After his two-goal performance, including the winner in the final minute on Saturday in San Jose, Pius Suter looks to have earned another shot in the Vancouver Canucks’ top six. The Swiss veteran skated on left wing with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland at practice at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Monday afternoon. The Canucks will face the Ducks there on Tuesday in the second game of their three-game California road trip.
Suter has scored three of the last four Canucks goals dating back to the third period last Monday against Carolina. 

What we saw

Against the Sharks, Suter started the night as the Canucks’ fourth line centre where he has spent most of the season so far. But in the third period he was bumped up to replace Arshdeep Bains on left wing with Pettersson and Garland. In just 2:57 at 5-on-5, that trio held a 7-1 edge in shot attempts, had the only three shots on goal and Suter scored the game winner with 26 seconds remaining. So it’s no surprise that Rick Tocchet wants to see more from that combination.
Now, with Suter sticking in the top six, it creates a hole in the middle on the team’s fourth line as evidenced by the fact Bains – a natural winger who is winless in the only two NHL face-offs he has taken – was skating in that slot at practice. The Canucks are carrying 22 skaters on the roster at the moment after Nils Aman was waived and sent to Abbotsford. The AHL Canucks are also in Southern California at the moment having completed a weekend set in San Diego before a Wednesday game in Ontario, CA.
Aman could be recalled before Tuesday’s game against Anaheim or it’s possible Aaty Räty could rejoin the big league club after starting the season on the NHL roster. Aman had an assist, a penalty and one shot on goal in his American Hockey League season debut on Sunday in San Diego. Räty had two goals and three assists in the two games in San Diego over the weekend and leads Abbotsford in scoring with three goals and four assists in eight AHL games. At the NHL level so far this season, Räty carries a 60.9% win percentage in the face-off circle while Aman has struggled at 40.9%.
Dakota Joshua continues to practice with the Canucks as he nears his season debut. He took turns in line rushes today but is not expected to play Tuesday night against the Ducks, however Thursday in Los Angeles remains a possibility. Joshua needs to be activated from season-opening injured reserve before he can play, so he requires a roster spot.
The Canucks made one switch on defence for practice getting Vincent Desharnais back into their group of six blueliners replacing Derek Forbort who played 15:18 on Saturday against the Sharks. According to Canucks Convo co-host Harman Dayal, who is covering the final two games of this road trip for The Athletic, Forbort left Monday’s practice early.

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on Pius Suter’s versatility to fill holes throughout the line-up: “His hockey IQ. He knows he’s not the fastest player out there, but when you have a brain like that you can make up for that. The last week or 10 days, I think he deserves more ice time. Putting him on that line, obviously he comes up big for us. It’s something I’m going to have to do more often. Probably going to keep him, I think he deserves it. But he’s also a valuable guy as a centreman for us.”
Tocchet on whether Bains is an option to play centre: “I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s fair for Bainsy. I think he’s a winger. Could he down the road maybe play centre? I don’t know. But Bainsy does a lot of good things. He’s a good young player for this team and how we develop him is really important. I know Räty has been playing good down there (AHL), I’m not sure yet what we’re going to do and he’s a guy we may call up down the road.”
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