Vancouver (11-12-2=24 pts) play the second game of a 5 game road trip tonight at Amalie Arena against Eastern conference rivals, Tampa Bay Lightning (11-7-6=28 pts).

The Lightning are 2-5-1 in their last 8 games overall; and 4-3-1 in their last 8 games at Amalie Arena.

The Canucks are 3-3-0 in their last 6 road games; 5-3-1 in their last 9 games overall.

The Lightning and Canucks are playing their first of two meetings this season and their only meeting at AMALIE Arena. The Bolts visit Vancouver eight days later (Dec. 16) to close out the season series.

After tonight, Canucks play: Florida, Dec 10; Washington, Dec 11; and, Carolina, Dec 13; before returning to Vancouver for 6 of the 8 remaining games in December, at Rogers Arena.

Vancouver is 0-1-0 on the trip so far.

In the Canucks last game, New Jersey edged the Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center, with Daniel and Henrik Sedin leading the way with a goal each.

• Daniel Sedin finished the game with two points, as he assisted on Henrik’s goal
• Troy Stecher, Luca Sbisa and Brandon Sutter also picked up assists.
• Canucks starting goalie, Jacob Markstrom, stopped 19 of 22 shots.

Philip Larsen Update

Coach Willie Desjardins yesterday told reporters, he talked to Larsen and, “he’s in good spirits. All his movements are fine and he was positive about the situation.”

Alex Biega will replace Larsen in the lineup tonight.

Hansen Could Return On Trip

Jannik Hansen could return to Canucks lineup sometime on trip, Desjardins said yesterday, “Tanev will not”.

Ryan Miller To Start

Ryan Miller will get the start against the Lightning tonight.

Dorsett Thanks Canucks, Teammates, Fans For Support

On Canucks Twitter last night, Derek Dorsett thanks the Canucks, teammates, and fans for support in his neck surgery and rehab over the coming months.

(2/3) Want to send a huge thanks to Dr. Watkins Sr./Jr. & the rest of the staff at @MDRHospital for the great care. pic.twitter.com/en5RNToYmw

— Derek Dorsett (@Twigy15) December 8, 2016

“Can’t wait to start rehab and be 100% healthy and ready to play again. Going to miss being on the ice and competing with my teammates.”, Dorsett added.

Canucks In Brief:

Canucks, continue to be in 6th place in the Pacific division; 4 points in front of Arizona; 5 points behind 3rd place Anaheim.

Record By Five Game Segment

GAME SEGMENT                        1-5       6-10     11-15     16-20   21-25   26-30
W-L-OTL                                      4-0-1     0-5-0     1-4-0      3-1-1      3-2-0    0-1-0
GOALS FOR/GAME                     2.6        0.8         2.2          3.4          2.2         2.0
GOALS AGAINST/GAME           2.0        3.4         3.4          3.6          2.6          3.0
PP%                                                 13.0       0.0         7.7         23.1        23.1        33.3
PK%                                                86.7       77.8      95.0        75.0        91.7        50.0

Vancouver’s goaltender tandem of Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom are 24th in the NHL, with a 2.91 GAA and a .900 SV%:

• Jacob Markstrom is 6-4-2, with a 2.76 GAA (22nd), and a .899 Sv% (t-21st)*  * At least 12 GP
• Ryan Miller is 5-9-0, with a 2.73 GAA (23rd), and a .911 Sv% (t-21st)*

Leading scorers:

• Daniel Sedin (8-9=17 pts)
• Henrik Sedin (7-10=17 pts)
• Bo Horvat (8-8=16 pts)
• Brandon Sutter (6-8=14 pts)
• Loui Eriksson (6-5=11 pts)
• Sven Baertschi (4-7=11 pts)
• Alex Burrows (4-6=10 pts)

Scratches: #62-LaBate

Canucks injured:

• Anton Rodin; 24 games missed
• Chris Tanev; 14 games
• Jannik Hansen; 12 games
• Derek Dorsett; 6 games
• Alex Edler; 2 games
• Philip Larsen;

