The Vancouver Canucks had a number of new looks at practice Monday at United Center in Chicago. Some were out of necessity, and others were done with an eye on jolting a struggling power play back to life.

What we saw

JT Miller was given the day off for maintenance reasons after appearing to get shaken up off the opening face-off in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Rick Tocchet thinks Miller will be able to play Tuesday against the Blackhawks, but his ability to take face-offs remains in question. The versatile Pius Suter slid into Miller’s spot between Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk at practice, giving an idea of what would likely happen if Miller were unable to go. It’s unclear whether Miller was hurt on Saturday or if it was a re-aggravation of the issue that kept him out of game action over the first 10 days of the preseason. Miller scored the overtime winner in Florida on Thursday but was also seen sporting significant therapy tape on the back of his neck during that game.
After being a healthy scratch on Saturday, Arshdeep Bains found himself with a spot on left wing on the fourth line with Nils Åman and Daniel Sprong. And Erik Brännström appears set to appear in a third straight game as he skated once again with Vincent Desharnais on defence while Noah Juulsen was the odd man out.
Two other notable items from Monday’s practice: 
Tocchet made significant changes to his top power play unit, with Conor Garland and Arshdeep Bains getting the chance to work with Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Bains was likely a placeholder for the ailing Miller, although it’s worth mentioning that both of the rookie’s goals in the preseason came with the man advantage, so perhaps he’d get a look there. Jake DeBrusk has been moved off the top unit for the time being. Despite picking up four assists in his first five games, DeBrusk is still looking for his first goal as a Canuck and hasn’t looked particularly dangerous on a power play that has scored just once in the past 14 opportunities.
The second unit saw DeBrusk with Filip Hronek, Nils Höglander, Daniel Sprong and Danton Heinen.
And Dakota Joshua was participant in practice for the first time since his testicular cancer diagnosis late in the summer. He was the extra forward today and still in a non-contact jersey. But that is two consecutive on-ice sessions with his teammates after taking the morning skate in Philadelphia on Saturday. There is no timetable for a return to game action, but these past few days would seem to represent significant progress in his recovery.

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on JT Miller’s absence from practice on Monday and his status for Tuesday’s game: “Maintenance. I wouldn’t say he’s questionable, but we have 24 hours so we’ll see how it goes. We’ll talk tomorrow. A lot of things happen in 24 hours.”
Tocchet on getting two wins to settle the team down: “I think when you’re trying to get to your game, your identity, you’ve got to be scrappy. Things aren’t going to be perfect. There are still some coverages we’re ironing out — new guys and the group. I think when you’re scrappy and you can win these games when you’re still learning stuff, it makes a big difference when you’re losing and still learning. Winning these two games kind of puts confidence in a lot of guys.”
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