PETTINGER PLACED ON WAIVERS

At one point during the season the Canucks had a total eight injured forwards sidelined, looking for insurance the club enlisted the services of forward Matt Pettinger, 29, in early November. But with healthy bodies sliding back in the club needs to make room and as a result Pettinger has been placed on waivers.

“I knew getting into the situation what the understanding was,” explained Pettinger. “Obviously they had a lot of injuries and a lot of guys are getting healthy now. I thought I did a fairly good job. From the conversations I had with Mike [Gillis] and Coach, they’re happy with my play.”

“In today’s NHL it’s a 23 man roster and obviously they’ve got a heck of a player coming back into the line up. I wasn’t on the Canucks radar come September in training camp and in October. It was obviously a good opportunity for myself and it’s unfortunate with the numbers.”

“I’ll find out tomorrow what my options are and move on from there.”

At 6’1” 201 lbs, the Edmonton Alberta native notched one goal and one assist in six games with the Canucks this season.

DEMITRA LACES UP

Pavol Demitra, 34, who has yet to see game action this season after injuring his rotator cuff during the second round playoff series against Chicago, took to the ice today prior to the teams’ game day skate to test the shoulder out as reported by Ben Kuzma of The Province.

After undergoing off-season shoulder surgery, Demitra, 34, was initially projected to be out for six weeks but he was later revealed to be out indefinitely after complications in his range of motion. Media speculation is pegging Demitra’s return for sometime before the new year/late December.

At 6’0” 200lbs., the Dubnica, Slovakia native netted 20 goals and 33 assists (20-33-53) in 69 games with the Canucks last season.

GAME DAY

Tonight the Canucks welcome back the 2nd best team in the Western Conference; the same team the Canucks buried 8-2 during their last meeting, the Colorado Avalanche.

Vancouver are well rested coming off a five-day lull in between games, while the Avs are fresh off a 3-2 shootout loss against the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night.

This is the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams. The Canucks claiming two of those victories while the Avs took the first meeting.

Darcy Hordichuk, Shane O'Brien and Aaron Rome are expected to be healthy scratches. Pettinger, despite being place on waivers, is expected to play tonight.

Daniel Sedin, who has missed 17 games with a broken foot, will not play tonight. Almost ready, Sedin is confidant he will be back into form come Sunday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I can’t really feel any [pain] out there,” said Daniel. “It’s just a matter of getting a few good practices in and to know that your foot is ready for everything. You’re going to get him out there. There’s going to be a lot of pushing and shoving. You got to know that your foot’s ready.”

Expected line up:

Raymond - H. Sedin - Kesler
Burrows - Wellwood - Samuelsson
Pettinger - Rypien - Bernier
Glass - Johnson - Hansen

Mitchell - Bieksa
Edler - Salo
Schneider - Ehrhoff

Luongo
Raycroft

Puck drops at 7 PST.

ANOTHER PRACTICE DAY

On the fifth day of five days off between games for the Canucks, the news essentially remains the same. The team worked on drills, special teams, and little scrimmaging.

However, Daniel Sedin did skate with the team this morning but indicated he is not likely to dress in Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. He is hopeful for a Sunday return to the lineup but isn't confirming a set date.

Sedin has missed 17 games since being sidelined October 7th.  He has four assists in hs first four games of the season. This is the first time Sedin has missed significant time during the season with an injury.

COACH'S ASSESSMENT

With all the practice time the team has had in the past week, it's given head coach Alain Vigneault lots of time to evaluate the players and the team.

"I think [Ryan Kesler] can play both [wing and centre] real well. In our system, the way we play, it's not always the centreman that's down low with the defence in our zone, it's whichever forward is first back. Our forwards have to play no matter what zone we're in and it's usually the first guy out there. I think that he plays real well in both positions and again, it's what the team needs right now and I think the team needed him more on the right side with Hank and if Danny comes back soon, then we'll do what's best for the team."

"[Steve Bernier's] the type of player that needs to have that physical presence and go to the net and disturb the goaltender and hopefully that last game is the start of something positive for him. A lot of guys in that last game, there were a lot more positives than anything else and he's no different. He's one of the guys I feel that the physical dimension that he brings, we need that, we need to finish checks more than what we've been doing. We need to get on the opposition more than we have so far and he's one of those guys that can do that."

