One of the biggest concerns about the 4 Nations Face-Off ahead of the tournament was that players were at a higher risk of injury compared to an All-Star Game at what is ultimately a meaningless tournament.
For various reasons, the tournament ended up being a lot more meaningful than expected but the concern about injuries was well-founded. There were several significant injuries at the 4 Nations Face-Off as well as plenty of more minor ones.
One of those injuries affects the 麻豆传媒映画Canucks, as Elias Pettersson picked up an injury and was labeled "day to day" as of Friday. It's unknown exactly when he was injured but he barely played in the third period of Sweden's final game against the United States. Pettersson had a disappointing tournament but it's unclear if that's a reflection of playing through injury or simply a continuation of his struggles for the Canucks this season. It may be both.
According to head coach Rick Tocchet, Pettersson will be a game-time decision for the Canucks on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Tocchet also said that Quinn Hughes will not play on Saturday, which suggests that whoever made the decision for him not to play at the 4 Nations Face-Off made the right call. Hughes tried to return right away from an oblique injury that he suffered at the end of January but has now been out for over three weeks.
"I feel really good right now," said Hughes after practice on Tuesday and said that he should be "ready to go" for Saturday's game. On Wednesday, he shed his red no-contact jersey for practice, suggesting things were moving in the right direction for his return, but now he won't be in the lineup.
It seems the Canucks are treating Hughes' injury with an abundance of caution, which certainly makes sense given his importance for the team down the stretch. The Canucks will need him as close to fully healthy as he can get if they want to not only make the playoffs but also make some noise in the postseason.
While the Canucks might be missing one player thanks to the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Golden Knights definitely will. According to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, Shea Theodore suffered a broken wrist at the tournament and he is currently considered week-to-week, though it wouldn't be surprising if he was out until the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Like the Canucks, the Golden Knights also had a defenceman held out of the tournament with an injury, though Alex Pietrangelo is expected to play on Saturday.
麻豆传媒映画Canucks projected lines
For the moment, we'll assume that Pettersson will be in the lineup and update as necessary if he doesn't take the ice for warm-up or isn't in the lineup by the opening faceoff.
With that in mind, here are the Canucks' projected lines:
The Canucks practiced this week with Arshdeep Bains at centre in Pettersson's spot while he was still at the 4 Nations Face-Off but it's more likely that the Canucks would bump Pius Suter up the lineup, move Teddy Blueger to the third line, and put Nils Åman at centre on the fourth line, with Bains on the wing.
If Pettersson is out, that will put more pressure on Filip Chytil as the team's lone remaining top-six centre. His line with Drew O'Connor and Brock Boeser looked good before the break but they'll be in tough against the Golden Knights.
With no Hughes, expect Derek Forbort to play with Filip Hronek as he did before the break. Judging from the Canucks' practice lines, Forbort might have been a healthy scratch if Hughes was available to play.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Kevin Lankinen, backed up by Arturs Silovs with Thatcher Demko out week-to-week.
Vegas Golden Knights projected lines
Even without Theodore, the Golden Knights will be a very difficult opponent for the Canucks. They're currently first in the Pacific Division with a 33-17-6 record.
Jack Eichel leads Vegas in scoring with 19 goals and 69 points in 55 games, followed by Mark Stone with 14 goals and 49 points in 42 games. Both Eichel and Stone are coming off an emotional championship game, albeit on opposing sides, with Stone's Canada coming out on top over Eichel's Team USA.
Here are the Golden Knights' projected lines:
Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Victor Olofsson
Pavel Dorofeyev - Tomas Hertl - Raphael Lavoie
Brandon Saad - Brett Howden - Mark Stone
Tanner Pearson - Nicolas Roy - Keegan Kolesar
Nicolas Hague - Alex Pietrangelo
Noah Hanifin - Zach Whitecloud
Brayden McNabb - Kaedan Korczak
Adin Hill
Ilya Samsonov
The Golden Knights' starting goaltender will be Adin Hill, who also represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, even though he didn't get into a game, with Jordan Binnington starting all three games for Team Canada.
Hill has a .900 save percentage this season in 34 starts.