Total Man Games Lost: 100

Points streaks:

• LUCA SBISA (0-2=2 / 2 Games)
• DANIEL SEDIN (2-1=3 / 2 Games)
• HENRIK SEDIN (2-3=5 / 4 Games)

Vancouver special teams are:

• 11 for 75: 14.7 percent on the power play overall (24th in the NHL), with 101 shots for, 23 shots against, 1 shorthanded goal against
• 11 for 70: 84.3 percent on the penalty kill overall (8th best in NHL), with 79 shots against, 18 shots for, 2 shorthanded goals for

Canucks have allowed 77 goals against (t-23rd in NHL), and have scored 57 goals (27th in NHL).

Lightning In Brief:

Tampa Bay have 30 points and are in 3rd place in the Atlantic division, 6 points behind Montreal; 1 point ahead Boston.

In their last game, Cam Ward made 30 saves and Phillip Di Giuseppe scored with 3:34 remaining in overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a 1-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena on Sunday.

Ben Bishop made 29 saves for Tampa Bay (14-11-2), which has lost five of its past six games: 1-4-1= 3 points; outscored 21 to 10.

Lightning have the 16th best goaltending in the NHL, with Ben Bishop, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, with a 2.60 GAA, and .915 SV%.

Bishop is 8-9-1, with a 2.74 GAA, and a .910 SV%. Vasilevskiy is 6-2-1, with a 2.24 GAA, and a .930 SV%.

Tampa Bay leading scorers:

• Nikita Kucherov (13-16=29 pts)
• Steven Stamkos (9-11=20 pts)
• Victor Hedman (5-14=19 pts)
• Valtteri Filppula (5-11=16 pts)

Lightning injured:

Ryan Callahan: 4 Games
Jonathan Drouin: day-to-day, 1 Game
Jason Garrison: day-to-day, 2 Games
Steven Stamkos: 10 Games

Total Man Games Lost: 45

Points streaks: none

Tampa Bay special teams are:

• 22 for 96: 22.9 percent on the power play overall (4th in the NHL)
• 16 for 90: 82.2 percent on the penalty kill overall (16th in the NHL)

Lightning have surrendered 71 goals (t-16h in NHL), and have scored 75 goals (t-8th in NHL).

Lightning Notables:

• Per the Elias Sports Bureau, since the 2014-15 season, Tampa Bay has more home victories (64) and has the best home points percentage (.715) of any team in the NHL (second: NYR with 62 wins and a .691 home points percentage)
• The Bolts have yet to beat a Western Conference team this season, going 0-4-0
• The Lightning were 10-4-0 against Pacific Division teams in 2015-16, their best points percentage (.833) against any division
• Alex Killorn will play in his 300th career NHL game tonight, provided he’s in the lineup
• The Lightning saw their string of two-consecutive games with a power-play goal snapped in Carolina, but the Bolts’ power play continues to rank near the top of the NHL, sitting fourth currently at 22.9 percent
• The Lightning are 13-2-1 this season when scoring three or more goals and 48-5-4 over the last two seasons (1-9-1 this season and 12-36-3 over the last two seasons when scoring less than three)
• The Lightning are 8-0-0 when leading after the first period but 3-8-1
  when trailing after one
• The Bolts are 10-1-0 when scoring first and 4-10-2 when the opponent scores first
• Tampa Bay is averaging 11:08 penalty minutes a game, fifth most in the league
• Andrei Vasilevskiy ranks tied for ninth in the NHL for save percentage
  (.930)
• Ondrej Palat is tied for second in the NHL for takeaways (30)

VS TAMPA BAY NOTES:

• The Canucks are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs the Lightning, dating back to the 2008.09 season.
• Daniel Sedin leads the Canucks with 11 points (5-6-11) in 15 career games against Tampa Bay.
• Sven Baertschi (2-0-2), Bo Horvat (1-1-2) and Alex Biega (0-2-2) shared the Canucks lead in scoring during the 2015.16 season series against Tampa Bay.