After a surprisingly strong start to the season, the Vancouver Canucks hit an injury-induced road block.
In the span of less than a week, the Canucks lost two of their top three scorers in center Bo Horvat (foot fracture) and winger Sven Baertschi (fractured jaw) for 4-6 weeks. Baertschi and Horvat joined the growing list of sidelined Canucks including second line center Brandon Sutter, defenseman Erik Gudbranson and former-winger Derek Dorsett, who was forced to retire with a neck injury.
Bo Horvat injury update: Canucks star out 'multiple weeks' with broken foot
Horvat and Baertschi combined for 18 goals and 20 assists in the opening third of the season and Dorsett is still tied for third on the team in goals with seven. Without a lot of their offensive firepower in the lineup, the Canucks lost three consecutive games and scored just four goals in those contests. Consequentially, they dropped to sixth place in the Pacific Division after spending the majority of the season in a playoff position.
Despite the lack of offense over the past few games, first year coach Travis Green is trying to make the best of a bad situation by preaching patience with his players and making sure they don't try to overcompensate for their injured teammates.
“You have to be realistic with what you have," Green told reporters prior to Wednesday night's matchup with Nashville. "I don’t want players trying to do things that are outside their means or that they’re not capable of doing. You don’t just replace a Bo Horvat, it just doesn’t happen."
Green acknowledged that with injuries, the team needs others to step up and play their best hockey, but said they wouldn't make huge adjustments to their game plan.
“I want to play hard, aggressive hockey and there’s an argument to say playing hard, aggressive hockey is better suited for a team that is understaffed," Green said. "They’ve got to have an aggressive mindset, they have got to get to the net if they want to score and you’ve gotta compete and if you do that, good things happen.”
While the game plan hasn't changed, the lineup certainly has, and Green told the media that 22-year-old winger Nikolay Goldobin would get another chance in the lineup Wednesday night to try to help pick up the scoring slack.
“He played a good game against Nashville, made some subtle good plays with the puck, obviously set up Brock (Boeser) for a goal," Green said of Goldobin's performance against the Predators two weeks ago. "I liked his game. I’ve liked certain parts of every game that he’s played.”
Goldobin, a 2014 first round pick of the San Jose Sharks, has had very limited opportunities so far this season. He has two points in four NHL games, but scored seven goals and tallied 12 assists in 18 games with the Utica Comets, Vancouver's AHL affiliate.
The Canucks hope Goldobin's offensive potential will continue to translate to the NHL or at least jumpstart a cast of struggling veteran fowards including Sam Gagner (no goals in 7 games), Markus Granlund (one goal in 11), and Thomas Vanek (two goals in 16).