Tanev day-to-day with upper body injury, Canucks recall Biega

The Canucks will be without Chris Tanev for at least one game, as the dependable defencemen is day-to-day with an “upper body” injury. Alex Biega will draw into the lineup in his place for today’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

Super sleuth Dan Murphy suspects it might be a finger injury, probably suffered during yesterday’s game in Buffalo.

I spy Chris Tanev with a bandage on one of his fingers. Not sure if that is the reason for Biega call up. #Canucks

— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) November 8, 2015

Tanev is second on the team in ice time, so losing him for any period of time is a massive loss for the Canucks. He plays on the team’s top pairing with Alex Edler, leads the team in penalty killing ice time and plays on the second power play unit.

Biega, 27, has appeared in six games with Utica this season registering an assist and two penalty minutes. He appeared in seven games for the Canucks last season, scoring one goal. Although he is an undersized defenceman (5’10”, 187 pounds), Biega is a dependable blueliner that can fill-in capably.