Quinn Hughes took to the ice on Tuesday morning to test out his lower-body injury but left prior to the Vancouver Canucks' morning skate after a discussion with head coach Rick Tocchet and training staff.
The Canucks captain will miss his second straight game on Tuesday night as they face the Colorado Avalanche. Hughes suffered the undisclosed injury during Friday's game against the Dallas Stars and, while he took the warm-up on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings, he ultimately did not play.
"He's not going to play tonight," said Tocchet after the morning skate. "He wants to gut everything out but it's the right move."
It's unknown at this time exactly what the injury is or how long Hughes will be out of the lineup, though Tocchet did clarify that it's a new injury rather than an aggravation of an ongoing problem and that Hughes has seen "slight" improvement over the past couple of days.
"Just 24 hours, you take it day-by-day with him or with anybody," said Tocchet. "I've seen things linger; I've seen some guys, after 24 hours, things help, so we'll see how it goes."
Hughes' absence represents a major challenge for the Canucks, though it would have been an even more significant challenge if it hadn't coincided with the acquisition of Marcus Pettersson, a top-four defenceman on the left side. Pettersson has plenty of experience playing major minutes, as he did against the Red Wings, playing 25:57 in his first game with the Canucks.
"I think it's hard: how do you replace [Hughes]?" said Tocchet. "I think if everybody sticks to their game — some guys can supply a little bit more offence — that will help. But I think, for the most part, you can't replace a guy like him. But the team identity can overcome short-term."
Hopefully, the Canucks won't have to worry about overcoming Hughes' absence long-term.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
At Tuesday's morning skate, Carson Soucy skated on what appeared to be an extra fourth pairing with Victor Mancini, while defenceman Elias Pettersson skated with Noah Juulsen on the presumed third pairing. That coincided with a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that Soucy is on the trade market.
Tocchet, however, said that Soucy "might play tonight" after he was a healthy scratch on Sunday.
For now, we'll assume that the lines on Tuesday night will match what they were Tuesday morning, so here are the projected lines, which will be updated when the Canucks take the ice for warm-up:
If Pettersson (#25) is in the lineup, it will be his second straight NHL game. He's made a big impression on the Canucks' coaching staff.
"I call him a cycle-buster. He goes flying in there, he doesn't care. He's a competitive guy," said Tocchet. "[Adam Foote] and [Sergei Gonchar] working with him is going to really help the little things, like stick-on-puck, boxing out properly, things like that. But that will come. The major stuff that he brings — the skating ability, the shot, his competitiveness, the youth, the guys love him — it's hard to find. I wouldn't even call him a prospect; he's trying to become an NHL defenceman for us."
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Thatcher Demko, who will be looking to bounce back from his last start, where he allowed three goals on just 14 shots to the Dallas Stars.
Colorado Avalanche projected lines
The Avalanche have been one of the powerhouses in the Western Conference for several seasons but are a little bit more middling this season. They're currently in the first Wild Card spot in the West instead of among the top three teams in the Central Division.
Nathan MacKinnon is doing a lot of work to carry the team with a Hart-caliber season. He leads the Avalanche in scoring with 20 goals and 80 points in 54 games, 20 more points than Martin Necas, who is second in scoring.
Hughes' injury robs us of seeing him go head-to-head against Cale Makar, who trails just behind Hughes in the scoring race among defencemen. Hughes has 59 points, while Makar has 58, though he's played seven more games.
Here are the Avalanche's projected lines:
Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin - Casey Mittelstadt - Juuso Parssinen
Miles Wood - Jack Drury - Ross Colton
Joel Kiviranta - Parker Kelly - Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Samuel Girard - Josh Manson
Keaton Middleton - Sam Malinski
Mackenzie Blackwood
Trent Miner
The Avalanche's starting goaltender is expected to be Mackenzie Blackwood, who is coming off back-to-back shutouts in their last two games. He has a .917 save percentage this season, which ranks fifth in the NHL among goaltenders with at least 20 starts.
