Canucks captain Horvat likely to miss rest of regular season with injury

The Vancouver Canucks announced the latest Bo Horvat injury update, and well, it’s less than ideal news.

After blocking Anton Stralman’s shot during the second period of last night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes with his foot, Horvat limped off the ice and did not return.

Bo Horvat is not expected to play against Dallas on Monday after blocking this Anton Stralman shot last night #Canucks pic.twitter.com/zYKkdiaIvS

— Mike Gould (@miketgould) April 15, 2022

The Canucks announced today that Horvat would be “re-evaluated in two weeks,” while not specifying the nature of the lower-body injury.

Bo Horvat suffered a lower body injury last night. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Nils Höglander underwent successful surgery to repair a core muscle/groin injury. There is no timeline for his return.

— Canucks PR (@CanucksPR) April 15, 2022

The Canucks also announced a surgery from Nils Hoglander, who has been out of the lineup since March 15 with a groin injury.

The loss of their captain comes at a crucial time for the Canucks, who are in the midst of a five-game winning streak with seven games remaining in their schedule.

Taking the two-week time frame as straightforward as possible, the earliest return would be Friday, April 29 against the Oilers: the Canucks’ final game of the regular season.

Using a bit of deductive reasoning, Horvat could be suiting up and trying to play through the injury if a) the Canucks are in the playoff chase b) the pain threshold is manageable enough and c) whatever injury he’s suffered has healed enough.

But should Vancouver be officially eliminated from playoff contention at any time in the next two weeks — their odds are less than 10% they make the postseason — we’ve likely seen the last of Horvat this season.

Prior to the injury, Horvat had 31 goals and 21 assists for a total of 52 points in 70 games this season for the Canucks.