Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks could be without the services of veteran defender Kevin Bieksa in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Calgary Flames on Friday, head coach Willie Desjardins confirmed at his media availability on Friday.

Bieksa’s issue is more illness related than injury related according to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger, though we should keep in mind that Bieksa was the defender that the Canucks opted to rest in game 82, presumably for good reason. 

Bieksa’s absence could hurt the Canucks since it removes a third right-handed shooting defender from the lineup. It also forces the Canucks to roll with a Luca Sbisa (on his off-side), Ryan Stanton third pairing that could have difficulty keeping up with Calgary’s legion of waterbug forwards. 

If there’s a bright side here it’s that Bieksa was very probably over-utilized – he played nearly a full minute more than Chris Tanev at 5-on-5 – in game one, and if his absence causes Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins to ride his top-par somewhat more in Game 2, that could negate the drop off in quality from Bieksa to Stanton somewhat. 

Whether or not Bieksa plays, the club’s defense will need to play a tighter game on Friday if Vancouver hopes to even up the series. 

Calgary didn’t generate much through the first 50 minutes of Game 1, but that was despite some sloppy play from the Canucks blue-line. Obviously we know the club’s defensive structure sort of collapsed late in the contest, as the club gave up far too many odd-man rushes and extended cycle shifts to the Flames in the game’s waning moments.

Even before that though, while the Canucks controlled play for much of the contest, I’d say it’s a stretch to credit the club’s back end for that.