Canucks at Flames preview
Vancouver seeks fifth straight win; Rittich in goal for Calgary
by Aaron Vickers / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
CANUCKS (20-15-4) at FLAMES (20-15-5)
9:30 p.m. ET; SN, SN360, SN1, NHL.TV
The Game
The Vancouver Canucks will try to extend their winning streak to a season-long five straight games when they play the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.
Vancouver, who won 3-2 against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, has outscored opponents 16-9 in a four-game winning streak that followed a three-game losing streak.
Thatcher Demko could start for the Canucks after Jacob Markstrom made an NHL career-high 49 saves against the Kings. Demko is 7-4-1 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 12 starts this season.
David Rittich will make his 31st start for the Flames, who are 2-3-1 in their past six games after a season-long seven-game winning streak. Rittich is 17-8-5 with a 2.65 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Players to watch
Vancouver forward Brock Boeser has five points (one goal, four assists) in a four-game point streak, and has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past 12 games.
Calgary forward Elias Lindholm has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past four games.
They said it
"We know that we can't play like this. We know we've got to work harder and be better with the puck." -- Canucks forward Elias Pettersson
"They have a deep lineup. They roll their lines and they can come at you in waves. We feel like our team is the same, so it's going to be a good game. These are fun games to play in, lots of good atmosphere in the building, and the importance in the standings is what brings all that emotion and energy out. We look forward to playing in another big one tonight." -- Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Tim Schaller
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Thatcher Demko
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Jordie Benn
Injured: Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (upper body)
Flames projected lineup
Matthew Tkachuk -- Elias Lindholm -- Andrew Mangiapane
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Mikael Backlund
Milan Lucic -- Derek Ryan -- Dillon Dube
Tobias Rieder -- Mark Jankowski -- Michael Frolik
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington -- Rasmus Andersson
David Rittich
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Sam Bennett, Zac Rinaldo, Michael Stone
Injured: None
Status report
The Canucks didn't skate, and the Flames held an optional morning skate. … Jankowski is expected to play after being a healthy scratch in four of the past five games.
Stat pack
Pettersson has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past four games. … Motte has goals in consecutive games. … Miller has five points (one goal, four assists) in a four-game point streak. … Tkachuk has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games.