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Scenes from practice: Canucks tinker with line combinations ahead of battle vs. Buffalo
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Dec 10, 2025, 16:04 EST
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The Vancouver Canucks showed new line combinations as the team returned to the practice ice at Rogers Arena on Wednesday morning. The club conducted its business without centre Elias Pettersson, who skated on his own ahead of the group on Wednesday, but is likely to miss a third straight game due to an undisclosed injury when the Canucks host the Buffalo Sabres to close out their homestand.

What we saw

With Pettersson missing from the middle, Adam Foote experimented with some new looks at practice. The coach moved Drew O’Connor into the middle on a line with Evander Kane and Kiefer Sherwood while Max Sasson slotted in between Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson. 
Foote is keeping David Kämpf in the middle on a line with Brock Boeser and Conor Garland. The coach acknowledged after practice that the Canucks are asking a lot of Kämpf to play higher in the lineup than he has in his career, but they value his defensive acumen to form a matchup line in the absence of Pettersson.
Nils Höglander, who made his season debut on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings, found himself on a line with Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains. Based on practice, it appears that Lukas Reichel will be a healthy scratch for a sixth straight game on Thursday and the ninth time in the team’s last 10 outings.
Everything is tracking for Thatcher Demko to make his return to the net. The veteran goalie had another solid practice and appears ready to play for the first time since November 11th. It was one year ago today that Demko made his season debut in the 2024-25 campaign after recovering from a knee injury.
The Canucks had three goalies on the ice at the start of practice, but Nikita Tolopilo departed when drills began, leaving Demko and Kevin Lankinen to tend their own nets. Tolopilo will be returned to AHL Abbotsford when the Canucks activate Demko off the injured list ahead of tomorrow night’s game. 
A good portion of Wednesday’s practice was devoted to special teams. The Canucks find themselves in an 0-for-20 rut on the power play over the past six contests. Without Pettersson, the Canucks top unit at practice featured Kiefer Sherwood with Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Jake DeBrusk, while Nils Höglander had a spot on the second unit along with Evander Kane, Linus Karlsson and defencemen Filip Hronek and Tom Willander.
As practice ended, Canucks centres conducted a faceoff contest. In a moment of levity, Fil Hronek stepped in and challenged Aaty Räty on the draw.

What we heard

Adam Foote updates Elias Pettersson’s status for Thursday: “He had a good skate early. I had hoped he would be in today’s practice, but he had a good skate. It’s highly unlikely tomorrow, but he’s coming. And he’ll go on the (road) trip for sure.”
Marcus Pettersson on team morale through the struggles: “This league is too good for you to feel sorry for yourself and stop up and think we deserve better or this and that. The only thing you can do is focus on the next shift and the next play and put your best foot forward. And it is tough. We’re all competitive people and when we don’t win, it can get to you. That’s why we have each other to lean on. You can’t look too far ahead, because you get caught up in the moment. Our effort hasn’t been faulted all year I don’t think. When you go through tough stretches maybe you grab your stick a little bit tighter on certain plays. Yeah, we’re looking forward to the next challenge and getting back in the win column.”
Jake DeBrusk on the team’s goal-scoring struggles of late: “It’s not like you’re not thinking about it a lot. It’s not just something that goes away. But the good thing is that we’ve got another game tomorrow. With this schedule, it’s another chance to break the dam and it’s not even about scoring, it’s about winning.”
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