PREVIEW: Giants Host T-Birds Friday in Lin’s Return to Lineup
LANGLEY, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (21-33-1-2) host the Seattle Thunderbirds (23-26-4-3) tonight at Langley Events Centre at 7 p.m. in what will be the return of Giants captain Ryan Lin.
Lin hasn’t played since getting hurt on Jan. 11 in Wenatchee, an absence that stretched 14 games and more than six weeks. He still leads the Giants in scoring by a wide margin, with 50 points in 42 games (11G-39A). In the 11 games Lin played before the injury, he had 16 points (5G-11A) and was a +5.
Vancouver is coming off a strong all-around performance last Saturday: a 2-1 home win over the Portland Winterhawks.
HOW TO TUNE IN – REGULAR SEASON GAME 58/68
|
TODAY’S MATCHUP
Vancouver is 3-2-0 in their last five home games. They’ve only allowed 14 goals against in six February home games (2.33 per game), but they’ve also only scored 10 goals in those six games.
The Thunderbirds have lost three in a row, but before that, they won five straight, including a 3-1 win over the Giants at LEC on February 16. Seattle currently sits five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with 12 games remaining.
The Giants have four former Thunderbirds on their roster: Sam Charko, Colton Gerrior, Kaleb Hartmann and Jaxson Pawlenchuk, while Seattle has two former Giants: Caden Cail and Cameron Schmidt.
| SEASON SERIES vs. SEA (0-2-0-0) | ||
| DATE | LOCATION | RESULT |
| Nov. 8, 2025 | accesso ShoWare Center | 8-3 L |
| Feb. 16, 2026 | LEC | 3-1 L |
| Feb. 27, 2026 | LEC | 7:00 PM |
| Mar. 15, 2026 | accesso ShoWare Center | 5:05 PM |
LAST 5 GAMES (2-3-0-0) | 9 GF, 20 GA
| DATE | VAN RESULT | SCORE | VAN SCORERS | IN GOAL | GWG |
| Feb. 21 | WIN | VAN 2 vs. POR 1 | McCloskey, Gerrior | Pyne (27/28) | Gerrior (VAN) |
| Feb. 20 | LOSS | VAN 1 at SPO 6 | Riggall | Hood (16/20) | Harrington (SPO) |
| Feb. 16 | LOSS | VAN 1 vs. SEA 3 | Chorney | Pyne (33/36) | Lovsin (SEA) |
| Feb. 14 | LOSS | VAN 2 at KEL 8 | Domenichelli, Pawlenchuk | Pyne (33/41) | Leslie (KEL) |
| Feb. 13 | WIN | VAN 3 vs. PEN 2 (SO) | Skok, Volotovskii, Oreskovic (SO) | Pyne (35/37) | Oreskovic (VAN) |
TALE OF THE TAPE (2025-26 REG SEASON)
| SEATTLE | VANCOUVER | |
| 23-26-4-3 — 53 points | Team Record | 21-33-1-2 — 45 points |
| 0.473 | Points % | 0.395 |
| 10th/16th | Conf./WHL Ranking | 12th/21st |
| 5-4-1-0 | Past 10 Games | 3-7-0-0 |
| 0-3-0-0 | Streak | 1-0-0-0 |
| 4-1 L at KEL (Feb. 25) | Last Game | 2-1 W vs. POR (Feb. 21) |
| 16-8-3-1 | Home Record | 15-14-1-0 |
| 7-18-1-2 | Away Record | 6-19-0-2 |
| 184 (3.29 – 15th) | GF | 166 (2.91 – 18th) |
| 214 (3.82 –T-16th) | GA | 238 (4.18 – 20th) |
| -30 (T-14th) | Goal Differential | -72 (21st) |
| (36/215) 16.7% | PP (Overall) | (37/186) 19.9% |
| (57/242) 76.5% | PK (Overall) | (59/205) 71.2% |
| (5/13) 38.5% | PP vs. Opp. | (0/10) 0% |
| (0/10) 100% | PK vs. Opp. | (5/13) 61.5% |
| Schmidt (40-44-84) | Top Scorer | Lin (11-39-50) |
WHAT ARE WE WEARING
The Giants will be wearing their black and grey alternate jerseys tonight.
UPCOMING
After Friday’s game, the Giants head to Kamloops to battle the Blazers on Saturday.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time |
| Friday, February 27 | Seattle | Langley Events Centre | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, February 28 | Kamloops | Sandman Centre | 6:00 PM |
