Elias Pettersson won't be in the lineup for the Vancouver Canucks as they face the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Don't panic! Elias Pettersson the forward will be in the lineup, but Elias Pettersson the prospect defenceman, who was called up from the AHL on Wednesday, will not.
With Noah Juulsen going on Injured Reserve and Tyler Myers still serving his three-game suspension, the Canucks were down to six defencemen. That's not a problem when you're playing at home with your AHL affiliate just down the road, as you can just make a quick emergency call-up if there's a last-minute injury.
When you're going on the road, even just for one day, you want to have an extra defenceman available. Pettersson is having a solid rookie season in the AHL, with 13 points in 36 games while playing significant minutes, something Mark Friedman could attest to his frequent defence partner.
"He's very reliable; he's going to be a hell of a player," said Friedman. "He keeps the game simple but he also has that offensive ability down there. He's going to be good."
Barring an injury, however, Pettersson won't make his NHL debut against the Oilers, which is probably for the best. The Oilers will be fired up to get revenge for Saturday's loss to the Canucks and, even without the suspended Connor McDavid, they're one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the league. Throwing a rookie defenceman into that environment might be akin to teaching someone to swim by throwing them into the deep end in a sumo suit.
So there will be no rookie lap stealing eyes from the big storyline: will the Oilers seek revenge on Conor Garland?
I kid, of course. As much as , the players will hopefully have cooler heads and recognize that taking revenge on a player for holding is pretty much the dumbest possible idea.
Still, the game should have plenty of fire and passion, as Saturday's game only served to heighten the rivalry between these two teams. After such a passionless loss to the Buffalo Sabres, getting fired up to face the Oilers could be just what the doctor ordered for the Canucks.
"I'm glad we're playing [the Oilers], especially after our Buffalo game. I think we need this," said head coach Rick Tocchet. "You've got to embrace it as a player: you want to play these games. You want to play a heated rival. Like, who wants to play in a non-hit, nothing game? Those games suck...These are the games you play hockey for. This is a great game to coach, a great game to play."
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
The Canucks practiced on Wednesday with the same lines that took the ice on Tuesday but there could be a change at forward. The other player called up from the AHL on Wednesday was Linus Karlsson, who could draw into the lineup, thought Tocchet suggested he hadn't decided yet.
For now, we'll assume that Karlsson isn't in the lineup. Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
UPDATE: Karlsson will be in the lineup, taking Nils Höglander's spot. Whether it's a healthy scratch for Höglander or he's dealing with a bout of the illness that has been going around the Canucks lately is unknown at this time.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Thatcher Demko for his fourth straight start, as he continues to try to find his rhythm and get back to an elite level.
Edmonton Oilers projected lines
The Oilers didn't need to fuss about missing McDavid from their lineup — he's not even their leading scorer.
I kid, but Leon Draisaitl is having a beastly season, leading the Oilers with 34 goals and 71 points in 47 games. He's been utterly dominant is the frontrunner for the Hart Trophy, though Quinn Hughes should receive a lot of consideration if he drags the Canucks into the playoffs.
Here are the Oilers' projected lines:
Vasily Podkolzin - Leon Draisaitl - Viktor Arvidsson
Zach Hyman - Adam Henrique - Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor Brown
Jeff Skinner - Noah Philp - Kasperi Kapanen
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - Troy Stecher
Brett Kulak - Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Former Canuck Vasily Podkolzin is heating up a little bit of late, with 5 points in his last 6 games, though he still only has 19 points through 47 games. That's not terrible production, by any means, and he's been solid as a two-way player, but considering his primary linemate has been Draisaitl, you might expect a few more points.
The Oilers' starting goaltender will be Calvin Pickard, making his 16th start of the season. Pickard has an .897 save percentage with a 2.53 goals against average.
