The Vancouver Canucks are approaching the light at the end of the tunnel, at least as far as core injuries go. Forward Brandon Sutter and Defenceman Luca Sbisa, who have both been out of the lineup for a considerable length of time, appear to be closing in on returning to the team in the not-too-distant future.

Both players participated in today’s morning skate ahead of tonight’s 7 PM game against the Florida Panthers. Obviously, they won’t be part of the lineup that tries to snap the twelve-game win streak that Roberto Luongo’s old-meets-new home is holding at the moment, but the fact that they’re in the “get any ice time you can get” stage of things is a good sign.

Head coach Willie Desjardins stated that both players are very close to returning, with Sbisa being the closest. He expects them both to be back by the end of Vancouver’s upcoming Eastern Conference road trip, which starts on Thursday and ends on January 23rd against Pittsburgh.

“I’m pretty close to coming back,” said Sbisa of his injury. “I’ve been skating a lot of my own, and physically I feel great. I should be cleared soon.”. Sbisa has been out of the lineup a few times this year, missing a couple of weeks with an ankle injury before returning, only to injure his hand while blocking a shot on December 1st.

As for Sutter, he’s set his target a little more conservatively than Desjardins, aiming for before the All-Star Break at the end of the month, though he admitted that things could change over the next few weeks. What started as a “bumps and bruises” situation eventually was revealed to be a hernia problem, which led to Sutter undergoing surgery to address it. He hasn’t been in the lineup since November 12th; prior to that, he had four goals and four assists in sixteen games.