Saturday night's game against the Minnesota Wild could have been the most important game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks. If the Canucks picked up just a few more points, such as from their myriad overtime losses, this could have been the game that decides which of the two teams make the playoffs.
Alas.
This game is still vital for the Wild, who need to fend off the Calgary Flames, who are three points behind them with a game in hand. The Canucks could play spoiler but they're ultimately just playing for personal pride and other non-standings-related reasons.
It will still be an important game for two Canucks, one moreso than the other. Prospects Ty Mueller and Nikita Tolopilo have been called up from the Abbotsford Canucks, with Mueller making his NHL debut, while Tolopilo will be on the bench as the backup goaltender.
Mueller is stepping in for Max Sasson, who is "dinged up" according to Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, while Tolopilo is replacing Thatcher Demko, who is ill.
It's been a solid rookie season for the 22-year-old Mueller, who has 12 goals and 38 points in 62 games in the AHL. He's shown steady progression offensively, with 12 of his points coming in his last 12 games, and has become an all-situations centre in Abbotsford.
The 25-year-old Tolopilo has been splitting starts with Arturs Silovs in Abbotsford and has a respectable .901 save percentage, which is right around league average. It's his second season in the AHL.
Along with Sasson and Demko being out on Saturday, three Canucks forwards are done for the year: Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Nils Åman.
"Probably going to shut Petey down," said Tocchet. "He's getting better but, at this point, we'd rather he just try to get back stronger."
Tyler Myers returned to the ice with the Canucks for the team's morning skate but will likely sit out the game against the Wild.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Mueller will get a couple of quality linemates for his first NHL game, as he will step into the same spot as Max Sasson between Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Kevin Lankinen. He's 1-0-1 against the Wild this season with a .940 save percentage.
Minnesota Wild projected lines
The Wild have gotten a couple of key players back from injury ahead of the playoffs in Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek. The two forwards should help the Wild stave off the Flames in their final two games. The Wild are in control of their own destiny: if they win their final two games of the season, the Flames can't catch them.
That said, they lost to the Flames on Friday and are now playing the Canucks on the second half of back-to-backs. The Canucks might even be seeking revenge for the Wild eliminating them from playoff contention on Wednesday.
Here are the Wild's projected lines:
Kirill Kaprizov - Marco Rossi - Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy
Gustav Nyquist - Frederick Gaudreau - Marcus Johansson
Yakov Trenin - Ryan Hartman - Vinnie Hinostroza
Jonas Brodin - Brock Faber
Declan Chisholm - Zach Bogosian
Jon Merrill - Cameron Crotty
Filip Gustavsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
It's possible that Jared Spurgeon will be out of the lineup, as he took a puck to the throat on Friday. It was a scary incident, with the defenceman momentarily unable to breathe. He returned later in the game but left again after six more shifts in the third period.
UPDATE: Sure enough, Spurgeon is out of the lineup for the Wild in a crucial game for them.
The Wild's starting goaltender is expected to be Filip Gustavsson, starting both games on back-to-back nights after he started in Calgary but was pulled in the third period.
This was supposed to be the final start of Marc-Andre Fleury's career but their struggles on Friday night necesitated a business decision for the Wild, as they trust Gustafsson more than Fleury to secure their spot in the playoffs.
