season with the League's third-ranked penalty kill and No. 1 power play.

San Jose was No. 2.

Yes, special teams will be huge in the Western Conference Finals. If one team gains the edge on both ends, it will probably advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

"They've got a lot of skill up front and they've got (Dan) Boyle on 'D', and he's one of the best power play defensemen in the League," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said Sunday morning. "It's obviously not something I'd like to do, give them a lot of power plays."

The Sharks have converted only seven of their 51 power plays for a 13.7-percent success rate that is 13th in the NHL. The Canucks have allowed the opposition 50 power play chances, so the Sharks are likely going to get their share in this series as well and they have to be better.

"When you look at it from a numbers perspective, the 13 percent, 14 percent or wherever we're at, not very impressive," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "When you look at the goals we scored, the power play (goals), you have to be pretty pleased. It's won us some games, allowed us to move on."

Vancouver has converted on eight of 36 power plays, but just one of 18 on its home ice. San Jose has had its own discipline problems and has given up the opposition 52 power play chances. The Canucks need to take advantage, but they also need to keep the chances against down. They've given up a League-worst three shorthanded goals.

"I'm a big believer that when you close a series and you move on, you start with fresh numbers," McLellan said. "We have a huge challenge ahead of us, because they're a very good penalty-killing team, obviously the best in the League. We expect our power play to have an impact on the series."

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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Victor Oreskovich skated on the Canucks' fourth line with Tanner Glass and Cody Hodgson in Saturday's practice at Rogers Arena, but when asked afterwards if he is playing in Game 1 Sunday against San Jose, the 24-year-old physical forward said he doesn't know yet.

"We'll see what happens," Oreskovich told NHL.com. "Obviously I'd be real excited to play, but I haven't heard anything yet."

Oreskovich hasn't played since Game 2 against Nashville. Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault used Jeff Tambellini instead of Oreskovich to replace the injured Mikael Samuelsson in Game 6 against the Predators. Samuelsson has been ruled out of Game 1, but Tambellini, whose speed allowed him to erase a breakaway opportunity for Martin Erat in Game 6, is an option.

However, it's possible (likely?) that Vigneault turns to the bigger Oreskovich, who is 6-3 and 215 pounds, to start the Western Conference Finals because the Sharks' forwards are much bigger across the board than the Predators.

"They do have a big strong team, some physical guys up front and physical guys on the back end," Oreskovich said. "I know what I have to bring if I'm in the lineup. I'd love to get that opportunity, but we'll see what happens."

If he does, chances are Oreskovich won't get much more than six or seven minutes of ice time depending on the flow of the game, especially if the Canucks are chasing the score.

Can he establish himself as a physical presence in such a short amount of time?

"It is tough because the guys are good in this League and they don't want to get hit, so finding those big hits isn't easy," Oreskovich said. "It's more about just eliminating guys out of the play, being defensively responsible and if that big hit is there it's there. You don't want to be running out of position just to get that big hit."

He does, however, want Vigneault to give him the chance to make some big hits.

"The coaches have told us all, the guys that aren't in the lineup, to be ready because you never know," Oreskovich said. "Tambellini hadn't played in a while and he came back and played in Nashville, played well and made a big play. You've got to be ready all the time."

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NASHVILLE -- The Predators belief system is stronger than ever. They know they're up against it again Monday night, down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination for the second time, but they also know for sure now that they can beat the Canucks, that Game 2 wasn't a fluke.

"Absolutely, we truly believe that we can beat these guys," goalie Pekka Rinne said. "We've shown that we can beat these guys. We can do it."

They did it in Game 5 by a 4-3 margin, but the Canucks helped them by committing three agregious turnovers that led to goals and punching another one into the net for an own-goal.

Mike Fisher says he doesn't believe the Canucks will make the same, or as many, mistakes in Game 6 at Bridgestone Arena tonight, but that doesn't mean the Predators belief system is cracked.

"We know we can beat them if we do the right things and play our game," Fisher said. "That being said, they are going to come out strong tonight. We expect a hungry, desperate team and they don't want to go to a Game 7. That has to bring the best out of us. It's going to be a lot harder than Game 5, that's for sure. We have to grind it out here at home."

Fisher was also asked if he believes critics are surprised the Predators are still in this series?

"Maybe some people, but we're obviously not," he said. "We're in this series, but we're against the wall tonight and we'll see how we respond.

"It just comes down to work, and we have to outwork them tonight."

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VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Rookie Cody Hodgson has played in six of Vancouver's 11 playoff games and only twice reached double digits in minutes. He's played the last two games against Nashville, but totaled just 11 minutes and 12 seconds of ice time.

Still, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said he appreciates the way Hodgson is handling his limited role and believes he's shown some good signs of being a useful player now, not just in the future.

"Cody is coming along," Vigneault said. "This is a big stage and he's getting an opportunity to play a couple of minutes here and there, but he's shown that he's a smart player. He understands the game at both ends of the rink and I think he's only going to get better."

Vigneault hesitated when he was asked if he thinks Hodgson will be better off as a result of the minimal role he has with the Canucks now.

"I think there are some benefits to playing in the American League, playing big minutes in those pressure situations, just as I think there are benefits to being here and getting used to the surroundings, getting used to the attention," Vigneault said. "I can see benefits on both sides really."

So why is he here instead of with the Manitoba Moose, who are still playing in the Calder Cup Playoffs?

Well, out of necessity, really.

"We needed him," Vigneault said. "When Manny (Malhotra) went down (with a season-ending eye injury) and the end of the season occurred, we thought (Hodgson) could be one of the 12 forwards we could use. That's it."

He has an assist and is a minus-3, but the Canucks are at least getting some use out of him.

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