Canucks' Podkolzin out; Mikheyev, Lafferty back in for Game 7
Published
Head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters that forward Vasily Podkolzin will not play in Game 7, while forwards Ilya Mikheyev and Sam Lafferty will draw in against the Edmonton Oilers Monday night.
Podkolzin, the No. 10 overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, was among the skaters doing extra work at Monday's abbreviated practice session, indicating he would not suit up for the evening's deciding game. The 22-year-old played the last two games for the Canucks and was a plus-one with two shots on goal. He had two assists in 19 games during the regular season.
“We’re looking at two guys coming in tonight,” Tocchet said of Mikheyev and Lafferty, who were healthy scratches in each of the previous two games.
Mikheyev did not have a point in the first four games of the series against the Oilers after scoring 11 goals in 78 regular season games.
Lafferty also came out of the lineup after playing the first four games of the series without a point. He had 13 goals and 11 assists for 34 points in 79 games during the regular season.
Tocchet also confirmed Arturs Silovs will start in net for Vancouver as expected. He has started every game since Casey DeSmith went down with injury for the Canucks, who was playing in place of an injured Thatcher Demko.
Silovs has a .898 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average in nine playoff games this spring.
The winner of the series will go on to play the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
Full Canucks lines:
Pettersson-Miller-Mikheyev
Joshua-Lindholm-Garland
Höglander-Suter-Lafferty
PDG-Blueger-Åman
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Cole-Zadorov
Silovs