PREVIEW: Detroit can push point streak to six consecutive games on Thursday in Vancouver

VANCOUVER -- Shifting to the Western Canada portion of their four-game road swing, the Detroit Red Wings will put a five-game point streak on the line when they battle the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night.

“This team’s been very resilient,” said J.T. Compher, who was activated from IR on Thursday afternoon. “It’s hard to get on point streaks. You’re not always going to play a pretty game every single night.”

Puck drop between Detroit (3-3-3; 9 points) and Vancouver (2-8-1; 5 points) is set for 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, with broadcast coverage on Detroit SportsNet and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). Their second and final matchup of the regular season is set for Nov. 25 at Little Caesars Arena.

“It’ll be two desperate teams,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I don’t think there should be any difference between the desperation level between the two.”

Detroit’s point streak continued with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday. The Red Wings rallied with three unanswered third-period goals — Viktor Arvidsson, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat found the back of the net — and have now outscored their opponents 10-4 in the final frame this season.

“I’ve liked our checking game from a 5-on-5 perspective,” McLellan said. “We continue to operate out there responsibly. We have really begun to understand what our roles are in certain situations. We’re breaking the puck out a little bit better than we have in the past.”

With Compher anticipated to return to the lineup on Thursday, McLellan said the Red Wings have been eager to get the veteran forward back.

“He does some things well for us,” McLellan said. “First of all, a right-handed face-off guy. We’ve dearly missed it…He’s a penalty killer, so he helps us in that situation. He’s a veteran guy that can calm things down when it gets a little bit crazy, so there’s a lot of things that he can do to contribute. He’s got to find his game, though. He’s been out for a little while and since he’s gone, the League has picked up its pace.”

Winless in their last eight games, the Canucks most recently lost 6-3 to the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

As of Thursday morning, Vancouver’s 4.64 goals-against per game was the highest in the NHL this season. However, 11 of its players entered the night having scored at least two goals, the third-most two-plus goal scorers in the League.

“Manny (Malhotra), I think is going to be an outstanding coach in this League,” McLellan said. “He’s really good for where that team is at. And when I watch them play, with what little I’ve seen so far in the pre-scout, they play hard. They do the little things as well as they possibly can, and they play hard. They go to the net. They’re willing to burrow in and around that area. They shoot a lot of pucks in there. They’re developing an identity of that.”