Wednesday October 24 - Vancouver Canucks at Vegas Golden Knights - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 9 GP, 5-4-0, 10 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights: 8 GP, 4-4-0, 8 pts, fifth in Pacific Divison
In their first-ever visits to T-Mobile Arena last season, the Vancouver Canucks were easy pickins for the upstart Vegas Golden Knights. The Canucks dropped a 6-3 decision to the home team on October 23, followed by a 4-1 decision on March 20.
Though the Golden Knights haven't quite lived up to their lofty standards through the early part of this year, Vancouver is going to be in tough on Wednesday in Sin City. Jacob Markstrom returns to the net after a one-game absence, Elias Pettersson will not play and Brock Boeser is a game-time decision for the Canucks.
Pettersson joined his teammates at practice in Vancouver on Tuesday for the first time since he was injured by Mike Matheson in Florida on October 13 but did not skate as part of the regular rotation.
Talking with the media afterward, he said he feels good but is trying to be patient about his return, on the advice of the Vancouver medical staff.
"To be honest, it sucks to not play games and I want to get back as quick as possible," he said. "I'd rather rest some extra days so I am fully prepared when I get back."
Pettersson confirmed that this is his first concussion, and that his worst previous injury to date was the broken thumb that he suffered when he crashed into the net on a rush during the World Championship last spring.
As for Boeser, Travis Green explained on Tuesday that he had been playing through a groin issue that he suffered last Thursday in Winnipeg.
Darren Archibald was recalled from Utica on Tuesday and is with the team in Vegas. Boeser and Pettersson were also on the ice for Wednesday's optional pre-game skate.
Boeser appears to be moving well after missing practice on Tuesday.
Overall, the skate looks pretty well attended, considering it's Vegas — and it's the Dads' Trip. Scroll through to see which apples fall closest to their respective trees!
One body is noticeably absent. Could Gaudette have a case of the Vegas flu?
Canucks' play-by-play man Brendan Batchelor suggests that even though Michael Del Zotto took a regular rotation in practice on Tuesday, he'll likely be scratched again. If so, that'll be the eighth straight game.
Ahead of the Utica Comets' Wednesday home game against the Charlotte Checkers, here's the latest on their long list of sidelined players:
Also from Utica, Olli Juolevi follows in Elias Pettersson's footsteps with his own "How to pronounce my name" video.
There's one more syllable in there than I'd realized. It's more like "You-oh-LEH-vee" than "Yoh-LEH-vee."
Though there was some concern during training camp that Juolevi still didn't look ready to be an impact player in the North American game, he seems to be making good strides with the Comets and has earned praise from his coach.
“I think Olli has done a really good job,” said Trent Cull. “For a young guy, he’s played a lot of minutes for us, and he’s done some really good things. To show that he can be very much a good player for us at this level — this quickly — it is really boding well for his confidence.”
The buzz remains pretty loud that the Canucks are hoping that Juolevi will be able to make the full-time jump to the big club sooner than later; perhaps as early as Christmas.
As for Vegas, they're in the midst of recovering from their rocky start now that they're back in the friendly confines of T-Mobile. Wednesday's game will be the third in a five-game homestand that has seen them handily beat Buffalo 4-1 and Anaheim 3-1. The Knights will be well-rested, too—they've been home for more than a week and have played just those two games in the last 10 days. Over the same period of time, the Canucks have played four times as they've travelled from Florida to Pittsburgh to Winnipeg to Vancouver—and now to Vegas.
Marc-Andre Fleury didn't start the season well, but has gotten back into his groove. He has surrendered just two goals in his last three starts and is expected to get the nod again tonight.
New signing Paul Stastny won't play tonight. He appeared in just three games for Vegas before suffering a lower-body injury that's now expected to keep him out for a couple of months. Defenseman Deryk Engelland has also been added to IR today with an arm injury, but forward Alex Tuch is expected to draw in for his first game of the year after missing the team's first eight games with a lower-body injury. While he was sidelined, Tuch signed a seven-year contract extension last week that'll kick in next season. After contributing 37 points in 78 regular-season games last season and another 10 in the playoffs, Tuch is now locked in at $4.75 million a year through 2025-26.
With that, you're up to date. Enjoy the game!
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