Ben Hutton Not Available for Tonight’s Game – Upper Body Injury

Last night vs. Calgary, Ben Hutton blocked a shot with his left hand and was visibly in discomfort. In a last-minute line-up change, the Canucks announced that he will be sitting out in tonight’s rematch in Calgary.

With Chris Tanev already out of the lineup, the Canucks are now without two of their top four defensemen. Hutton showed obvious signs of pain immediately after blocking the shot but played the remainder of the game. He did travel with the team to Calgary and was expected to dress tonight, which indicated that the potentially injury that was caused was not a major concern. 

With the short notice of his scratch, it appears that whatever injury he suffered is more serious than initially thought. Let it be known that many shots blocked with the hand often result in a fracture of some sort, but that’s pure speculation on my part.