Lindholm getting a huge opportunity after successful Canucks return

Vancouver Canucks mid-season trade acquisition Elias Lindholm made his return to the lineup the other night. While the Canucks didn’t win the game, there were some good signs of progress for the veteran.

Lindholm played a total of 18:30, the fourth most minutes of any Canucks forward, including more than four minutes on the penalty kill. He was noticeable in a good way throughout the evening.

“I thought he really played hard tonight,” said Rick Tocchet after the game about the skater’s return. “It’s a good step for him.”

The forward had not played since March 23 due to an injury to his hand/wrist area, yet he seemed to hit the ground running.

“It’s good because he’s been out for a while,” said the head coach yesterday after practice about his strong return. “I think because he’s a veteran guy, sometimes veteran guys can kind of get into it a little quicker. And it’s good that he gets these two days like we’re not playing tomorrow. Over these two days he can kind of get himself back again.”

He even had a few scoring chances in his return, including a one-timer on a two-on-one that Coyotes goalie Conor Ingram managed to stop.

“Yeah, I feel good,” said Lindholm when asked if the velocity on his shot was back to full strength. He finished with three shots on the night.

He played his first game back with Phil Di Giuseppe and Ilya Mikheyev, but his versatile game means coach Tocchet will almost surely shift him around. He skated at practice yesterday between Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland, a duo that has been great for the Canucks this season.

Joshua and Garland have been able to elevate the play of any centre they’ve played with this season. It’s a huge chance for Lindholm to start producing more offensively.

Lindholm has five goals and nine points in 23 games with his new team. It’s far off the pace the Canucks were hoping for when they acquired the former 40-goal scorer.

The Canucks gave up a significant package to acquire the Swedish forward from the Calgary Flames back in January. The early returns have been less than amazing, and considering he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, this season may be the only value the Canucks get from the deal.

When all is said and done, the 29-year-old’s Canucks tenure will not be judged on the weak regular season he’s had thus far. What will matter is how he performs in the postseason and if he can help the team make a run deep into spring.

“I want to be playing, but at the same time, it was a good time to take a step back and let it heal a little bit. I’m excited to hopefully play soon and get some games here before playoffs,” the Swedish skater said earlier this week before making his return.