With the first two games behind the Canucks and a trip to sunny California ahead of them, it’s worth checking in on the roster and ensuring that all the players are, well, still alive. Willie Desjardins spoke to the media today and gave a few updates on players that were on the tip of everybody’s tongues.
  • Ryan Miller didn’t practice today, and that had people initially worried, but it turned out to be a non-issue. The 35-year-old netminder was simply given the day off after a solid pair of performances.
  • Alexander Edler missed yesterday’s game due to illness, and while we don’t have more detail on that, we do know that he should be available to play on Monday against Anaheim.
  • Jacob Markstrom, as we know, suffered a hamstring injury just before the season opener, and while he told Swedish media that he’ll be out “a while”, Desjardins said that the 25-year-old backup was coming along “quicker than expected”. That’s still pretty vague, but hopefully that means he won’t be out much longer. Miller has been great to start the year, but I’m not sure that I feel totally comfortable with starting him too frequently, or relying on Richard Bachman.
  • Christopher Higgins is still recovering from the foot injury he suffered in the pre-season opener. The team said that they would re-evaluate him in three weeks, and now that we’ve gotten to that point, he’s likely out for another four to six more. This puts a lot of pressure on the team; say, if they were hoping that Higgins would be back right around the time Jake Virtanen hit nine games. This could force their hand in keeping him and dealing another roster player in a few weeks.
Of course, Desjardins is also recovering from an ailment. His hip surgery didn’t keep him out of opening night, thankfully, but Hockey Night in Canada reported that he’s still about six weeks away from skating with the team in practices, meaning his assistants will continue to operate the on-ice drills for now. In the meantime, the Canucks have exercised a bit of “home ice advantage” and installed standing lower-back rests for him throughout the bench, making games in Vancouver a little easier on his body.