The Vancouver Canucks (3-1-2) look for their first home ice win of the season tonight when they play host to the red-hot Washington Capitals (4-1) at Rogers Arena. The Canucks are 0-1-2 on home ice after a 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton on Sunday. It’s the first time since 1995-96 they have opened without a win in their first three home games.

In an effort to jump start the team’s offense, Radim Vrbata has been placed on right wing with Daniel and Henrik Sedin forming a reunion of the team’s top three scorers from last season. The Canucks have scored 15 goals in their six games so far – five on opening night in Calgary and 10 in the five games since then. Vrbata is still looking for his first point of the season while Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen all scored on opening night at the Saddledome, but have not scored since. Daniel Sedin is the only returning player from last year’s roster with more than one goal in 2015-16.

A big part of the offensive struggle is the Canucks power play which is 1/20 and has gone four games without a goal. Bo Horvat has the team’s lone PPG this season which means the top unit has yet to produce. That is Horvat’s only point of the season and he has gone four games without.

Rookie Jared McCann returns to the line-up after missing Sunday’s game. He will replace Adam Cracknell on the fourth line between Brandon Prust and Derek Dorsett. Tonight will be the first time this season McCann, Jake Virtanen, Sven Baertschi and Ben Hutton will be in the line-up tonight. Along with Bo Horvat, that gives the Canucks five skaters 23 and under in uniform.

Defensively, the Canucks have surrendered just 11 goals in six games (1.83 GA/G). Around the NHL, only Montreal has given up fewer (6) this season.  

The Capitals arrive here on a three game win streak after a 6-2 romp in Calgary on Tuesday. They lead the NHL in goals per game (3.80) and are second in the league on the power play 5/16 (31.3%) despite the fact Alex Ovechkin has yet to score with the man-advantage.

The Great 8 has scored in all four games he’s played this season. He reached the 900 point mark for his career with 1+1=2 against the Flames. In 10 career games against the Canucks, he has 5+2=7 and in five career games in Vancouver, he has 3+1=4 but has been on the losing end of the score in each game at Rogers Arena (0-4-1).

Ovechkin (901) and Henrik Sedin (917) are two of 11 active players in the NHL with more than 900 career points.

Ovechkin is playing on a line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and newcomer T-J Oshie while Nicklas Backstrom centres Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams.

After being held off the scoresheet in his first two games, Oshie is on a roll with 3+2=5 in his last three outings. Backstrom has 3+2=5 in the two games he’s played this season and John Carlson has 2+4=6 and is second in the league behind only to Erik Karlsson for points by a defenseman.

The Canucks and Capitals are two of five NHL teams to use just one goaltender so far this season (TBL-PIT-LAK are the others). And Ryan Miller and Braden Holtby will again be between the pipes tonight.

Washington last won in Vancouver on February 14, 2001 (in O/T). The Caps last regulation win here came on March 28, 1998 when Brian Bellows scored twice for the Capitals and Pavel Bure had one of the Canucks goals.