The Vancouver Canucks got one star back on Monday, when Quinn Hughes returned to action against the Montreal Canadiens. Could they get another star back on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals?
Elias Pettersson returned to practice with the Canucks on the weekend but wasn't ready for Monday's game. On Wednesday, he took the optional morning skate and head coach Rick Tocchet said he could potentially be available for the Canucks.
"I'll talk to Petey after the skate again today," said Tocchet. "It's probably — it's a game-time [decision]. At this point with players, it's how he feels. You get the doctors and people, whatever — it's up to the player, if he feels comfortable. I think that's where we're at."
The team has been cagey about injuries all season, so it's unclear exactly what is ailing Pettersson. It's my understanding that it's not one issue but a few different things combined. With that in mind, it's not as simple as being ready to go once one injury has healed but in Pettersson feeling confident that the confluence of issues won't prevent him from competing at a high level and also won't get worse.
The Canucks would certainly love to have him back. As much as the likes of Pius Suter and Conor Garland have done a yeoman's job of filling in for the team's stars when they've struggled or missed time, they were crushed by the Canadiens last game, completely undercutting J.T. Miller's outstanding four-point game.
The line of Garland, Suter, and Jake DeBrusk were completely underwater against the Canadiens, with shot attempts 13-to-0 for the Canadiens when they were on the ice together at 5-on-5. They were split up at times but didn't fare much better. Shots on goal were 10-to-3 for the Canadiens with Garland on the ice at 5-on-5 and he was on the ice for two Canadiens goals.
That's less the fault of those three players and more that it highlights just what the Canucks are still missing from the lineup with Pettersson out and how hard it is to fill in for him.
While he hasn't been on top of his game all season, Pettersson is still one of the Canucks' best two-way forwards. He's third among Canucks forwards in corsi percentage and expected goals percentage despite spending the highest percentage of minutes up against elite competition on the team, according to PuckIQ.
Hopefully, Pettersson returns soon and at full health — or close to it.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
With Pettersson's status uncertain and Wednesday's morning skate an optional one, projecting the lines is a bit difficult. For now, we'll assume that he'll play and update the lines when the Canucks take the ice for warm-up.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
Some might expect Nils Höglander to be scratched after his costly penalty in the final minute against the Canadiens but he had a strong game up until that moment. He still could come out of the lineup but it's more likely that one of Phil Di Giuseppe or Max Sasson comes out. My guess is Di Giuseppe, since the line of Höglander, Sasson, and Danton Heinen has been a good one in recent games.
Derek Forbort will also be a game-time decision after an awkward collision in the neutral zone caused him to briefly leave Monday's game in the second period. Either Guillaume Brisebois or Erik Brännström could step into the lineup for Forbort.
UPDATE: Forbort is good to go but Pettersson is not. That means the players in the lineup won't change, even if the lines are slightly. Di Giuseppe will drop to the fourth line with Höglander and Sasson, with Danton Heinen bumped up to the third line with Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Kevin Lankinen despite skipping the morning skate, which is unusual for goaltenders, who typically thrive on routine. Given his workload and that Thatcher Demko has yet to return from his back spasms, the coaching staff felt rest was more important for Lankinen.
"I think it's important, especially this time of year," said Tocchet. "You don't need to go on the ice three times in two days. Lanks is a veteran guy in the sense that he knows what he needs."
Washington Capitals projected lines
The Capitals have kept up a pattern in their last eight games: win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. If they keep up that pattern, Wednesday's game against the Canucks should be a win.
That yo-yoing has kept the Capitals in top spot of the Metropolitan Division this season, which is somewhat surprising given how low expectations were heading into the season. At best, pundits predicted the Capitals would be on the playoff bubble, with some suggesting that the Capitals would be more concerned with helping Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's goal record than actually winning games.
They've been doing both. Despite missing 16 games to injury, Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 19 goals in 24 games, but he's not the only one producing. Dylan Strome has 45 points in 40 games, Aliaksei Protas has taken a leap forward in his game with 18 goals and 35 points in 40 games, and Tom Wilson, Connor McMichael, and Pierre-Luc Dubois all have more than 30 points.
The Capitals lead the NHL in goals per game but they're also a top-five team in the NHL defensively, allowing just 2.65 goals per game. At this rate, the Capitals could do more than just make the playoffs or win the Metropolitan Division; they could win the Presidents' Trophy and be Stanley Cup favourites.
Here are the Capitals' projected lines, though they could change, as head coach Spencer Carbery hasn't been happy with the chemistry of the lines in recent games:
Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
Ivan Miroshnichenko - Lars Eller - Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Andrew Mangiapane
Rasmus Sandin - John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun - Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary - Matt Roy
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
The team is reportedly dealing with some illnesses and injuries that could affect the lineup, so look for these lines to be updated at warm-up time.
The Capitals' starting goaltender is expected to be Logan Thompson. He and Charlie Lindgren have split the starting goaltender duties 50/50 — or 20/20, with each goaltender getting 20 starts at the 40-game mark.
Thompson has been the better of the two goaltenders, with a .916 save percentage that is among the league's best among regular starters.
