Canucks at Lightning preview

CANUCKS (23-15-4) at LIGHTNING (24-13-4)
7 p.m. ET; SUN, SNP, NHL.TV

This will be the second game in NHL history featuring two teams with active winning streaks of at least seven games; the first was when the Columbus Blue Jackets, on a 14-game winning streak, defeated the Minnesota Wild, who had won 12 straight, 4-2 on Dec. 31, 2016.
The Canucks, who have outscored opponents 30-17 during their run, can match the second-longest winning streak in their history; they won eight straight from Dec. 23, 2010-Jan. 7, 2011. The Vancouver record is 10 consecutive wins from Nov. 9-30, 2002.
J.T. Miller will play his first game against the Lightning since Vancouver acquired the forward in a trade on June 22. He is second on the Canucks with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 42 games.
Tampa Bay has outscored opponents 29-15 during its streak. The seven wins in a row is a season high for the Lightning, who can win eight straight for the first time since their club record 10 wins in a row from Feb. 9-27, 2019.

Players to watch

Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom is 6-0-0 with a 2.49 goals-against-average and .932 save percentage in his past six starts.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 5-0-0 with 2.20 GAA and .935 save percentage in his past five starts.

They said it

"Puck management is the key. Those guys can make you pay. … We have to make sure that we manage the puck and take care of the puck and play to our structure and play to our strengths." -- Canucks center Jay Beagle
"Lot of different elements on [Vancouver's top line]. … J.T. [Miller] has a big body, he can fly around the ice. He's tough to play against. [Forward Brock] Boeser has a great shot. [Center] Elias [Pettersson] is a great hockey player. Three guys we have to keep in check." -- Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman

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 -- Chris Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Jordie Benn, Zack MacEwen
Injured: Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (lower body)

Lightning projected lineup

Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Anthony Cirelli -- Tyler Johnson
Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Alex Killorn
Carter Verhaeghe -- Mitchell Stephens -- Yanni Gourde
Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta
Braydon Coburn -- Erik Cernak
Kevin Shattenkirk -- Mikhail Sergachev
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Luke Schenn
Injured: Ryan McDonagh (upper body)

Status report

McDonagh is doubtful for the next two games, but Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he's hopeful the defenseman can return after that.

Stat pack

Horvat has seven points (two goals, five assists) in a three-game point streak. … Stamkos has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 13 games against Vancouver.