Thursday December 8 - Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning - 4:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Vancouver
Vancouver Canucks: 26 GP, 11-13-2, 24 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
Tampa Bay Lightning: 27 GP, 14-11-2, 30 pts, fourth in Atlantic Division
The Vancouver Canucks will have Alex Biega in the lineup on defense when they continue their five-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday evening at Amalie Arena.
Here's how the lines looked at Thursday's morning skate:
There's a small change to the lineup, with Jayson Megna moved up and Michael Chaput moved down. Coach Willie Desjardins made this switch during the third period of Tuesday's game against the Devils, as well as moving Loui Eriksson up to play with the twins while Brandon Sutter played with Megna and Markus Granlund.
Today, it looks like Sutter's back with the twins as Eriksson lines up with Granlund and Megna.
Alex Biega will slot straight into Philip Larsen's spot, on the right side with Nikita Tryamkin.
Defenseman Andrey Pedan was recalled from Utica today, but is not expected to play tonight. I expect he could see action this weekend in the back-to-backs against Florida and Washington.
Pedan had a good training camp, and has been solid when he has been in action with the Comets. He missed four games earlier this season with a lower body injury, so he's 2-1-3 in 18 games with Utica.
According to
Ben Birnell of the
Utica Observer-Dispatch, Pedan played well in Utica's win over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night.
He had four shots on goal -- including a few big blasts -- in the Comets' 3-2 win over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Canucks president Trevor Linden was at the game and said the 6-foot-5, 218-pound Pedan was one of a few players who stood out.
Jordan Subban got the game-winning goal on Wednesday—his sixth of the season. He's tied for sixth in the AHL for points by a defenseman with 6-9-15. He's now probably next on the recall list if the Canucks suffer any more injuries on their blue line!
Philip Larsen's absence has also caused a shift in the Canucks' power-play configurations.
Of all the Canucks' walking wounded, Jannik Hansen is the closest to returning.
Chris Tanev is not expected to join the team on this trip. Tonight will be the 20th game that Tanev has missed this season with his ankle injury. Not sure if it's the same leg, but in 2012-13, he also suffered a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss the last 10 games of the regular season and all of Vancouver's first-round sweep by the San Jose Sharks.
When the playoffs ended, Tanev claimed he might have been ready if there had been a sixth game in that series, but more than six weeks after the playoffs ended, he still hadn't been cleared to skate—about 10 weeks after he was hurt.
Again—I don't know if this is the same type of injury, or if it's the same ankle, but he's now at about six and a half weeks since he was initially hurt.
If the Canucks ever do start getting healthy again, I believe Chaput and Megna are required to clear waivers before they can be returned to the Comets. Troy Stecher and Joe LaBate are both waiver exempt—as are Brendan Gaunce and Nikita Tryamkin, just for the record. Birnell says Pedan will require waivers to be sent back down but,
per CapFriendly, "A player does not need to pass through waivers if the player has not been on the NHL active roster for a cumulative 30 days since last clearing waivers, and has not played in 10 or more NHL games." So Pedan's clock starts ticking today.
As for the Lightning, they've had some injury issues of their own, but are starting to get players back.
Jonathan Drouin returns after missing one game and ex-Canuck Jason Garrison is also back after a two-game absence. Steven Stamkos, of course, is sidelined long-term with a knee injury and Ryan Callahan is missing his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury.
Ben Bishop makes his third straight start in goal. The Lightning will be the more rested team, coming off a three-day break following a 2-1 shootout win over Washington last Saturday, then a 1-0 overtime loss to Carolina on Sunday.
As with the New York Rangers, though the two teams don't see each other often, their meetings come very close together this year. The Lightning and Canucks will square off at Rogers Arena in Vancouver's next home game, when Mattias Ohlund gets inducted into the Ring of Honour on December 16.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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