VANCOUVER -- It appears there will be one lineup change for the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5, as Alexandre Bolduc looks to be coming out in favor of a more physical presence in Victor Oreskovich.
Bolduc played in Games 3 and 4 in San Jose, averaging less than five minutes per game, while playing the right wing alongside Tanner Glass and Cody Hodgson.
Oreskovich has dressed in 11 games during the playoffs, averaging 6:29 of ice time. He has no points, a minus-3 rating and 12 penalty minutes.
The defense will look similar to Game 4, with Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome out with injuries and Andrew Alberts a healthy scratch. Christopher Tanev and Keith Ballard will remain the team’s third pairing.
Ehrhoff is believed to be suffering from a shoulder injury suffered in a Game 3 collision with Sharks forward Jamie McGinn, while Rome may have sustained a concussion after being hit from behind by McGinn late in Game 3.
"That's what we've had to do all year," Ballad said of the rotation of blueliners. "We've used 13 defensemen this year and at every point someone's made an impact, someone's come up big for us. Whether it's one guy out or two guys are out, the nine guys we have on the roster right now can all fit in to the lineup when necessary."
Despite what the players were saying afterward it appeared to be a more light-hearted morning skate here at Rogers Arena on Tuesday as the Canucks have an opportunity to clinch the Western Conference title 17 years to the day they last did it, with a 4-3 double-overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 24, 1994.
"Were we?" questioned Ryan Kesler when asked about the joking around during the skate. "It seemed like a regular morning skate to me. We're playing hockey for a living -- why isn't it fun? We're playing hockey in late May -- I'm having a blast. Talking to (the media) is obviously not that fun, but I deal with it."
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