Despite their best efforts in the third period, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> drop Tuesday night&#8217;s contest to the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-vancouver-canucks-comeback-falls-short-4-2-loss-montreal-canadiens">Montreal Canadiens 4-2</a>. While every game and every point matters at this time of the season, the Canucks might be getting some reinforcement back for what projects to be their biggest game of the season:
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;
&#8220;Good possibility he could be in,&#8221; Rick Tocchet said when asked if Captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-load-management-lankinen-another-day-off-hughes">Quinn Hughes</a> could return to the lineup tomorrow against the Calgary Flames.
Hughes has been sidelined from the Canucks lineup since Saturday, March 1 against the Seattle Kraken. He looked to go down hard after one of the Kraken&#8217;s six goals and showed he was ailing. The defenceman played just one 54-second shift in the final 10 minutes of the third period.
The former first-round pick skated earlier today in a non-contact jersey, alternating in with some of the defence partners for line rushes. Hughes has had multiple stints this season out of the Canucks lineup due to injuries this season. He has played just 50 of the Canucks&#8217; 64 games, yet leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 46 assists for 60 points this season.
With Thatcher Demko on the shelf and without a timeline for his return, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-morning-skate-lankinen-starts-vancouver-canucks-shake-up-4-forward-lines-montreal-canadiens">Kevin Lankinen made his fifth start in a row</a> tonight. Arturs Silovs is the team&#8217;s current backup, who has a 1-6-1 record on the year, with a 3.85 goals against average and a .858 save percentage in relief this season.
The Canucks head coach told reporters that he still has not made a decision on who is going to get the start for tomorrow&#8217;s crucial game against the Flames:
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know yet. I&#8217;ll talk to Marko [Torenius] and talk to Lanks [Lankinen] and see how he&#8217;s feeling.&#8221;
Lankinen shared with the media that he doesn&#8217;t recall if he&#8217;s ever played back-to-back games in the NHL but remembers doing so in high-stakes international competitions.
With the uncertainty in his captain&#8217;s status and who will be tending the crease tomorrow, Tocchet understands the importance of the game and isn&#8217;t making excuses despite playing the second game in as many days:
&#8220;Quick turnaround. No excuses, even though it&#8217;s a back-to-back. We can&#8217;t have that excuse. I think I rolled all four lines. I don&#8217;t think anybody&#8217;s was taxing tonight, so I think we should be okay.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
“There’s looks there that you got to see, and I think we’re not seeing it because we’re just rushing&#8230; Like I said, we’ve got to keep working on it.”
🗣️ Head Coach Rick Tocchet discusses tonight’s match against the Canadiens with the media. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/theprovince?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheProvince</a> <a href="https://t.co/fZ9yPwfsSM">pic.twitter.com/fZ9yPwfsSM</a>
&mdash; Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1899692305495609513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There is still much to be determined with Vancouver&#8217;s lineup ahead of tomorrow&#8217;s 6 PM PST puck drop in Calgary.

Despite their best efforts in the third period, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> drop Tuesday night's contest to the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-vancouver-canucks-comeback-falls-short-4-2-loss-montreal-canadiens">Montreal Canadiens 4-2</a>. While every game and every point matters at this time of the season, the Canucks might be getting some reinforcement back for what projects to be their biggest game of the season:
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

"Good possibility he could be in," Rick Tocchet said when asked if Captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-load-management-lankinen-another-day-off-hughes">Quinn Hughes</a> could return to the lineup tomorrow against the Calgary Flames.

Hughes has been sidelined from the Canucks lineup since Saturday, March 1 against the Seattle Kraken. He looked to go down hard after one of the Kraken's six goals and showed he was ailing. The defenceman played just one 54-second shift in the final 10 minutes of the third period.

The former first-round pick skated earlier today in a non-contact jersey, alternating in with some of the defence partners for line rushes. Hughes has had multiple stints this season out of the Canucks lineup due to injuries this season. He has played just 50 of the Canucks' 64 games, yet leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 46 assists for 60 points this season.

With Thatcher Demko on the shelf and without a timeline for his return, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-morning-skate-lankinen-starts-vancouver-canucks-shake-up-4-forward-lines-montreal-canadiens">Kevin Lankinen made his fifth start in a row</a> tonight. Arturs Silovs is the team's current backup, who has a 1-6-1 record on the year, with a 3.85 goals against average and a .858 save percentage in relief this season.

The Canucks head coach told reporters that he still has not made a decision on who is going to get the start for tomorrow's crucial game against the Flames:

"I don't know yet. I'll talk to Marko [Torenius] and talk to Lanks [Lankinen] and see how he's feeling."

Lankinen shared with the media that he doesn't recall if he's ever played back-to-back games in the NHL but remembers doing so in high-stakes international competitions.

With the uncertainty in his captain's status and who will be tending the crease tomorrow, Tocchet understands the importance of the game and isn't making excuses despite playing the second game in as many days:

"Quick turnaround. No excuses, even though it's a back-to-back. We can't have that excuse. I think I rolled all four lines. I don't think anybody's was taxing tonight, so I think we should be okay."

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1899692305495609513

There is still much to be determined with Vancouver's lineup ahead of tomorrow's 6 PM PST puck drop in Calgary.

Recent articles from Tyson Cole

Breaking News