The Vancouver Canucks are going to look very different on Sunday night but also a little bit the same.
The four players acquired by the Canucks during Friday's trade extravaganza — Marcus Pettersson, Filip Chytil, Drew O'Connor, and Victor Mancini — were on the ice for Sunday's morning skate. Those four unfamiliar faces were joined by a familiar one, as Kiefer Sherwood took the optional morning skate in preparation for getting back into the lineup.
Sherwood hasn't played since January 23, when he left a game against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period with an undisclosed injury. That means he missed out on how his teammates responded to the loss to the Oilers with three straight wins.
"It was, I feel, a little bit of a relief with everything going on," said Sherwood about seeing the brief winning streak, "but almost a little bit of FOMO — just missing out from some wins and from the guys. The guys did a really good job, I thought there was a lot of good games. You could have made a case that we probably could have won in Dallas too."
Sherwood said he was pushing to come back sooner on the road trip but said it was better to be safe than sorry. On the plus side, that means he feels fully prepared to get back into the lineup.
"I've been skating almost daily," said Sherwood. "It feels good. I'm just eager...Green light, I'm ready, just champing at the bit."
Head coach Rick Tocchet said it was a "good possibility" that Sherwood would be in the lineup but it seems clear he will be, as the Canucks only have 12 forwards currently on the roster after Phil Di Giuseppe cleared waivers Sunday morning.
"When a guy comes up to you and says, 'Hey, I can play' — and he's coming up to me saying that — I'd like to get him in," said Tocchet.
Sherwood agreed that he's looking forward to adding to his league-leading hit total but there's another element of the game he's been missing even more.
"I haven't chirped anyone in a week," said Sherwood. "Feels like a couple months."
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Tocchet said that three of the four new Canucks will be in the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, with the fourth a game-time decision. That means Marcus Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Drew O'Connor, at the very least, will play their first games as Canucks but Victor Mancini might have to wait.
The trouble is, with Sunday's morning skate an optional one, we have no hints as to where those players will slot into the lineup.
Accordingly, the Canucks' projected lines feature some guesswork and will be updated when the team takes to the ice for warm-up:
Whether Mancini plays or not could depend on Quinn Hughes, who was clearly in distress on Friday night against the Dallas Stars after suffering some sort of lower-body injury. The Canucks kept prospect defenceman Elias Pettersson on the roster as well, giving them nine defencemen available.
If Hughes plays, expect Carson Soucy to slide over to the right side; if not, there's a chance Mancini gets into the lineup instead of Noah Juulsen on the third pairing.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Kevin Lankinen following two starts for Thatcher Demko, one in which he made 31 saves on 32 shots and one in which he made 11 saves on 14 shots. The Canucks need Demko to get on a consistent roll but he's not there yet.
Detroit Red Wings projected lines
After missing the playoffs for eight straight season, the Red Wings are in the mix this year. They are currently one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, though the Lightning have a game in hand.
A five-game winning streak is responsible for the Red Wings pulling themselves into playoff contention, most recently beating the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Saturday night. That means they'll be playing on the second half of back-to-back games on Sunday.
The Red Wings have gotten contributions throughout their lineup during the streak, with Dylan Larkin (6 points), Marco Kasper (5 points), and Lucas Raymond (5 points) leading the way. Kasper, in his rookie season, has played very well since moving from centre lower in the lineup to playing the wing on the Red Wings' top line.
With no morning skate on the second half of back-to-backs, here are the Red Wings' projected lines based on how they skated against the Flames:
Marco Kasper - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Alex Debrincat - Andrew Copp - Vladimir Tarasenko
Elmer Soderblom - Michael Rasmussen - Jonatan Berggren
Christian Fischer - Joe Veleno - Dominik Shine
Ben Chiarot - Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson - Albert Johansson
Erik Gustafsson - Justin Holl
Alex Lyon
Cam Talbot
Patrick Kane was taken off Injured Reserve on Sunday, so could return to the Red Wings' lineup against the Canucks.
The Red Wings' starting goaltender is expected to be Alex Lyon after Cam Talbot played Saturday against the Flames. Lyon has a .907 save percentage this season and made 45 saves on 47 shots in his most recent start, a 3-2 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers.
