The Vancouver Canucks will be shorthanded for Monday night’s contest against the New Jersey Devils, as head coach Rick Tocchet shared that forward Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander have been sent home and will not be re-joining the club on their road trip.
“They went home today,” Tocchet said. “They’ll be evaluated when we get back. So they won’t be with us for the rest of the trip.”
"Got some new guys in the lineup, some young guys that you want to see play in these type of games. This is a pressure game."
🗣 Hear from Head Coach Rick Tocchet before tonight's game against the Devils.#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/bZkS6gzbNE
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 24, 2025
The Canucks will be without the two forwards for at least the remainder of their four-game road trip against the Devils, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets before returning home for a three-game homestand against the Seattle Kraken, Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights.
Pettersson and Höglander were injured in the second period against the New York Rangers and did not return for the third period. The two forwards were producing offensively as two-thirds of the top line alongside Brock Boeser. Pettersson was riding a six-game point streak with three goals and six assists for nine points. Höglander added a stretch of points in four of five games, scoring one goal and five assists.
Tocchet also shared that recently summoned centreman Aatu Räty will slide into the Canucks lineup tonight and will appear in his first game since January 31 and second game since December 10. Räty has played well since the calendar flipped, with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points over a 29-game span.
With the recent injury to Pettersson and Filip Chytil still on the shelf after sustaining a concussion after taking a hit from behind from Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson, the Canucks will now ice a centre corps of Pius Suter, Teddy Blueger, Nils Aman and Aatu Räty for at least the four remaining games on the road trip.
Pettersson and Höglander leave massive gaps in the Canucks’ forward group. However, the organization announced that goaltender Thatcher Demko will return to the lineup on Monday night against the Devils.
The Canucks were already watching their playoff hopes dwindling away, and now with the loss of their number one centre and top-line winger, it’s looking like a more challenging road for the final Wild Card in the Western Conference.