"I would say in his last three weeks, [Mason Raymond] been one of our better players at generating offence as far as finishing more and we need some other guys to surprise us also here. I think guys like Alex Edler, in the last couple of games, is finally picking up his game. Last year, we had quite a few surprises, we need those surprises and there's still lots of hockey to be played so I'm pretty confident that will happen for us."

H1N1 HOOPLA

Thursday morning media was in a mild frenzy about the Canucks receiving the H1N1 vaccination prior to being available to the general public.

Here's the official word from Vigneault in his presser following practice:

"It was always our intention that once the vaccine was made available to the public that our players would have the opportunity to take it if they wanted it or not and from my understanding, it has been made available to the public."

AIMING FOR SUNDAY

Daniel Sedin, who has been sidelined for 17 games with a broken foot, is aiming for a return Sunday when the team faces off against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Everyone thinks it was more of a setback, but I had to try,” explained Daniel who flew out to join the team on the road, but never suited up.

“There was more soreness and [the doctors and training staff] said if it’s sore or painful take a few days off or a week off and that’s what I did. I knew right away it was a pretty tough bone to heal and it’s going to take some time. You want to come back as soon as you can at the same time they told me not to push it.”

Daniel, who did not skate with the team today, is slated to skate on his own tomorrow and then make a decision come Sunday.

‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’

After shaking off the rust of a new season, battling through injuries, the flu bug and a scoring drought, the Canucks, a quarter of the way through the season, rank 11th in the Western Conference sitting at one game above .500 (11-10-0).

While the club has had players step up to fill the injury void, like Henrik Sedin who has been spectacular without Daniel, Ryan Kesler who has consistently played well, Mason Raymond who is using his speed to kick start his offensive game, Mikael Samuelsson who put up points early this season, and Andrew Raycroft who stepped in and lead the league in GAA during Roberto Luongo’s absence, they have also had players struggle during the first quarter.

Kyle Wellwood, after an impressive training camp, has had a slow start hampered by the flu and then an injured toe that sidelined him for few games stalling his record to 1 assist in 17 games.

"It's mind-boggling, to tell you the truth," said head coach Alain Vigneault. “One assist with his skill level, with the power-play time he's getting, sooner or later he’s going to have to produce. This is a performance based business.”

“It is, like a famous player once said, what it is,” said AV tapping into former Vancouver forward Todd Bertuzzi. “We’ll stick with him here and see what happens.”

"I'd say his last three games have been his best three games of the year,” said teammate Ryan Kesler. “It's going to come; it's only a matter of time.”

At 5’10” and 181lbs, the 26 year-old, Windsor, Ontario native notched 18 goals and 9 assists (18-9-27) in 72 games last season with the Canucks.

SPECIAL TEAMS

While the Canucks power play has been clicking, ranked 8th in the league with a 23.1 per cent efficiency rating, their penalty kill has struggled ranking 21st in the league functioning at 78.6 per cent.

Their road game has also suffered as they collected only eight points away from home falling 4-8-0. At home the club’s been visibly better recoding a 7-2-0 home record, which is good news for the team as they gear up for a five game home stand starting Friday night when the club welcomes back the Colorado Avalanche.

“Goals for and goals against at home have been real good,” explained AV, who’s team’s netted 31 goals for while limiting their opponents to 17 goals against.

“Seems like we’ve been able to put our ‘A’ game on the ice, and now we’ve got a stretch here of five games against conference teams, our record needs to get better within our conference, and we’ve got to take these games one at a time.”

HENRIK STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT

At 17 games and counting, this is the longest NHL stretch Henrik Sedin has been separated from line mate and twin brother Daniel Sedin.

Naturally, you’d wonder, when the team’s leading scorer goes down, how it will affect the team, in particular Henrik. After playing their entire careers together, the two have such innate chemistry and the natural ability to find each other on the ice. They’ve build a system, Daniel the shooter and Henrik the playmaker; however, after faltering at first, Henrik has found his confidence and stride notching 12 goals in 17 games.

Always battling criticisms that the two can’t play without one another, Henrik has proven doubters wrong collecting on average a point a game and his first ever career hat trick Saturday night in Colorado.

And while Henrik has been racking up the numbers, there has been times where he’s felt unsure instinctively looking for his brother on the ice.

"There's times on the power play and even 5-on-5 when I just know where he's going to be, and I can play more on instinct than I can now,” explained Henrik. “It's not a major difference, though."

"We've had to prove a lot of different things, we still are," said Henrik. "I mean, we're missing a good player. It's going to have an effect on a team when you lose a top guy like that... but it's not like we thought my game was going to go south. You play the same way, and we're playing in the best league in the world."

