The Vancouver Canucks held their first home ice practice in two weeks on Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Arena. Only one of the team’s three injured forwards was on the ice.

What we saw

Nils Höglander, sent home from the team’s six-game road trip after a March 22nd loss against the New York Rangers, wore a red non-contact jersey and was a limited participant in practice. Höglander is unlikely to play Wednesday against Seattle, but it does seem like he will return before the season is over on April 16th.
Meanwhile, Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil were not part of today’s session, although both have been skating on their own. Rick Tocchet said Pettersson had been limited in his return to game action, although he classified him as ‘day-to-day’ and said the team had not made a decision about shutting him down for the season. As for Chtyil, Tocchet said he has had good days and bad days after skating as he recovers from a concussion suffered on March 15th against Chicago. Tocchet did not sound optimistic that Chytil would play again this season.
The Canucks skated with the same line combinations they used in their road trip finale in Winnipeg on Sunday. Max Sasson, who was up with the big club on an emergency recall, has been returned to AHL Abbotsford. Based on Tuesday’s practice, it looks like the Canucks are toying with the idea of pairing Quinn Hughes with Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson with Filip Hronek.
The Canucks open a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Seattle and follow that with weekend back to backs against Anaheim and Vegas.
Daylight is fading quickly on the Canucks slim playoff hopes. The team is mathematically still alive but finds itself six points behind St. Louis and seven behind Minnesota with just eight games remaining. The Blues are at home to Detroit on Tuesday night, while Calgary visits Utah in another game that has some playoff chase implications.

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on trying to find more ice time for rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki: “Yeah, of course. But we have some pitfalls. The team is working hard and I don’t know where you want me to play him. Do you want me to play him at centre? He’s on the power play. He’s a young kid. We have to be careful. We know what we’re doing when it comes to young guys. I think you guys in the past were bitching about the franchise putting these guys in too quickly. I think so. We’re not doing that. We’re taking our time. It’s the same thing with Pettersson (D-Petey). Same thing with Mancini. You have to marinate these guys. You’ve got to protect them. We’re protecting their confidence. I think they’ve done a hell of a job on this road trip. This is a good taste for these guys. Whether they play 10 or 12 minutes or I get them out in a shootout, when I put them out there, I’ll make those decisions.”
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