NEXT GAME VS. OTTAWA SENATORS

Today: 4:30 p.m. | TV: Sportsnet Pacific | Radio: Sportsnet 650 AM

HEADING INTO TODAY’S GAME

Canucks aim to end road swing on high note vs. hapless Senators

The relief among the Vancouver Canucks after Monday’s 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens couldn’t be missed. Now, the task for the struggling Canucks after ending a four-game losing skid is to duplicate that feat against the cellar-dwelling Ottawa Senators today.

The Canucks, who earned their first road victory since Oct. 23 — which snapped a six-game swoon away from Vancouver — and boast only two wins in their last 11 outings (2-8-1), have the opportunity to end a dismal five-game road swing on a positive note.

“There’s a lot of adversity, it feels like, around our group,” coach Travis Green said. “When things are going tough and you’re going through adversity, it shows a lot about a player and individuals and a lot about a team, how you respond. We talked about character, and times like this reveal a lot about players and teams.”

The Canucks remain at the bottom of the Pacific Division but had a couple of huge positive notes from the victory, and not just because it’s their first regulation-time win in Montreal since 2007.

Not only did goaltender Thatcher Demko shine, but struggling forward Elias Pettersson snapped a nine-game goal-scoring drought that has seen him demoted to a third-line role.

“It definitely felt good to score again and especially with a one-timer,” Pettersson said. “I’ll play wherever the coach puts me and just try to play my best. I embrace it. I’m not going to complain. I haven’t played my best so far this season — I had a tendency to overthink and kind of got away from hard work — and the shot hasn’t been there, but I’ve been grinding a lot after every practice and shooting a lot.”

Life has been even worse for the Senators, who sit last in the league standings. Thanks to their 4-2 loss in Los Angeles on Saturday to end a fruitless four-game road trip, the Senators are on a five-game losing streak — all in regulation time — and have just one win in their last 12 outings (1-10-1). On top of that, the Senators also postponed games due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

-Field Level Media

TALKING POINTS

• The Senators and the Canucks haven’t gotten off to the kind of starts anyone expected and now they’re both trying to dig themselves out of a hole.

• The Canucks had a full off-day in Ottawa on Tuesday after a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night and then a two-hour post game train ride here.

• The Senators had a 3-4-2 record against the Canucks in the all-Canadian North Division last season. Canucks leading scorer J.T. Miller has eight goals and 15 points in 31 career games against the Senators, while Elias Pettersson has six goals and 11 points in seven games against Ottawa.