The Vancouver Canucks could be without their best player when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.
Quinn Hughes sustained an undisclosed injury midway through the third period of a 6-3 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night. The team’s leading scorer practiced for about 15 minutes on Tuesday before leaving in a previously planned departure, coach Rick Tocchet said.
Hughes’ status is day to day, Tocchet said, but the defenseman also could be placed on injured reserve to give him more time to heal.
“He’s a competitor, but sometimes I’ve got to intervene and be the bad guy,” Tocchet said. “The guy wants to play. We’re in a dogfight and he’s just that type of guy.”
Hughes, the defending Norris Trophy winner, recently missed six games with an undisclosed injury, including the 4 Nations Face-Off.
He was in his second game back from the injury when the Canucks lost to the Ducks 5-2 last Thursday.
“He wants to put the team on his back, and that, I think, sometimes affects him,” Tocchet said. “Obviously, he wants to get out there, but he’s going to have to manage when he should go, when not to.”
The Canucks have lost two in a row and four of five to lose their grip on the second wild card from the Western Conference.
The most recent loss to the Kraken was painful in more ways than one. The Canucks owned a 3-2 lead midway through the second period before giving up the final four goals against a team well behind them in the standings.
“It was a chance for us to pull a couple more points ahead (in the standings), and we let that one slip away,” Vancouver forward Dakota Joshua said. “That’s just been our model lately is blowing leads, and we couldn’t get that one back.”
The Ducks will be short on rest but high on confidence after beating the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Tuesday night to remain six points back of the final wild-card spot in the West.
“Edmonton has a great team,” Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier said. “They were in the Stanley Cup Finals last year and, anytime you come into someone else’s rink, you know it’s going to be a tough night. So, I thought we had a good start to the game and we kept our foot on the pedal there and, thankfully, we were able to come out with the two points.”
The Ducks welcomed back forward Trevor Zegras following his three-game suspension, but it was the newly formed line of Gauthier, Mason McTavish and Sam Colangelo that stood out the most against the Oilers.
McTavish scored twice, Gauthier delivered three assists and Colangelo had a goal and an assist in his third game since he was recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League.
“Just after every single shift, just boost each other up,” Gauthier said of his line. “Whether it’s a bad play or a great play, we’re there for each other.”
Vancouver can expect to see veteran John Gibson in goal for Anaheim after Lukas Dostal made 32 saves against Edmonton.
Gibson has performed well against the Canucks in his career, owning a 13-5-2 mark with a 2.15 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
