Dakota Joshua joins first line as Canucks shake things up
Dakota Joshua seems set to make his return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound winger was skating in a full-contact jersey this morning at practice. He hasn’t played in more than six weeks since hurting his hand in a fight against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Initially I didn’t expect to be out that long but once I learned more about it, it’s just part of the recovery process,” said Joshua about his six-week recovery timeline. “Maybe just not being familiar with the medical terms I didn’t expect to be out that long, but it is what it is and I’m happy that time is behind us now.”
Rather than reuniting the trio of Teddy Blueger, Conor Garland, and Joshua, the Canucks had Joshua skating on a new line at practice this morning with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser.
The forward lines at UBC this morning were as follows:
Joshua – Miller – Boeser
Höglander – Pettersson – Garland
Mikheyev – Blueger – Lafferty
Podkolzin – Suter – Aman
Di Giuseppe – Bains
Joshua has 13 goals and 26 points in 53 games so far this season. He’s also been one of the team’s most physical players and is a strong forechecker.
“He’s a big part of the team and I thought he had a good practice today,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “It’s a good start for him.”
While he was a full participant in practice, it’s still not a guarantee that Joshua will play tomorrow night.
“I’m going to sleep on it with him but we talked about it today a bit so we’ll wait 24 hours to decide if he plays tomorrow or not,” said the head coach.
The Canucks still have 10 games left before the playoffs that the forward can use to get back up to full speed.
“Very important because you want to be hitting the high notes when it comes playoff time,” said Joshua about returning with some time left before the postseason. “That’s what we’re all looking to do here and it’ll be good to get the legs going again.”
Miller and Boeser have played together throughout this season, but the third spot on that line has been a rotation of different players. Joshua will now get a chance to perform and stick in the top six.
Arshdeep Bains was called up earlier this morning after the team retroactively moved goalie Thatcher Demko to long-term injury reserve. He was skating as the extra forward this morning but has played five games so far this season.
Pius Suter, who has played significant minutes in the top-six as a winger, was skating as a bottom-six centre at practice today. He is a natural centre and has played the role for the majority of his NHL career.
The defensive pairings looked familiar as they lined up like this at practice today:
Hughes – Hronek
Soucy – Myers
Zadorov – Cole
Friedman – Juulsen
The Canucks take on the Dallas Stars tomorrow night at Rogers Arena. The puck drops at 7 pm PT as the two Western Conference powerhouses battle for a valuable two points.
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