Chris Tanev out with undisclosed injury, Miller progessing slowly

Even the Christmas Break wasn’t enough to slow down the Vancouver Canucks’ revolving carousel of injuries on the point. Ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, coach Willie Desjardins has confirmed that the team will be without its star shot-suppressor.

While the team hasn’t confirmed what Tanev’s injury is, the safe assumption would be that he suffered it during Vancouver’s 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on December 22nd. In the dying moments of the game, Tanev blocked a shot from Steven Stamkos that could have tied things up. He appeared in some discomfort at the time, so hearing that there are lingering effects is unsurprising, if not unfortunate.

The suggestion that Miller is behind schedule is particularly interesting as well. The team refrained from putting him on a schedule to begin with, citing that his ailment, suffered against the Florida Panthers a week ago, was just a cramp. The return date continues to be inched back, however, which has given Jacob Markstrom more opportunity to start and Joe Cannata more time to reap the rewards of an NHL contract.

With the above considered, expect Andrey Pedan to draw into the lineup tonight and Markstrom to start in goal. Puck drop is at 7 PM.