Canucks at Penguins preview

CANUCKS (10-8-3) at PENGUINS (11-8-3)
7 p.m. ET; SNP, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

Malkin, second on Pittsburgh in scoring with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists), sustained an upper-body injury in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. He will be re-evaluated Thursday before it's determined if he can play at the Boston Bruins on Friday or against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, coach Mike Sullivan said.
The Penguins are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games after beginning the season 7-3-1.
Canucks forward Derek Dorsett will not play; he returned to Vancouver on Tuesday for precautionary medical reasons stemming from neck and back stiffness. Dorsett missed 68 games last season after undergoing cervical fusion surgery on Dec. 5, 2016. Vancouver is 2-3-1 in its past six games but is coming off a 5-2 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Canucks forward Brock Boeser scored two goals on Tuesday and has five points (four goals, one assist) in a four-game point streak. He had four points (three goals, one assist) in a 4-2 win against the Penguins on Nov. 4.
Penguins forward Phil Kessel has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past seven games.

They said it

"It's tough to see that as a guy you watch play so hard for his whole career and come back from an injury like that, but we wish him the best and hope he comes back as soon as possible. But we need guys to step up and there's a role there, and I'm willing to do it." -- Canucks forward Brendan Gaunce on replacing Dorsett
"I think we have to have better production throughout our lineup. … I think it's important that we become a team that's hard to play against." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Canucks projected lineup

Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser
Daniel Sedin -- Henrik Sedin -- Jake Virtanen
Loui Eriksson -- Markus Granlund -- Thomas Vanek
Brendan Gaunce -- Brandon Sutter -- Sam Gagner
Alexander Edler -- Derrick Pouliot
Michael Del Zotto -- Alex Biega
Ben Hutton -- Erik Gudbranson
Anders Nilsson
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched:Philip Holm, Alexander Burmistrov
Injured:Derek Dorsett (neck), Troy Stecher (knee), Chris Tanev (thumb)

Penguins projected lineup

Conor Sheary -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Bryan Rust -- Jake Guentzel -- Phil Kessel
Carl Hagelin -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Greg McKegg -- Ryan Reaves
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Justin Schultz
Matt Hunwick -- Ian Cole
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (upper body), Carter Rowney (hand)

Status report

Stecher is expected to return sometime during Vancouver's six-game road trip. … Rowney will be a game-time decision after missing the past 13 games with a fractured hand.

Stat pack

The Canucks are 6-3-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season, but are 1-4-0 in their past five games against the Penguins. … Pittsburgh has won four straight games played the day before Thanksgiving, with three of the four victories coming in overtime or a shootout.