The Vancouver Canucks got a boost of relief seeing Elias Pettersson back on the ice for practice at Rogers Arena on Sunday morning. The young defenseman had exited Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken with a lower-body injury, raising concerns. However, after undergoing medical scans early Sunday, Pettersson was cleared to rejoin his teammates, participating fully in the 45-minute session.
Veterans Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, and Brock Boeser took maintenance days, leaving the Canucks with a lean group of 12 forwards, four defensemen, and goalies Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo on the ice. With numbers down, the practice was light on line rushes and special teams work.
Head coach Adam Foote kept any lineup changes for Tuesday’s matchup against the Florida Panthers under wraps. The session wrapped up with a lively small-area game, a staple for the Canucks.
Elias Pettersson, currently navigating a 20-game goal drought, was among the first to hit the ice Sunday, focusing on shooting drills with coaches and fellow players. The Canucks are gearing up for a full team practice on Monday, aiming to regroup and refocus.
Pettersson shared his relief at being back, saying, “Yeah, got banged up yesterday. Everything is fine now.
I’m good to go. I smashed my knee into the boards.
They did a scan this morning and everything is fine. I’m always going to try to play and wanted to be back out there, but they held me back.
Maybe it was a good decision to get it looked at, but right now I feel good.”
Coach Adam Foote commented on Pettersson’s efforts to break his scoring slump: “He was out there today at 11:05 for an 11:30 practice working. He was out there after working.
He’s been on the bike after games riding. So he’s doing the work.
He’s had the breakaway twice in OT. I was never a goal scorer, so I don’t know how it feels to go through that.
I’m sure at times he feels like it weighs on him. When he’s moving his feet, he’s having success on the ice and he knows that.
And he’s trying to keep reminding himself of that. Even at practice today, you saw when he practices his shot, in the first couple of drills, he was moving and he ripped a couple off the bar and in.
Obviously, we want him to score, but I like the attitude of the work he’s putting in. He can just work until he gets through it.”
With Pettersson back and putting in the work, the Canucks are hopeful for a turnaround as they prepare for their upcoming game.