After returning home from their six-game road trip, Vancouver Canucks head coach met with the media after Tuesday’s practice and gave an update on the health status of Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander:
“Upper body. I think it was in the corner on a battle, something like that. He skated, I think once or twice, didn’t skate that hard. [He had a] little bit of discomfort.”
Tocchet was then asked if he expects Pettersson to play soon:
“Yeah, I think I always expect that. But like I said, it’s day-to-day. When a guy’s day-to-day, you expect him to play. But I don’t know [with] the discomfort level where it’s going to go.”
The Canucks coach was unsure and shared that it was tough to predict whether if tomorrow was a playoff game, if Pettersson could suit up.
Tocchet with an update on Höglander:
“Hogy, this guy’s biting at the [bit]. This guy wants to play so bad. He’s got a red jersey, which is a good thing, but he’s obviously no contact. Is he close? He’s closer, I guess, than the other guys. But, you know, this guy wants to play so bad, so we got to be careful with that.”
Both players sustained injuries in a Saturday matinee game against the New York Rangers, the first game between former teammates JT Miller and Carson Soucy.
Pettersson left the bench halfway through the second period. He would return for a couple of shifts but did not return for the third period.
Höglander came as a bit more of a shock as there were no signs of an injury, but he would also not rejoin his teammates for the third period.
The two-Swedes would be sent home for the final five games of the road trip, where the Canucks went 2-1-1 without them.
This was unfortunate timing for both players, as they were two of the three hottest forwards on the roster. Pettersson was riding a six-game point streak with three goals and six assists for nine points in those games. Playing on Pettersson’s wing for those games, Höglander had one goal and five assists during his five-game point streak.
The Canucks have eight games remaining on the schedule before the conclusion of the regular season. Vancouver currently sits six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Wild Card spot. It will be a big boost for the team if they are able to get one or both of the forwards back as they try to claw their way back into playoff contention.
