Vancouver is the other extreme. The Canucks are 2-7-1, have lost 5 straight, and haven't won in 7 since beating Calgary on October 3. They come home from an Eastern trip that produced 0 wins. The losses did get tighter as the trip went on, though: 3-2 to the Islanders, 3-2 to Florida, and then a 2-0 lead in Tampa that turned into a 4-2 loss.
The Tampa game is the whole Canucks season in 60 minutes. Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson put them up 2-0, then Nikita Kucherov scored twice in under 5 minutes and Jake Guentzel won it in the 3rd. Vancouver finished with 14 shots on Dennis Hildeby. The Canucks have gotten harder to play against without the puck, but 14 shots won't beat a Carolina team that wants to spend 60 minutes in your end.
The best thing Vancouver has going is in net. With Thatcher Demko (hip) out until around Christmas at best, Leevi Meriläinen has played his way into the starter's job, stopping 35 of 38 against the Islanders and 30 of 34 against Florida, and he's projected to go again Tuesday. Kevin Lankinen answered with 31 saves on 35 shots in Tampa. Whoever plays will see plenty of rubber. Marco Rossi is still day-to-day, and that matters for a team that can't afford to lose another center.
There's more going on at Rogers Arena than the losing streak. Tuesday is the Canucks' John Garrett tribute night, and Quinn Hughes makes his first trip back with Minnesota on Sunday, so the building will want something to cheer before that. Detroit comes in Thursday. For Carolina, this is the softest-looking stop on a hard trip, and the trap is the obvious one: a short bench walking into a rested home team that has been losing close games for a week.