The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> (33-26-12) look for a second straight victory on their six game road trip when they visit the New York Islanders (32-28-10) at UBS Arena on Long Island. 
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;
Both teams remain within striking distance of a wild card playoff spot in their respective conferences. The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-vancouver-canucks-get-ending-right-latest-last-second-comeback">Canucks are five points back of St. Louis</a> in the West, while the Isles are just a single point behind Montreal in the East. 
<h1>What we know</h1>
The Canucks held a full morning skate but details were limited. The club doesn’t have any extra healthy forwards on the road trip, so it will be the same 12 skaters up front that beat New Jersey 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. After being a healthy scratch the past two games, it’s possible Elias Pettersson returns to the line-up on defence in place of Victor Mancini. The club has stated it doesn&#8217;t want either rookie sitting out for long stretches.
Thatcher Demko is expected to get his second straight start in goal. He made 22 saves and three more in the shootout in his first game action in six weeks. Although separated due to injury and the 4 Nations break, Demko has earned the victory in his last three decisions and four of his last five. He is also 3-0 lifetime against the Isles.
The Canucks will once again be without forwards Elias Pettersson, Nils Höglander and Filip Chytil who are sidelined with injuries. That is providing plenty of opportunity for others. 
Rookie <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-jonathan-lekkerimaki-scores-shootout-winner-vancouver-canucks-battle-back-new-jersey-devils">Jonathan Lekkerimäki</a> scored his third NHL goal and also netted the game winner in the first shootout attempt of his career. The 20-year-old now has five points in 19 career NHL games. His first NHL goal came against the Islanders back in November in just his second big league game.
Pius Suter opened the scoring against the Devils and also had an assist while playing  a career-high 23:02. The veteran centre now has five goals and seven points in his last seven games. And he has also matched his career-high with 36 points on the season with 11 games still to play.
Canucks captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dave-hall-talks-vancouver-canucks-draft-targets-lekkerimakis-rise-more-canucks-conversation">Quinn Hughes logged a career-high 31:38</a> of ice on Monday night. It’s the second time in three games that he’s crested the 30 minute mark after seeing 30:18 of ice in St. Louis last Thursday. Overall, it’s the fourth time this season he’s exceeded 30 minutes of ice time.
While the Canucks have struggled in games decided in overtime (5-11), they have found a knack to win in shootouts. They are 3-1 on the season in the skills competition dropping their first shootout of the season to Philadelphia but winning their last three in Seattle, in Calgary and at New Jersey.
<h1>The opponent</h1>
While the Canucks were busy winning 4-3 in a shootout, the Islanders fell 4-3 in a shootout to Columbus on Monday. Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee scored the New York goals while Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves. The Isles are 3-0-3 in their last six games and 7-3-2 in their last 12. They’ve been to overtime in three straight games and four of their last six.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Tonight&#39;s projected <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Isles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Isles</a> lineup vs Vancouver.<a href="https://t.co/dgQpr9fWVs">https://t.co/dgQpr9fWVs</a>
&mdash; NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL_Rosters/status/1904904501544222732?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Former Canuck captain Bo Horvat leads the Isles with 49 points while Lee is the team leader with 26 goals. Among players in the league that have taken 600 face-offs this season, Horvat is second only to Ottawa’s Claude Giroux with a 59.6% win rate. As a team, the Isles lead the league winning 54.6% of all draws.
New York has struggled all season on the power play. The team ranks 32nd and last in the NHL operating at just 12.1% with the man-advantage. Through 70 games, Lee and Palmieri share the team lead with just four power plays each. For context, Detroit leads the NHL with 59 power play goals apiece. The Islanders have a league-low 21.
While the Islanders penalty kill ranks 30th in the league at 72.1% (and 31st at home at 68.4%) most of the issues were earlier in the season. Since January 1st the team has the eighth best PK in the league at 81.7%.
Marc Gatcomb who spent the past two seasons playing for the Canucks farm team in Abbotsford has earned a shot with the Isles appearing in 27 games so far this season scoring five times and adding an assist.
The Isles beat the Canucks 5-2 at Rogers Arena on November 14th. The Canucks were outshot 24-6 through 40 minutes. The final shots ended up 32-26 in New York’s favour.
Today’s referees: Jon McIsaac &amp; TJ Luxmore
Today&#8217;s broadcasters: John Shorthouse &amp; Dave Tomlinson
Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> (33-26-12) look for a second straight victory on their six game road trip when they visit the New York Islanders (32-28-10) at UBS Arena on Long Island. 
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

