It only took three games for Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote to throw his lines into a blender.
Compared to how the Canucks lined up during their season-opening 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames, every single line now is different.
On Thursday at the Dallas morning skate, Foote unveiled this lineup, according to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy:
Forwards
Drew O’Connor – Elias Pettersson – Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk – Filip Chytil – Brock Boeser
Evander Kane – Aatu Räty – Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson
Defence
Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers
Elias Pettersson – Victor Mancini
The biggest surprise is the fact that Drew O’Connor is playing on the top line alongside Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland.
Foote hinted on Tuesday that he was leaning towards pairing Pettersson with Garland, something that makes sense.
O’Connor’s top-line inclusion though? That’s a little surprising, considering that Foote said he was leaning towards having Kane play with Pettersson and Garland.
The most common linemates for O’Connor since joining the Canucks have been Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser. He’s hardly played with Pettersson.
However, since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, two of O’Connor’s most common linemates were Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, back when the 27-year-old played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In ’23-24, one of the Penguins’ most commonly used lines was O’Connor, Crosby and Bryan Rust.
The other significant takeaway from the line juggling is that the Abbotsford Canucks’ top trio, which played a crucial role during their championship run, will line up together for the first time in their NHL careers.
Bains, Karlsson, and Sasson will skate on an NHL line together for the first time. (Abbotsford Canucks)
Max Sasson was recalled on Tuesday following the demotion of Braeden Cootes to the WHL. He’ll play his first game of the season, as will Linus Karlsson, who made the team out of camp but has been sitting in the press box thus far.
The addition of Sasson and Karlsson to the lineup also means that Jonathan Lekkerimäki will sit as a healthy scratch for the first time this season.
On defence, the Canucks are turning to a young duo to man the third pair.
Elias Pettersson and Victor Mancini played together on a pairing throughout camp and preseason. Now, the two youngsters will start together as a duo heading into the Canucks’ five-game road trip.
Derek Forbort was placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to Oct. 11, meaning he will miss at least the next two games. With Pierre-Olivier Joseph not cleared for contact yet either, Canucks fans should see D-Petey and Mancini in the lineup on both Thursday and Friday.
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