All that depth on the blue line that was being touted by the Vancouver Canucks before this season began is now being severely tested.
The Canucks will be without Willie Mitchell for Wednesday?s game in Edmonton against the Oilers (7 p.m., Sportsnet, Team 1040) and the team's shutdown defenceman also figures to miss Thursday's home game against the Dallas Stars.
Mitchell was slammed into the end boards by Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin late in Saturday night's game and did not practise Tuesday. Mitchell, who was already nursing a sore back courtesy of a hit by Derek Boogaard last Wednesday in Minnesota, appeared to slam the back of his head into the boards as he fell to the ice following the Malkin hit.
The Canucks would not confirm that Mitchell has a concussion. Coach Alain Vigneault said only that "he is day to day with an upper-body injury."
If it is indeed a concussion, Mitchell likely would not return any sooner than early next week and almost definitely sit out Saturday night's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Canucks are already without defenceman Kevin Bieksa (leg cut) and have severed ties with veteran Mathieu Schneider, who is now nursing an injury with the Manitoba Moose.
Mitchell's spot in the lineup will be taken by Aaron Rome, who is returning after suffering a concussion during a Jan. 7 game against Phoenix.
"I got through all the tests and I am ready to go," Rome said Tuesday. "They put me through the paces this week. I am just preparing to play like any other day."
Rome was paired with Brad Lukowich in Tuesday's practice.
Vigneault said the team has no immediate plans to call up a seventh defenceman from Manitoba. Other defensive pairings Wednesday figure to be Sami Salo with Alex Edler and Shane O'Brien with Christian Ehrhoff.
NO HARD FEELINGS: O'Brien got into a brief dust-up with winger Mason Raymond during Tuesday's practice. Afterwards, O'Brien dismissed the incident as boys being boys.
"He said I slashed him earlier in the play and I don't remember that, but I said 'if I did, I'm sorry,' ? O'Brien said. "Then he grabbed my stick and flung it away and I didn't like the way he flung it, so I just thought I'd give him a little rough ride. He gave a little back.
"Mase is a good guy. It's just that when you hang around the same people every day, it's like having a brother. It happens."
MOVING ON: Vigneault suggested Tuesday the team hopes to finally turn the page on the Alex Burrows-Stephane Auger controversy.
"I think for us right now, for all of us, this is a situation here that we can't win and we can't even get a tie," Vigneault said.
But the Canucks coach is still clearly upset with the portrayal of Burrows on Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada pre-game show.
"We can sit here and probably all agree that the four clips that were shown during that broadcast, you could take 50 or 75 per cent of all the players and probably find one where the player is embellishing the situation and find one where a player has stick work that is not on the up and up, find a player talking back to another player ? At the end of the day I think we have to move on and think about the hockey games coming up."
QUOTABLE: "It's unbelievable. Things are going up everywhere and right across from my place at David Lam Park there's all those tents going up. It's crazy. You see the flags on the sidewalks and it's exciting. It's right around the corner and you kind of get the butterflies in your stomach just thinking ahead a little bit here." -- Canucks goalie and Team Canada member Roberto Luongo on feeling the Olympic vibe in Vancouver.
ICE CHIP: Injured forwards Ryan Johnson and Steve Bernier both practised Tuesday. Both players made the trip to Edmonton and Vigneault said they will be game-time decisions Wednesday.
The Canucks will be without Willie Mitchell for Wednesday?s game in Edmonton against the Oilers (7 p.m., Sportsnet, Team 1040) and the team's shutdown defenceman also figures to miss Thursday's home game against the Dallas Stars.
Mitchell was slammed into the end boards by Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin late in Saturday night's game and did not practise Tuesday. Mitchell, who was already nursing a sore back courtesy of a hit by Derek Boogaard last Wednesday in Minnesota, appeared to slam the back of his head into the boards as he fell to the ice following the Malkin hit.
The Canucks would not confirm that Mitchell has a concussion. Coach Alain Vigneault said only that "he is day to day with an upper-body injury."
If it is indeed a concussion, Mitchell likely would not return any sooner than early next week and almost definitely sit out Saturday night's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Canucks are already without defenceman Kevin Bieksa (leg cut) and have severed ties with veteran Mathieu Schneider, who is now nursing an injury with the Manitoba Moose.
Mitchell's spot in the lineup will be taken by Aaron Rome, who is returning after suffering a concussion during a Jan. 7 game against Phoenix.
"I got through all the tests and I am ready to go," Rome said Tuesday. "They put me through the paces this week. I am just preparing to play like any other day."
Rome was paired with Brad Lukowich in Tuesday's practice.
Vigneault said the team has no immediate plans to call up a seventh defenceman from Manitoba. Other defensive pairings Wednesday figure to be Sami Salo with Alex Edler and Shane O'Brien with Christian Ehrhoff.
NO HARD FEELINGS: O'Brien got into a brief dust-up with winger Mason Raymond during Tuesday's practice. Afterwards, O'Brien dismissed the incident as boys being boys.
"He said I slashed him earlier in the play and I don't remember that, but I said 'if I did, I'm sorry,' ? O'Brien said. "Then he grabbed my stick and flung it away and I didn't like the way he flung it, so I just thought I'd give him a little rough ride. He gave a little back.
"Mase is a good guy. It's just that when you hang around the same people every day, it's like having a brother. It happens."
MOVING ON: Vigneault suggested Tuesday the team hopes to finally turn the page on the Alex Burrows-Stephane Auger controversy.
"I think for us right now, for all of us, this is a situation here that we can't win and we can't even get a tie," Vigneault said.
But the Canucks coach is still clearly upset with the portrayal of Burrows on Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada pre-game show.
"We can sit here and probably all agree that the four clips that were shown during that broadcast, you could take 50 or 75 per cent of all the players and probably find one where the player is embellishing the situation and find one where a player has stick work that is not on the up and up, find a player talking back to another player ? At the end of the day I think we have to move on and think about the hockey games coming up."
QUOTABLE: "It's unbelievable. Things are going up everywhere and right across from my place at David Lam Park there's all those tents going up. It's crazy. You see the flags on the sidewalks and it's exciting. It's right around the corner and you kind of get the butterflies in your stomach just thinking ahead a little bit here." -- Canucks goalie and Team Canada member Roberto Luongo on feeling the Olympic vibe in Vancouver.
ICE CHIP: Injured forwards Ryan Johnson and Steve Bernier both practised Tuesday. Both players made the trip to Edmonton and Vigneault said they will be game-time decisions Wednesday.
