Not much is going right in Vancouver at the moment.
Losers in three of their last four and already without the services of captain Henrik Sedin, forward Mike Santorelli and defenseman Chris Tanev, the Canucks announced on Thursday that veteran blueliner Kevin Bieksa is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and wouldn’t travel on the team’s upcoming five-game road swing.
Bieksa, who played over 23 minutes in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to Chicago, had scored three points in his last three games, including a two-goal effort in a 5-4 OT win against Phoenix earlier in the week. He’s also appeared in all 55 games this season, one of just six Canucks do to so.
Vancouver’s trek begins on Friday in Winnipeg, then goes through Detroit, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. It’s possible Bieksa could rejoin the team at some point but, given the Olympic break is just 10 days away, he could be shelved in an effort to fully maximize rehabilitation time... from whatever is ailing him.
In a corresponding move, the Canucks recalled d-man Frank Corrado from AHL Utica on Thursday.