Willie Desjardins raised eyebrows in Vancouver when the Canucks coach started the season with Bo Horvat centering essentially a fourth line with Alex Burrows and Derek Dorsett.
It was an odd move, to say the least, because Horvat appeared to be developing chemistry with winger Sven Baertschi last season and it looked like that pairing could be counted on to provide some scoring for an offensively challenged team that relied -- and will still rely -- heavily on Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
But when the season began for the Canucks on Saturday, Horvat was on a fourth line, despite a much better and more productive second half to last season, and Baertschi was on a line with Markus Granlund, who has 31 career NHL points.
From the Vancouver Sun earlier this week:
Although Burrows and Dorsett appear to be the Canucks’ fourth set of wingers, Desjardins insisted again that Horvat is not playing on the fourth line and will get additional minutes on special teams.
“We need to play four lines,” Desjardins explained. “Granlund’s a good offensive player. Maybe he can have chemistry with Baerstchi as well. So I want to have a look at that. Bo is the type of guy … whatever line he’s on he can create something.”
After a come-from-behind 2-1 shootout win over Calgary on Saturday, the Canucks host the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Those hoping to see Horvat put back on a line with Baertschi and second-year right winger Jake Virtanen, in an attempt to spark some secondary scoring, may get their wish.
Dan Murphy of Sportsnet reported on Twitter that it “sounds like” that trio will be put together versus the Hurricanes.