The Vancouver Canucks had all of their healthy bodies on the ice together for the first time in nearly two weeks on Friday afternoon in Las Vegas. However, the full group didn’t stay intact for long, as stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson both left practice early according to Canucks television analyst Dave Tomlinson.
After practice, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre offered the following update from head coach Rick Tocchet: 
Hughes missed the final four games before the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a reported oblique issue. And, of course, he wasn’t medically cleared to join Team USA for Thursday’s championship final. His status for Saturday remains up in the air.
As for Pettersson, he struggled in three games for Sweden at the 4 Nations tournament and was benched for most of the third period in his team’s final game on Monday night. Video from the Swedish locker room showed Pettersson appearing to ice his right knee inside his shin pad. It’s not known if that had anything to do with why he left the ice early on Friday. Skating strength and speed have both appeared to be issues that have held Pettersson back for much of this season.
The Canucks are scheduled to have a morning skate at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday before facing the Golden Knights there later that night. We may get a better sense of who is available and what kind of line-up the team will dress on Saturday morning.

Lankinen reacts to new contract

Kevin Lankinen met with the local media via Zoom following practice to discuss in his newly-signed 5-year/$22.5M contract extension announced on Friday morning. 
“It feels great,” Lankinen said. “Obviously a good reward for all the hard work I’ve put in ever since I started playing hockey when I was three-years-old. I’m really grateful for the commitment and the trust from the management. They put faith in me not just for this year but years to come. I’m really fortunate to be here in Vancouver with the great team, the guys in the locker room, the great coaching staff and the city of Vancouver, itself, which is a really unique place to live in. So I’m excited.”
The 29-year-old has already established career-highs in wins and shutouts and soon will set a new mark for games played in an NHL season. He has made the most of an opportunity that was full of uncertainty when he signed a one-year $875K deal on the eve of training camp. No one knew when Thatcher Demko would be ready to return from his knee injury and Arturs Silovs had shown well when pressed into playoff duty last spring. Lankinen didn’t let any of that bother him. He showed up, performed and has now earned a contract that exceeds the kind of offer he was looking for last summer.
“Maybe for some of you guys or the fans out there, it’s been a pleasant surprise but for me I’ve been preparing for this opportunity for a long time,” Lankinen explained. “In Nashville, I played behind a great goalie (Juuse Saros) who is one of the best goalies in the world and I maybe didn’t have the playing time, but I felt like I had it what it took which is why I left the familiar behind and wanted to find a new opportunity where I could showcase that. The trust and the faith in myself has always been there so it’s not like I’m surprised in any way. I’m just happy I’ve been able to showcase myself to management and the coaches here and to people around the world that I can be a top goalie in this league.”
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