The Vancouver Canucks are set for game two of their season-long six-game road trip. They will face the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night for the second and final time this season.

Brock Boeser picked up a pair of assists in Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, while the Canucks’ three goals came from Liam Öhgren, Jake DeBrusk, and Elias Pettersson.

Filip Hronek also had an assist in the game and played a team-high 26:20 of ice time. The 28-year-old, who will represent his home country of Czechia at this year’s Olympics, has been strong at both ends of the ice this season and holds a 59.7% control of the goal share at five-on-five this season. He has been on the ice for 34 goals scored and 23 goals against.

DeBrusk had a hat trick and four points in the game the last time these two teams met in Detroit.

Pettersson has five goals and 18 points in his 12 games against the Red Wings. He has four three-point games against them in his career and has three goals and 10 points in his six games in Detroit.

Quick Hits on the Competition

• The Red Wings come into Thursday’s game with an 8-3-1 record in their last 12 games.

• They picked up a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators in their most recent outing.

• Detroit is sitting pretty with a 25-15-4 record, and are second in the Atlantic Division.

• On home ice, they posted a 14-8-1 record this season and have an 8-0-1 record in one-goal games on home ice.

• Lucas Raymond (45 points) and Alex DeBrincat (43 points) lead the offence. DeBrincat is tied with Dylan Larkin for the team lead with 22 goals this season.

• DeBrincat has scored 10 power play goals this season, and the Red Wings’ power play is tied for sixth in the league with its 24.6% conversion rate.

• Moritz Seider leads the way on the backend. He is averaging 25:12 of ice time per game and has 31 points in 44 games.

• John Gibson has made 25 starts this season, while Cam Talbot has 19 of his own. Gibson has a 14-9-1 record while Talbot is 11-6-3.

The Story: Power Plays

Rookie defenceman Tom Willander has been getting a run on the first power play unit over the past few games. The Canucks’ 2023 first-round pick is up to two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in 32 games this season.

The Canucks have picked up four power play goals in their last three games.

Jake DeBrusk leads the team with 10, and Kiefer Sherwood sits second on the squad with six.

The team ranks 13th on the power play this season. They have scored on 20.4% of their opportunities with the man advantage.

Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games

Elias Pettersson: 3g-1a-4p
Jake DeBrusk: 2g-2a-4p
Linus Karlsson: 2g-2a-4p
Filip Hronek: 1g-3a-4p
Tom Willander: 1g-2a-3p

When and Where to Watch

Thursday’s game is at 4:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.

Blough is only two years into his coaching career after retiring from playing after the 2023 season. He has spent the last two seasons as the Washington Commanders’ assistant quarterbacks coach, helping young quarterback Jayden Daniels emerge as a strong franchise player for Washington. Late in the 2025 season, Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard took the Stanford head coaching job, leaving Blough to serve as the interim quarterbacks coach for the rest of the season.

While backing up Jared Goff in Detroit, Blough was often described by the coaching staff as an excellent backup and strong offensive mind.

“I love the kid, if I’m being totally honest with you,” Campbell said back in 2021. “He’s just a little football player. And when I say that, I mean that in the highest regard. Look, he’s smart. He’s extremely smart. He knows where to go with the football, I love his timing. He knows how to command the huddle, he communicates well and on top of that, he’s a hell of a dude, by the way. He just is. So, he has not disappointed. He’s doing a good job. He’s out there competing with the rest of those guys.”

As of now, this is the only known candidate for the Lions’ offensive coordinator position, but it’s still early in the process. When more candidates emerge, we’ll have a tracker so you can see all of the names in one place.