It appears that the Vancouver Canucks will continue to be without Quinn Hughes.
The Canucks have announced that their captain will not be travelling with the team for their game on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.
Hughes has already missed the Canucks’ past two games with a lower-body injury, and it’s also not clear whether or not he will be available for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also wasn’t skating at all on Wednesday, and this comes after skating on his own before the group before Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The American defenceman also missed four games with an undisclosed injury about a month ago.
The next two games for the Canucks will be their last two before the league breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which Hughes is set to participate in with the United States. Hughes’ status for the tournament has yet to be confirmed at this point considering the injury.
When healthy, Hughes has been having another phenomenal season with the Canucks, with 14 goals and 45 assists for 59 points in just 47 games. His play has been pivotal to the Canucks success this season, with his absences in the Vancouver lineup throughout the season being so noticeable that it has earned him consideration not only for the Norris Trophy but the Hart Trophy as well.
With Hughes still out of the lineup, it appears that the Canucks will continue to lean on Filip Hronek and new addition Marcus Pettersson to help carry the load in their top four. Elias Pettersson (D) will get more games played with the NHL squad during the Florida native’s absence.
The Canucks currently sit in fifth in the Pacific Division with a 25-18-11 record, which ties them with the Calgary Flames for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver will look to continue to survive without Hughes and build off of Tuesday’s win over the Avalanche when they visit the Sharks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. PST.