Canucks lose Salo, D. Sedin for at least a month
The Vancouver Canucks got a double dose of bad news this week, as defenseman Sami Salo and high-scoring forward Daniel Sedin will each miss at least four weeks.
Salo was injured during the first period of Sunday’s victory over the Dallas Stars, suffering a right knee sprain. For now, the team will go with six defensemen; Aaron Rome will move into Salo’s slot. The team expects to have defenseman Mathieu Schneider available later this month. He’s recovering from offseason shoulder surgery but is set to come off the long-term injury list after the Canucks’ 10th game.
Salo, 35, has one assist in five games. He plays on the second power-play pairing. But being injured is nothing new. Salo has had 38 injuries in his career and misses an average of about 20 games a season. In the past few years, the Canucks have struggled without him in the lineup.
Sedin, who averaged more than 30 goals for the Canucks over the last three seasons, was hit in the foot by a shot from teammate Alex Edler in a 7-1 win over Montreal Canadiens last week. X-rays revealed a fracture. It’s the first serious injury in his nine-year career.
Sedin and his twin, Henrik Sedin, tied for the team lead with 82 points last season.
In addition to missing Sedin, the Canucks’ forward lines are without Pavol Demitra, whose recovery from offseason shoulder surgery is not progressing as quickly as the team had hoped.
The injuries are not what the Canucks need. Well, no team does. But a great start this year was imperative because of a tough second half to the season for Vancouver. It features 14 straight road games and a 45-day gap between games at GM Place because of the Olympics being staged there.
The Canucks head into a stretch of nine games in 15 nights beginning Friday at Calgary – bet on it at WagerWeb.com.
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