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Vancouver Canucks hit hard by mumps in return to game action after bye week |
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Saturday February 25 - San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks - 7 p.m. - CBC, Sportsnet 1
Vancouver Canucks: 60 GP, 26-28-6, 58 pts, sixth in Pacific Division
San Jose Sharks: 60 GP, 35-18-7, 77 pts, first in Pacific Division
The Vancouver Canucks get back to work on Saturday after their five-day break—some of them, anyway.
The Canucks will be dramatically shorthanded as a mumps virus has made its way through the locker room.
The four players with symptoms were having their bloodwork done on Friday. I've seen some different reports on who *might* be able to play tonight if their results come back negative—possibly Tryamkin or Tanev—but it sounds more likely that all five will be sidelined at least for tonight's game.
Sven Baertschi's also still sidelined with the concussion he suffered in Nashville a couple of weeks ago.
So—here's how the lines looked when the very depleted Canucks hit the ice for their first practice after their break on Friday afternoon.
The mumps situation has necessitated a mass recall from the Utica Comets:
Big winger Alex Grenier leads the Comets with 15 goals and 38 point in 51 games this season. He was briefly recalled by the Canucks back in November but didn't see any game action. The 25-year-old played the only six games of his NHL career to date with the Canucks last season, but failed to record a point.
Defenseman Evan McEneny is a 22-year-old who went undrafted, but has been part of the Canucks organization since 2012. The Hamilton native has worked his way up in his two pro seasons—he spent most of last year with the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL before catching on full time with the Comets this season.
McEneny is 6'2" and 215 pounds and is known primarily as a defensive defenseman. He's 6-11-17 in 43 games with the Comets this season. He was the Canucks' first choice for a recall on the blue line.
Jordan Subban and Jo Labate both played in Utica's 2-1 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday night before also being recalled. Both have spent some time with the Canucks already this season.
Subban leads the Comets blue line with 13-16-29 in 46 games and was Utica's representative in the AHL All-Star Game. He also recently generated this impressive highlight-reel goal:
LaBate has dealt with some injury issues as well as spending time as a Black Ace with the Canucks earlier this season. The 6'5" winger with a mean streak is 2-7-9 in 25 games with the Comets this year.
How will the lines look tonight? Your guess is as good as mine.
I imagine we'll see Ryan Miller back between the pipes tonight.
As far as the trade deadline goes, a couple of deals went down on Friday, with Dallas moving Patrick Eaves to Anaheim while Thomas Jurco was dealt from Detroit to Chicago.
We got a little more clarity on the lay of the land with the Canucks.
It sounds like no conversation has happened yet with Alex Burrows, who has a full no-trade clause. Burrows will be a guest on After Hours following tonight's game, so that should be an interesting conversation!
As for the Sharks—pretty much all systems go 'round those parts. They're 1-0 against the Canucks this season after that 4-1 win in early February when Patrick Marleau scored his 500th career goal. Brent Burns continues to make a case not just for the Norris Trophy but also for the Hart as league MVP—he's currently third overall in the NHL scoring race, five points behind Connor McDavid, and is on pace for an insane 88 points this year.
The Sharks are also coming out of their five-day break. Their last game was a 2-1 overtime loss to Boston last Sunday. They're still holding down first place in the Pacific Division and have points in nine of their last 10 games, but their record is a strange 4-1-5 over that time.
As for the Canucks, they're now nine points out of a playoff spot as they come out of their break and are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games, which has also caused them to lose ground in the standings.
Tonight's game should be—interesting, for sure. Enjoy!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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