Detroit @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2019 ) Detroit 2, Vancouver 3

The Vancouver Canucks stumbled out of the gates with a pair of road losses to Pacific Division rivals Edmonton and Calgary but responded by winning their next two games at home. The Canucks will look to complete a perfect three-game homestand but they will be without their starting netminder when the Detroit Red Wings pay a visit on Tuesday night.

Vancouver will be seeing a familiar face in Detroit's lineup -- defenseman Alex Biega was traded to the Red Wings just over a week ago and will be paired with Dennis Cholowski, a Vancouver native. "It's going to be a weird one tomorrow night, obviously," Biega said. "First game in new organization going against guys I played with for five years, but it's going to be a lot of fun." The Canucks will be without goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who is expected to be away from the team until the weekend due to personal reasons. "Respectfully, we will not offer any further comment,” general manager Jim Benning said on Monday.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, Sportsnet1 (Vancouver)

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (3-2-0): Detroits's top line has sizzled, but the fourth unit of Darren Helm, Jacob de la Rose and Justin Abdelkader is thriving as well. Helm and de la Rose each scored as part of a five-point output from the trio in a 5-2 loss to Toronto, providing needed punch that has been missing from the second and third lines. “They’ve had three games in a row where they’ve been big, strong, heavy, have created scoring chances," coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think they’ve been a real good line for us and I think they can continue to be."

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (2-2-0): With a four-game road trip looming, Vancouver faces a difficult start to the week after Markstrom was granted a leave of absence to tend to a family matter. Markstrom, who has posted a 2-2-0 record with a 2.23 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, will sit out Tuesday and is expected to miss Thursday's game at reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis. Backup Thatcher Demko, who is expected to make his season debut, was 4-3-1 with a 2.81 GAA in nine appearances (eight starts) in 2018-19.

OVERTIME

1. Canucks F Brock Boeser, who scored his first goal of the season Sunday, has three assists in three meetings versus Detroit.

2. Red Wings F Frans Nielsen (upper body) practiced Monday but it's unclear if he'll return to the lineup.

3. The Canucks called up G Zane McIntyre from Utica of the American Hockey League.

PREDICTION: Red Wings 3, Canucks 2