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When: Saturday, 4 p.m., Canadian Tire Centre
TV: Hockey Night in Canada. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: The Canucks are going to have to win games the hard way. They’re missing J.T. Miller for the duration of this road trip. Brock Boeser still isn’t back. Those are two key scorers. There’s just no replacing them. So the Canucks have to buckle down and grind out wins. And of course the Senators have some familiar faces: head coach Travis Green, and centre Adam Gaudette, who has eight goals on the season. The Sens are stumbling though. They’re 8-10-1 on the season and are coming off a tough 3-2 loss at home on Thursday.
The history: This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. The Canucks beat the Senators twice last season, 5-2 in Ottawa, then 6-3 back in Vancouver.
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The hope: The Canucks have been outstanding road warriors this season, with six wins away from home already. They’re missing some talent, but they’ve been diligent in their play on the road.
The fear: The Canucks played well on Tuesday but still lost. They’re low on confidence. How will they handle bumps in the road in the games to come?
The top guns: Without Miller, all eyes are on Elias Pettersson, whose skating still isn’t where it should be, but he’s scoring. He had eight points over the recent six-game road trip. Quinn Hughes has 11 points in nine games.
The wounded: Canucks: Thatcher Demko (knee, week to week), Derek Forbort (leg, week to week), Boeser (concussion, day-to-day).
The quote: “Just thinking about all the days at the rink.” — An elated Max Sasson on what he was thinking about after Canucks assistant GM Ryan Johnson told him he was getting called up. His family will be in attendance.
The lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood
Joshua-Suter-Garland
Heinen-Blueger-Hoglander.
Sasson-Räty-Bains
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Brännström-Juulsen
Lankinen
The latest: Boeser skated in practice on Friday, the latest positive step in his return from a concussion. He’s not going to play Saturday, but things are clearly moving in the right direction. Might he return Tuesday in Boston?
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