Both teams remain within striking distance of a wild card playoff spot in their respective conferences. The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-vancouver-canucks-get-ending-right-latest-last-second-comeback">Canucks are five points back of St. Louis</a> in the West, while the Isles are just a single point behind Montreal in the East. 
<h1>What we know</h1>
The Canucks held a full morning skate but details were limited. The club doesn’t have any extra healthy forwards on the road trip, so it will be the same 12 skaters up front that beat New Jersey 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. After being a healthy scratch the past two games, it’s possible Elias Pettersson returns to the line-up on defence in place of Victor Mancini. The club has stated it doesn't want either rookie sitting out for long stretches.

Thatcher Demko is expected to get his second straight start in goal. He made 22 saves and three more in the shootout in his first game action in six weeks. Although separated due to injury and the 4 Nations break, Demko has earned the victory in his last three decisions and four of his last five. He is also 3-0 lifetime against the Isles.

The Canucks will once again be without forwards Elias Pettersson, Nils Höglander and Filip Chytil who are sidelined with injuries. That is providing plenty of opportunity for others. 

Rookie <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-jonathan-lekkerimaki-scores-shootout-winner-vancouver-canucks-battle-back-new-jersey-devils">Jonathan Lekkerimäki</a> scored his third NHL goal and also netted the game winner in the first shootout attempt of his career. The 20-year-old now has five points in 19 career NHL games. His first NHL goal came against the Islanders back in November in just his second big league game.

Pius Suter opened the scoring against the Devils and also had an assist while playing  a career-high 23:02. The veteran centre now has five goals and seven points in his last seven games. And he has also matched his career-high with 36 points on the season with 11 games still to play.

Canucks captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dave-hall-talks-vancouver-canucks-draft-targets-lekkerimakis-rise-more-canucks-conversation">Quinn Hughes logged a career-high 31:38</a> of ice on Monday night. It’s the second time in three games that he’s crested the 30 minute mark after seeing 30:18 of ice in St. Louis last Thursday. Overall, it’s the fourth time this season he’s exceeded 30 minutes of ice time.

While the Canucks have struggled in games decided in overtime (5-11), they have found a knack to win in shootouts. They are 3-1 on the season in the skills competition dropping their first shootout of the season to Philadelphia but winning their last three in Seattle, in Calgary and at New Jersey.
<h1>The opponent</h1>
While the Canucks were busy winning 4-3 in a shootout, the Islanders fell 4-3 in a shootout to Columbus on Monday. Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee scored the New York goals while Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves. The Isles are 3-0-3 in their last six games and 7-3-2 in their last 12. They’ve been to overtime in three straight games and four of their last six.

https://twitter.com/NHL_Rosters/status/1904904501544222732

Former Canuck captain Bo Horvat leads the Isles with 49 points while Lee is the team leader with 26 goals. Among players in the league that have taken 600 face-offs this season, Horvat is second only to Ottawa’s Claude Giroux with a 59.6% win rate. As a team, the Isles lead the league winning 54.6% of all draws.

New York has struggled all season on the power play. The team ranks 32nd and last in the NHL operating at just 12.1% with the man-advantage. Through 70 games, Lee and Palmieri share the team lead with just four power plays each. For context, Detroit leads the NHL with 59 power play goals apiece. The Islanders have a league-low 21.

While the Islanders penalty kill ranks 30th in the league at 72.1% (and 31st at home at 68.4%) most of the issues were earlier in the season. Since January 1st the team has the eighth best PK in the league at 81.7%.

Marc Gatcomb who spent the past two seasons playing for the Canucks farm team in Abbotsford has earned a shot with the Isles appearing in 27 games so far this season scoring five times and adding an assist.

The Isles beat the Canucks 5-2 at Rogers Arena on November 14th. The Canucks were outshot 24-6 through 40 minutes. The final shots ended up 32-26 in New York’s favour.

Today’s referees: Jon McIsaac &amp; TJ Luxmore

Today's broadcasters: John Shorthouse &amp; Dave Tomlinson

Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.

Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

Canucks Game Day: Looking to keep playoff hopes alive against the Islanders

Why Jonathan Lekkerimäki is a key story to watch down the stretch for the Canucks

Jonathan Lekkerimäki during the Vancouver Canucks' 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets at the 2024 Young Stars Classic from Penticton, BC.

Recent articles from Jeff Paterson

Breaking News