After a convincing 3-1 victory on Tuesday night, the Vancouver Canucks are back in action on Thursday as the New York Islanders come to town for the teams’ one and only meeting at Rogers Arena this season.

By winning four of their last five games, the Canucks are starting to play with their system and structure. There is still a lot of room for improvement and a lot of hard work to get them to where they want to be, but the club has taken steps over the last couple of weeks and Rick Tocchet paid tribute to his centers after the game Tuesday.

“I thought all the crosses were good tonight,” Tocchet said during a post-match press briefing on Tuesday. “He’s a big part of our team. When you can ask the centers to play a good game. But yes, when Millsy and Petey have good matches. It really makes a difference for us.

Elias Pettersson has had multi-point efforts in his last two games, scoring a goal and dishing out an assist in the first two home games. The now 26-year-old has five points in his last four games and has won 21 of the 38 faceoffs he has played in his last two games.

The Islanders enter Thursday night’s game with back-to-back 4-3 overtime losses. They faced the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday as they began a five-game road trip.

With a 6-6-4 record, the Islanders haven’t had a great start to the season, but they have some talent on their roster, including former Canucks captain Bo Horvat at center on their top line with Anders Lee and JG Pageau on the wings.

Quick hits on the competition

• The Islanders are 4-3-2 on the road this season.

• Head coach Patrick Roy has a record of 26-18-9 since taking over from Lane Lambert on January 20, 2024.

• Former Canuck Bo Horvat has five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 16 games. He has been on the ice for nine goals scored and five-on-five in five-on-five this season.

• Kyle Palmieri leads the Isles with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 16 games played. Palmieri did most of his damage at even strength; collecting 12 of his 14 points in a tie.

• Brock Nelson and Pageau have each scored a shorthanded goal this season, but the Islanders’ penalty kill ranks 31st in the league, killing 64.7 percent of their penalties.

• On the power play, they are tied for 29th with a 12.5% ​​conversion rate. Special teams will once again be important on Thursday.

• Ilya Sorokin has been the leader in goal this season. He has started 10 of their 16 games and holds a 4-3-3 record with a .915% save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average.

• The Islanders are 3-1-2 when scoring first this season and 2-0-0 when scoring first on the road.

• Leading after two periods will be important on Thursday as the Islanders are 4-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes while being 1-4-1 when trailing and 1-2-3 when trailing. tied before the third period.

The Story: Notable numbers in their last five games

With a record of 4-1-0 over their last five games, the Canucks have individuals putting up impressive numbers during their recent streak. Let’s review some impressive numbers over the last five games.

Filip Hronek has been on the ice for seven goals and only conceded three goals at five-on-five. He was also on the ice for 55 scoring opportunities and 23 blocks.

Elias Pettersson leads all forwards in being on the ice for scoring chances over his last five games. He was on the ice for 34.4 scoring chances per 60 minutes at five-on-five.

Quinn Hughes leads all players with 17 shots on goal in his last five games. Pius Suter comes in second with 14, while Pettersson has 13 and Jake DeBrusk has 12.

Hughes also leads the team with eight points (1g-7a) over the last five games. Suter leads with four goals.

Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy have been strong over their last five games. Myers has only been on the ice for one goal against at five-on-five in his last five games, while Soucy has been on the ice for two against.

As a duo, Myers and Soucy played 63:25 at five-on-five and were on the ice for just one goal against in the last five. They endure a lot of faceoffs in the defensive zone and look to protect the net with their size.

The Canucks’ best players over the last five games

Quinn Hughes: 1g-7a-8p
Jake DeBrusk: 3g-2a-5p
Elias Pettersson: 3g-2a-5p
Pie Suter: 4g-0a-5p
Conor’s Garland: 1g-3a-4p
JT Miller: 1g-3a-4p

When and where to watch

Thursday night’s game kicks off at 7 p.m. and you can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen with Brendan Batchelor as he answers the call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.