DANIEL’S PAIN TOLERANCE

Daniel, who injured himself Oct. 7th after taking a shot off the foot, was expected to return for the tail end of the team’s five game road trip. And, after skating by himself and flying out to join the team, Daniel decided the foot wasn’t quite where it needed to be.

"He didn't get hurt again,” clarified Mike Gillis yesterday after the team’s practice. “When you have a broken bone like that, it's more pain tolerance. And in the event you can't tolerate the pain, then you take a step backwards and let that bone heal a little bit further, and a little bit further."

Daniel did miss practice yesterday but head coach Alain Vigneault said he will rejoin the team Wednesday for practice and from there they will reassess his status.

NASLUND ENDS RETIREMENT

Former Vancouver Canucks Capitan Markus Naslund announced today he will join longtime friend Peter Forsberg in Sweden, as they both suit up for MODO of the Swedish Elite League.

Forsberg, who declined to return to the NHL because of his injured foot, and Naslund will reunite in Sweden playing alongside each other on the same team they once dominated 16 years ago.

"I will do everything in my power to get back in game shape, and I hope I can contribute to the team's success, but I'm sure everybody understands that you can't just jump in and dominate the league," explained Naslund.

"I'm looking forward to playing with Modo again and of course, the fact that Peter and I can do this together makes it even more special."

At 6’0” and 190lbs., the Ornskoldsvik, Sweden native, who retired early May, remains the Canucks all-time leader in points (756) and goals (346). Naslund, 36, spend 12 of his 15 NHL seasons in Vancouver.

FORSBERG TO STAY WITH MODO

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today former NHL player Peter Forsberg will stay in Sweden with MODO of the Swedish Elite League.

Media speculation suggested the Canucks were interested in pursuing the former Hart Trophy winner; however, Gillis revealed Forsberg had reservations due to his injured foot.

“It's more of a day to day thing with his foot as opposed to a situation where he's confident he can play,'' said Gillis. “I think it's a tribute to him that he didn't want to put himself in a position where he was taking a roster spot and not being an everyday player in the NHL."

CANUCKS BREAKOUT

After being outscored 11-3 in their last three outings, the Canucks snapped their three game losing streak and their offensive drought as 13 different players picked up points in their 8-2 blowout over the Colorado Avalanche Saturday night in Denver.

Leading the way was Henrik Sedin who notched his first career hat trick.

“It took me nearly 700 games, but it's nice to have,” said Henrik, who ranks 5th on the Canucks all time scoring list with 483 points in 667 games.

Henrik, playing without line mate and twin brother Daniel, has proven he can still put up points on his own notching 12 goals (12-11-23) in his last 17 games.

“[Henrik] has had some moments where he’s looked real good like he did in the last game,” said Alain Vigneault. “He’s doing more with the puck [but] he’s had some moments where he looked like he was looking for his bother. I think he’ll be real happy to have him back just like we’ll be happy to have him back.”

“I’ve felt good all along,” said Henrik. “There’s been games where I felt I could have played better but guys have stepped in, done a good job and it’s not a huge difference playing with others guys than Daniel.”

“If there’s one really positive thing, [its] after four years I can finally tell them apart now,” joked Vigneault.

HODGSON RETURNS TO PRACTICE

Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson, who injured his back during off-ice training this summer, has returned to practice with his junior team the Brampton Battalion.

After being cleared by Vancouver medical staff to play, Hodgson struggled to find his game during a pre-season stint with the Canucks. Upon returning to Ontario, Hodgson sought out a second opinion for his back and was restricted to off-ice rehabilitation with trainer Binne Brouwer.

Hodgson started skating alone early November and returned to practice last Wednesday as reported by the Brampton Battalion.

“It feels awesome to be back out there and be able to skate and pass with the guys,” said Hodgson.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week. My back didn’t really tighten up much until the end of practice. Everything seems to be going in the right direction. I’m still a little rusty, and I have a lot to do before I can play again, but it’s a great first step.”

Meanwhile, Hodgson is set to return to Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic today for evaluation by Dr. Anthony Miniaci. After that, Hodgson will simply work on getting his legs back to where they need to be.

“It’s a matter of getting your muscles back,” explained Hodgson. “You build up the muscle memory through training and, if you’re off the ice for a while, you can lose that. You need to get that back and when I got back out there I felt like I was two years old and learning to skate. I had to rebuild my stride.”

Hodgson is expected to return in early December.