Canucks at Jets preview

CANUCKS (9-4-3) at JETS (8-7-1)
8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TSN3, SNP, NHL.TV

The defenseman played five seasons for the Jets before signing a five-year contract with the Canucks on July 1. He has four assists in 16 games this season for Vancouver, which is 1-1-2 in its past four games after going 8-1-1 in its previous 10. The Canucks had an eight-game point streak (5-0-3) end with a 5-2 loss at the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Goalie Thatcher Demko is expected to start; he's 4-1-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in five games this season.
The Jets seek their fifth victory in eight games (4-2-1); two of those wins have come in overtime and one in a shootout.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start; he's 3-2-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .941 save percentage in his past six starts.

Players to watch

Jets forward Kyle Connor has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past three games.
Canucks center Elias Pettersson has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"They're a really fast team. Their D-men; they have a lot of guys who can move with the puck and get up into the play. They've been getting good goaltending as well." -- Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey
"We did some good things. We did some things like turn the puck over too many times. … The good news is we don't have have much time to think about this one." -- Canucks forward J.T. Miller on their loss Thursday

Canucks projected lineup

Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Adam Gaudette
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Josh Leivo -- Brandon Sutter -- Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Loui Eriksson
Alexander Edler -- Tyler Myers
Quinn Hughes -- Chris Tanev
Jordie Benn -- Troy Stecher
Thatcher Demko
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Sven Baertschi , Oscar Fantenberg
Injured:Tyler Motte (foot), Antoine Roussel (knee), Micheal Ferland (concussion protocol)

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Jack Roslovic
Andrew Copp -- Adam Lowry -- Mathieu Perreault
Joona Luoto -- David Gustafsson -- Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey -- Tucker Poolman
Dmitry Kulikov -- Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu -- Luca Sbisa
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Carl Dahlstrom, Anthony Bitetto
Injured: Bryan Little (perforated ear drum, vertigo), Gabriel Bourque (lower body), Mark Letestu (heart), Mason Appleton (foot)
Suspended: Dustin Byfuglien

Status report

Little was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday after being released from the hospital; he took a slap shot near the left ear on Tuesday, sustaining a laceration that required 25-30 stitches. … Bourque is expected to be out at least four weeks. … Poolman is expected to return after missing a 2-1 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. … Luoto will make his NHL debut after being recalled from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Thursday.

Stat pack

Horvat has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past nine games. … Sutter is playing his 700th NHL game. … Laine, who has seven goals in eight games against Vancouver, needs two points to reach 200 in the NHL.