Canucks hit with pair of disappointing updates on 2 star players
12/28/2024 02:28 PM
Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson drive the bus for the Vancouver Canucks, but neither player will be available when the team welcomes the Seattle Kraken to Rogers Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Hughes and Pettersson are both out with injuries, head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed on Saturday. The former leads the Canucks in scoring and is second among NHL defensemen with eight goals and 42 points in 34 contests. He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2023-24.
“Obviously Hughes is one of a kind, right?” Tocchet said, per NHL.com. “Like I said, you’re not going to replace the guy but as a group, I’d like to see us play some solid ‘D,’ especially without the puck.”
Hughes was originally questionable for Monday night’s 4-3 triumph over the San Jose Sharks, but ended up playing 24:45, registering two assists in the process.
Pettersson, who got off to a rough start this season, has righted the ship to the tune of 10 goals and 28 points in 34 games — good for second in team scoring behind Hughes. He tallied two goals in the victory over the Sharks, but only played one shift in the third period.
“It’s hold the fort, next man mentality, that's the way we have to think," Tocchet continued. "Right now more than ever, and I know we’ve talked about it, it's our staples. We have to play as a team, and we need five percent more from everybody. That's really what it comes down to."
Both Hughes and Pettersson are day-to-day, and could be options to return as soon as New Year’s Eve against the Flames in Calgary. But on Saturday, it’s going to be tough sledding for Vancouver without its top two scorers.
Canucks looking to win without 2 best players
The Canucks are still trying to snap out of a cold spell that has seen the club lose six times in nine tries dating back to December 8. Now 17-10-7, Vancouver is fourth place in the Pacific Division and currently occupying the top wildcard berth in the Western Conference.
But this pace isn’t going to be sustainable for a team that fashions itself a Stanley Cup contender — and one that won 50 games in 2023-24.
In Hughes’ absence, defenseman Erik Brannstrom will enter the lineup after being healthy scratched for the previous three contests.
“You’re not going to replace Quinn Hughes, and I don’t need him trying to do things that press the envelope,” Tocchet said of Brannstrom, per NHL.com. “He’s just got to play a simple game, to be honest. Go back for a puck, if you see the guy, give it to him, if there’s a chance to join the rest, join it, walking the blue line, a guy like him, I want him to shoot the puck, he doesn’t have to try to create too much on the blue line.”
It’s going to be a next man up mentality without Hughes and Pettersson in the fold, and Vancouver would love to get the two points for their ailing stars. Puck drops on Canucks-Kraken just past 4:00 p.m. ET from Rogers Arena.
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