‘Nice to be back — hate missing time. I played like 190 games in a row and I want to take care of my body and be available, so we’ll see how it goes.’ — Canucks captain Quinn Hughes
Vancouver Canucks vs. Montreal Canadiens
When/where: Monday, 4:30 p.m., Bell Centre
TV: Amazon Prime Video. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: It’s never just another game in the hockey mecca and this is not just another game for the Canucks.
The storied Canadiens franchise has always commanded a frenetic and faithful fan following, especially at the cavernous Bell Centre. It’s not a game. It’s an event.
You wear your best suit to to chronicle a night where you might unexpectedly cross paths with legends, like I did with Dick Duff entering the arena and the late great Jean Beliveau in an elevator.
For the Canucks, the key is to not get caught up in it all to open a tough five-game road trip. It will go a long way to gauge management’s appetite to either stay the course or be forced to make roster changes — especially with the Canucks facing three division leaders and back-to-back games to test their level of compete.
Amid unrest and uncertainty there was good news Sunday.
Still, if anybody is going to calm turbulent waters, it’s Hughes.
“It’s day-to-day and possible for tomorrow (Hughes) and we’ll see in the next 24 hours,” Tocchet said Sunday. “We want to make the right decision, too. We’ll take our time on this. With Quinn, as much of it is on ice, he’s a calming influence.
“We know the impact he has and what he does for our team, but what he does off ice is tremendous.”
Hughes remains in pursuit of the scoring race for blueliners with 42 points (8-34) in 34 games, six less than Cale Makar, who leads with 49 points (13-36), and Zach Werenski at 45 points (12-33).
More importantly, it’s the manner in which Hughes triggers the transition, drives the play for puck possession and anchors the first power play unit that’s sorely missed.
Hughes is tied for the second most power play assists (15) among blueliners and has scored four times at home and four on the road. He ranks fourth in average ice time at even strength (21:12) and the power play (3:45) and is sixth in total ice per outing (25:08).
“Nice to be back — hate missing time,” Hughes said Sunday. “I played like 190 games in a row and I want to take care of my body and be available, so we’ll see how it goes. The way we went about it (rehab) with the medical staff was everything on how we wanted it to play out.”
The fear: Not starting strong and chasing another game. The Canucks have surrendered the first goal on 21 occasions this season and are 11-8-2 in the process. They can’t allow the rejuvenated Canadiens, who have won seven of their last nine and are playing much better defensively with 19 goals against in that span, to strike early to dictate the tempo.
The top guns: The Canucks are getting remarkable road mileage out of big left winger Jake DeBrusk. Of his team-leading 16 goals, 11 have come away from Rogers Arena. However, he hasn’t scored in the last four away games.
The projected lineup:
DeBrusk-Miller-Boeser
DiGiuseppe-Suter-Garland
Joshua-Blueger-Sherwood
Hoglander-Sasson-Heinen
*Brisebois-Myers
Soucy-Juulsen
Forbort-Desharnais
Lankinen
(*Hughes is a game-day decision)
The prediction: The Canucks take advantage of having one of the NHL’s best road warriors. Lankinen measures up once again and backstops 4-2 victory.