Preview: Canucks at Lightning

CANUCKS (11-13-2) at LIGHTNING (14-11-2)
7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, SNV, NHL.TV

Canucks team scope

The Vancouver Canucks will continue their five-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday without defenseman Philip Larsen, who left the ice on a stretcher Tuesday after a hit by New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall during the Canucks' 3-2 loss. "We got the news [Wednesday] that he's doing pretty good considering what happened," defenseman Luca Sbisa said. "Talking to guys the next morning, no one really had a good sleep after it happened. It's tough and everyone was asking about him." Vancouver will use defenseman Alex Biega in the lineup to replace Larsen. "Everyone has to play their best to give us a chance to win," Sbisa said. "[The Lightning] have a lot of speed and skill, so we have to make sure we match their intensity." The Canucks are 3-9-1 on the road this season. Forward Daniel Sedin is four assists shy of 600 in his NHL career.

Lightning team scope

Forward Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Jason Garrison likely will return to the Lightning lineup Thursday, coach Jon Cooper said. Drouin missed one game with an undisclosed injury and Garrison missed two games with a knee injury. Cooper is looking for more physical play, which he said was the reason defenseman Luke Witkowski was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. "We need to be a little bit harder," Cooper said. "That's what [Witkowski] brings." Witkowski has no points in 26 games over parts of three seasons with Tampa Bay. The Lightning have had three days off since a 1-0 overtime loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, and Cooper said the rest was something his banged-up team needed. "You look at the way we've traveled this year," Cooper said. "I think we've played the most games in the League (27; five teams have played more), we've played the most road games (16; tied with four teams). This was a pretty tired group."

Canucks projected lineup

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Brandon Sutter
Loui Eriksson - Markus Granlund - Jayson Megna
Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Alexandre Burrows
Brendan Gaunce - Michael Chaput - Jack Skille
Ben Hutton - Erik Gudbranson
Luca Sbisa - Troy Stecher
Nikita Tryamkin - Alex Biega
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched:Joseph LaBate, Andrey Pedan
Injured: Philip Larsen (upper body), Jannik Hansen (upper body), Derek Dorsett (neck surgery), Alexander Edler (hand), Chris Tanev (ankle).

Lightning projected lineup

Alex Killorn - Vladislav Namestnikov - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Joel Vermin
Brayden Point - Valtteri Filppula - Jonathan Drouin
Brian Boyle - Cedric Paquette - JT Brown
Victor Hedman - Anton Stralman
Jason Garrison - Andrej Sustr
Braydon Coburn - Luke Witkowski
Ben Bishop
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Scratched:Nikita Nesterov, Slater Koekkoek
Injured: Ryan Callahan (lower body)

Status report

Larsen was discharged from the hospital Wednesday and has returned to Vancouver. The Canucks recalled Pedan from Utica of the AHL. … Callahan will miss his fifth straight game. … Burrows will get an opportunity on one of the power-play units Thursday, Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said. … Bishop will be making his third consecutive start for the first time this season.

Who's hot

Bishop has a .969 save percentage (63-of-65) in his past two starts. … Henrik Sedin has two goals and three assists in a four-game point streak.