"You idiot": Podkolzin's wife not impressed with Canucks winger's black eye
Vasily Podkolzin returned to Vancouver Canucks practice at Rogers Arena today.
The 21-year-old had been off the ice ever since picking up an injury in his first career NHL fight in Boston on Sunday.
Podkolzin said he was feeling “great,” but his face told a different story. He’s sporting stitches above his right eye and a shiner below it.
His wife was not impressed.
“She said ‘you idiot’… she’s probably right,” Podkolzin told reporters after practice.
.@ChrisFaber39: "What does your wife think of your eye?"
Podkolzin: "She said 'you idiot'… she's probably right" #Canucks pic.twitter.com/ohde8XhuLu
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) November 17, 2022
“That’s a reaction,” Podkolzin said, explaining why he decided to drop the gloves. “That’s hockey. It just happens. I didn’t know that I would fight in this game. It just happens. I saw him, he saw me, and this just happens.
“I’m not a big fighter.”
Podkolzin has two fights on his record in the KHL, but had never squared off with someone like A.J. Greer of the Boston Bruins, who is listed at 6’3″ and 208 pounds.
“It’s so much different [in the NHL].”
The gritty Russian was in good spirits though.
“It just happens. That’s hockey. That’s life. It happens sometimes. Everything is good. I’m lucky that I didn’t get an injury. Just a couple stitches.”
Podkolzin was wearing a full visor at practice, skating on a line with Brock Boeser at right wing, with Curtis Lazar and Sheldon Dries taking turns with them at centre. He’s hoping that he won’t have to wear the full visor for more than one game.
- You might also like:
- Leafs "kicking tires" on trade for Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers: report
- Price is Right: It's a confusing time to be a Canucks fan right now
Canucks tweak lines at practice
Lazar hasn’t played since October 24, but says he’s ready to return to the lineup.
“First line, first power play, everything. You know it,” the gritty bottom-six forward joked with reporters.
“I can take contact, I feel good. I think we’ve checked off all the boxes so it’s in the coach’s hands now. I want to play. It’s been a while so I’m ready to go. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
It’ll be either Lazar or Dries on a line with Podkolzin and Boeser, to make up Vancouver’s third line. Nils Höglander was swapping in on the fourth line with Will Lockwood, meaning one of those two players is likely to be a healthy scratch on Friday against the LA Kings. Nils Aman and Dakota Joshua were the other two players skating on the fourth line.
Vancouver’s top two lines were left unchanged from Tuesday’s win in Buffalo. Bo Horvat was centring Conor Garland and J.T. Miller, while Elias Pettersson was skating between Ilya Mikheyev and Andrei Kuzmenko.
On defence, it looks like Riley Stillman may draw into the lineup ahead of Kyle Burroughs, who played more than 20 minutes against the Sabres. Stillman was skating with Tyler Myers, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson paired with Ethan Bear. Quinn Hughes and Luke Schenn also skated together. Travis Dermott was on the ice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. He has yet to play a game this season.
Canucks practice lines:
Garland – Horvat – Miller
Kuzmenko – Pettersson – Mikheyev
Podkolzin – Lazar/Dries – Boeser
Joshua – Aman – Lockwood/Höglander
Ekman-Larsson – Bear
Hughes – Schenn
Stillman-Myers
Rathbone-Burroughs
Follow Channels and Categories