Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are each "getting closer" to returning from an upper-body injury and will join the Canucks on a five-game road trip that starts at the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
Neither Hughes, the Canucks top defenseman, nor Pettersson, their No. 1 center, played against the Nashville Predators on Friday, but both continue to skate on their own.
"They're getting close," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. "'Petey' has been skating and Quinn quite a bit, so we'll see how that goes. They'll be with us (on the road trip) for sure."
Hughes, who entered Friday leading the Canucks and third among NHL defensemen with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 34 games, was labeled questionable going into the Dec. 23 game against the San Jose Sharks. He played and had two assists in a 4-3 win but has missed three straight games since and was considered week to week.
Pettersson, who was tied for third on the Canucks with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games, scored twice in the second period of the Dec. 23 game but only played one shift in the third and hasn't played in a game or practice since. Tocchet said on Sunday he is day to day.
Vancouver also was without No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko against the Predators on Friday after he sustained back spasms during a 4-3 shootout win at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, leaving in the second period after getting spun around in a collision with Canucks defenseman Juulsen and falling hard on his backside in the first.
Vancouver recalled goalie Arturs Silovs from Abbotsford in the American Hockey League to back up Kevin Lankinen against Nashville.
"I haven't checked in with [Demko] this morning, but you know back spasms, they can go away in 24 hours or 48 hours," Tocchet said. "I don't know. I've had them before, so we'll see how we go with that."
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