Injured Vancouver forwards Henrik Sedin (lower body) and Alex Burrows (hand) will not be joining their teammates for all-important games Wednesday in Minnesota and Thursday in Colorado. Both are considered “day-to-day,” according to head coach John Tortorella.
Sedin’s absence leaves newcomer Shawn Matthias to center the Canucks’ top line, between Daniel Sedin and rookie winger Nicklas Jensen.
With time running out on what’s been a season to forget in Vancouver, the Canucks may need to win all nine of their remaining games in order to catch one of Phoenix or Dallas for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
And even that may not be enough.
More than likely, the real drama in Vancouver will begin once the Canucks have been officially eliminated and major organizational decisions need to be made on the future of general manager Mike Gillis, and after that Tortorella, as well as players like Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, and others.
UPDATE
Burrows is reportedly on the plane to Minnesota, per Vancouver’s CKNW 980.