The Vancouver Canucks entered Wednesday looking to end a two-game slide and with the status of star defenseman Quinn Hughes remains a question going into the match against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.
However, it appears that Hughes has a considerable chance of finally making it back to action after missing four games because of a lower-body injury, with Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet providing an encouraging update on the 25-year-old blue liner’s status for the meeting with the Flames in Alberta.
“Canucks coach Rick Tocchet says D Quinn Hughes good possibility to play tonight vs Flames,” Logan Gordon of Sportsnet 960 posted on X (formerly Twitter) hours before the Calgary showdown.
It can also be recalled that Hughes was not able to join Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament due to an undisclosed injury, which also caused him to miss four games before the tourney, which the Canadians ended up winning. Quinn Hughes managed to play three games after the 4 Nations Face-Off, the last being in the 6-3 Canucks loss to the Seattle Kraken on March 1 on the road.
The Canucks have gone 2-2 in the last four games, during which they have scored nine goals and allowed 11. Their defense has been especially poor of late, having allowed four goals each in the 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday and in the 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday to finish a four-game homestand.
Vancouver hopes that a change in scenery will break their losing streak, and having Hughes, a first-round pick by Vancouver in the 2018 NHL draft, back in the lineup will put them in a better position to return to the win column.
Speaking of which, this game against the Flames can be viewed as a crucial one for both the Canucks and Calgary. Vancouver is entering the contest fifth in the Pacific division with 69 points (29-24-11) and just a point behind the Flames for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
So far in the 2024-25 NHL regular season, Quinn Hughes, who inked a $47.1 million contract extension with the Canucks in 2021, has 14 goals and 46 assists for 60 points through 50 games played.
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