Eastern Swing Continues with Wednesday Evening Matchup Against Islanders 

We head into the second half of the Vancouver Canucks’ road trip with a stop in Elmont, New York to face the Islanders for the second and final time this season.

The Canucks picked up a pair of points on Monday evening with a shootout win over the New Jersey Devils and are looking to continue that momentum into Wednesday night.

The St. Louis Blues have a hold on the final wild card spot, but the Canucks are five points back with two games in hand. Vancouver has 11 games remaining in the season.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki scored his third goal of the season on Monday night and was the hero when he fired the game-winner past Jacob Markstrom in the fourth round of the shootout.

The 20-year-old first round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft has spent most of his season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL and scored 19 goals in 32 minor league games. Lekkerimäki is getting valuable experience with the NHL club and has been clocking more ice time on the power play, and even saw a shift in the overtime frame on Monday.

New York comes into Wednesday’s game following two losses in extra time. They are in a similar spot to the Canucks in the standings over in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders are one point out of the final wild card spot and are just as desperate as the Canucks to pick up points on Wednesday.

Quick Hits on the Competition

• Former Canuck Bo Horvat leads the Islanders with 49 points this season. He has scored 24 goals and added 25 assists through 69 games. Horvat leads the islanders with six game-winning goals and has won 59.2% of his faceoffs.

• Horvat skates on the top line with Simon Holmstrom and Kyle Palmieri. Holmstrom is in his third NHL season, and the 23-year-old has set a career-high for goals (17) and points (38).

• Noah Dobson leads the Islanders in average ice time this season, averaging over 23 and a half minutes per game. The 25-year-old, right-shot defenceman has eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 59 games.

• Semyon Varlamov and Mathew Barzal are both on injury reserve.

• The Islanders have the league’s worst power play and are clicking at 12.1% this season.

• They sit 30th in the league on the penalty kill, killing off 72.1% of their penalties.

• Ilya Sorokin is the starting netminder for New York. He has posted a 27-20-6 record this season with a .907% save percentage, 2.72 goals-against average, and three shutouts.

The Story: Thatcher Demko Strong in Return

Thatcher Demko returned to the crease on Monday evening and produced multiple ten-bell saves as he picked up the win.

Demko had not played since February 8th and stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced on Monday. He also saved three of the four shootout attempts he faced and made a tremendous save in the overtime period.

“It’s been tough watching the boys go through the playoff run, so you don’t want to step in and ruin it for them or not contribute in a positive way,” Demko said following Monday’s game.

Canucks’ captain Quinn Hughes was happy to see Demko back in action and spoke highly of the netminder when Amazon interviewed him following the game.

“We’ve been here together for six years, he’s a Vezina-type goalie, definitely could have probably won the Vezina last year. When he’s in the net, it’s a different feeling,” said Hughes. “He’s just one of the most competitive guys I know.”

Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games

Brock Boeser: 5g-1a-6p
Quinn Hughes: 1g-4a-5p
Pius Suter: 3g-1a-4p
Elias Pettersson: 0g-4a-4p
Jake DeBrusk: 0g-4a-4p

When and Where to Watch

Wednesday’s game is a 4:30 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.