Tyler Myers is back to save the day.
It's probably not a good thing that the Vancouver Canucks missed Myers so much while he was gone on his three-game suspension. In his absence, the Canucks coughed up a third-period lead to the worst team in the NHL, got embarrassed by the Edmonton Oilers, and then somehow scraped together a one-goal win over the best team in the NHL, because nothing this team does makes any sense.
The question is, where will Myers slot into the lineup?
At practice on Sunday, Myers went back onto the top pairing with Quinn Hughes where he frequently played while Filip Hronek was injured. Myers' numbers with Hughes have been excellent this season, as the Canucks have outscored their opposition 15-to-8 with those two together at 5-on-5, with a 54.7% corsi. Of course, every defenceman has excellent numbers with Hughes, so that's not necessarily saying much.
If Myers plays with Hughes, however, that frees up Filip Hronek to carry his own pairing. They've tried that a few times this season with Carson Soucy and it has not gone well, so it was interesting to see him paired up with Derek Forbort instead at Sunday's practice. Those two have not played together much at all this season but if Forbort's defensive game allows Hronek to push the pace offensively, it could work.
The third pairing on Sunday suggests that Elias Pettersson will get a second game with the Canucks on a pairing with Carson Soucy on his off-side. Playing a defenceman on his off-side ahead of the right-shot Vincent Desharnais seems to make a statement about Desharnais, who has taken a lot of penalties in his last couple of games.
"I feel that he needed to get into a regular pair for practice and get reps," said Tocchet of Pettersson. "It's hard to evaluate a guy who gets one game and then you don't put him in. We like what he brings, so whether he plays tomorrow, I don't know — roster stuff and that, me and Patrik [Allvin] will talk about that — but he's definitely a guy that he's a sponge. He's big, he wants to hit, he wants to box out, and he wants to learn. We really enjoy that about him."
Tocchet said that Noah Juulsen, who has been on the Injured Reserve, would be a game-time decision. Presumably, if Juulsen is ready to go, Pettersson will come out of the lineup but there's an argument to be made that the Canucks' best defence pairings right now include Pettersson.
The Canucks desperately need better puck movement from the back end, so separating Hughes and Hronek and adding a guy like Pettersson, who showed in his limited minutes that he can skate the puck up ice and make a clean first pass, could be the answer. Perhaps they'll find out on Monday against the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues are right behind the Canucks in the standings, just two points back though they have played two more games. If the Canucks want to make the playoffs, they'll not only need to reel in at least one of the teams ahead of them, but they'll also need to hold off teams like the Blues.
"I don't even care who we play," said Tocchet. "We've got to put some wins together. It's time. We've got to find some traction."
Note that this game is streaming on Prime Video, so you'll need a subscription to Amazon Prime to watch it.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Along with the game-time decision for Juulsen, Tocchet said on Sunday that Dakota Joshua would also be a game-time decision for his squad. For the time being, we'll assume that he does not get into the lineup after just one full practice with the team.
With that in mind, here are the projected lines:
The Canucks' starting goaltender is expected to be Kevin Lankinen, who was excellent against the Capitals. There's a chance, however, that the Canucks will go back to Thatcher Demko.
"We've got to be careful because Lanks has been dealing with a stomach flu virus," said Tocchet on Sunday. "He wasn't 100 per cent, that's why I have a lot of respect for that — he gutted it out and we'll see how he is tomorrow."
St. Louis Blues projected lines
The Blues are a .500 club with a 23-23-4 record that currently has them outside the playoff picture. Their team speed could cause problems for the Canucks, as they forecheck well and are dangerous off the rush.
Jordan Kyrou leads the team with 21 goals and 42 points through 50 games, while Robert Thomas caused problems for the Canucks in their last meeting with a three-point night to lead the Blues to a win in overtime.
Here are the Blues' projected lines, courtesy of beat reporter Lou Korac:
Dylan Holloway - Brayden Schenn - Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours - Robert Thomas - Pavel Buchnevich
Brandon Saad - Mathieu Joseph - Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko - Radek Faksa - Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler - Justin Faulk
Philip Broberg - Colton Parayko
Ryan Suter - Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
The Blues' starting goaltender will be Jordan Binnington, who has an .898 save percentage and a 13-18-3 record. Backup goaltender Joel Hofer has been the better of the Blues' netminders this season but the Blues are committed to Binnington.
