Stumbling teams square off in Seattle

VANCOUVER (37-15-6) VS. SEATTLE (23-21-11)

When: Tonight, 7 p.m.

Where: Climate Pledge Arena

TV: Sportsnet

Radio: Sportsnet 650

The buzz: For the first time all season, the Canucks are stumbling — they arrive in the Emerald City losers of three straight games. The Kraken are stumbling as well — they lost their last game and have just four wins in their last 10 games. The Canucks are looking to right their ship to continue their pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while the Kraken are three points adrift of the second wild-card spot. Yes, this game is firmly in the playoff picture.

The history: The last visit to Seattle for the Canucks was a 5-1 win for the visitors. The week before, the Kraken stole a 4-3 win in Vancouver, a game that left head coach Rick Tocchet steaming mad.

The hope: Vancouver performed much better at five-on-five than it did on Monday in Minnesota, but still lost. For the third game in a row, the Canucks lost the third period. To beat the Kraken they need to remain strong at five-on-five, have a better third period and maybe, just maybe, score a power-play goal.

The fear: The Canucks have been taking too many penalties. They were crushed by a series of five-on-threes against Minnesota, and a late tripping penalty — even if it was perhaps a phantom call — against Colorado skewered their hopes for a comeback.

The top guns: J.T. Miller has five goals in his last four games and has leaped back over Elias Pettersson as the team's leading scorer. He has 75 points on the year. Jared McCann, as ever, leads the way for Seattle with four goals in his last five games. The wounded: Canucks: Dakota Joshua (broken hand, indefinite), Carson Soucy (broken hand, six to eight weeks), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion, indefinite).

The quote: “Got to be more decisive,” Tocchet said of his team's struggling power play after Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Avalanche. The Canucks have just three power play goals in 27 opportunities since the allstar break.

The lineup:

Forwards

■ Suter-Miller-Boeser

■ Höglander-Pettersson-Lindholm

■ Bains-Blueger-Garland

■ Di Giuseppe-Åman-Mikheyev

Defence

■ Hughes-Hronek

■ Cole-Juulsen

■ Zadorov-Myers

Goalie

■ Thatcher Demko

The prediction: The Canucks played well enough Tuesday to beat the Avalanche. Surely they'll repeat that play — that's who they've been much of the season — and the Kraken ain't the Avs, so look for a 4-1 Canucks win to close this road trip.