VANCOUVER -- A determination as to whether Manny Malhotra will be available for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final will be made after he participates in the Vancouver Canucks morning skate on Saturday.
The Canucks popular centre, who suffered a serious left eye injury in mid-March, returned to the ice on Friday after a few days away from the rink. Malhotra took shifts on Vancouver's fourth line between left wing Jeff Tambellini and right wing Victor Oreskovich, leading to more speculation that Malhotra was on the verge of a return.
But this was a similar situation last weekend, when Malhotra was cleared for contact and went full out in practices on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The day before the final against the Boston Bruins, however, Malhotra failed to make an appearance on the ice with his teammates until Friday.
"From one day to the next, things have changed," Malhotra said, when he explained his situation. "I didn't feel proper to go on the ice. So I took a couple days off."
There still is noticeable redness and swelling around Malhotra's eye. He has undergone multiple surgeries in an attempt to restore his vision. Malhotra is confident he can play even though the eye hasn't fully healed, but he also is mindful of wanting to keep the focus on Canucks and not himself.
"I obviously don't want this to be a sideshow," he said. "We always talk about in our dressing room that the whole is much greater than the individuals. We have a very strong focus in the room. It's where it needs to be. I don't want anything to sidetrack that."
But in saying that, it hasn't been easy on the 31-year-old Malhotra not being able to join his teammates in the Stanley Cup final after playing 777 regular season games and never advancing past a conference final.
"I guess it kind of weighs into it in a little bit," he said. "But at the same time I realize the severity of the injury. I realize the intensity of the moment. I realize the intensity of play has picked up since I last played.
"This is not me wanting to have a sentimental shift out there, be a part of it all. It's a fact that I feel I could contribute something to the team. But more importantly, we're on the right track. We're heading where we need to be. Anybody in that room, any of our aces, anybody sitting out feel they can contribute, and the coaches feel that, we know we can do so."
The Canucks fourth line of Alexandre Bolduc, Tambellini and Oreskovich only saw four shifts in the series opener on Wednesday. But Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault stated that he leaned on his top three lines because of the eight-day layoff between the conference final and the Stanley Cup final.
The fourth line can expect to be employed more as the series progresses.
Hamhuis still out
Dependable Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis did not join Malhotra and the rest of the Canucks for their full practice at the University of British Columbia on Friday. He was injured early in the second period of the series opener after he delivered a hip check on Bruins 220-pound Milan Lucic.
If Hamhuis can't play in Game 2, look for either Keith Ballard or Andrew Alberts to play in his spot. Vigneault said not to read anything into his defence pairing in practice, but Aaron Rome took Hamhuis' spot alongside Kevin Bieksa. As usual, Sami Salo and Alex Edler were paired together. Alberts was with Christian Ehrhoff, and Ballard was with Chris Tanev.
Balland and Tanev played alongside each other for two games when Rome and Ehrhoff were injured in Game 3 of the West final.
Red-hot Roberto
Sure Roberto Luongo made a pinpoint pass to San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton in the West final opener and he's surrendered the occasional soft goal from bad angles, but the Canucks goalie has been in a zone.
Since he temporarily lost his starting position for Game 6 of the first-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks, Luongo has gone 10-3 and stopped 397 of 422 shots for a .941 save percentage. The Montreal native may be playing the best hockey of his career.
"I don't know. That's a tough question to answer," he said. "I think given the fact right now that we're in the Stanley Cup final, I think as a team this is the best we've played. I like to include myself in that as well. You measure success in this league obviously by winning. Right now we're three wins away from our ultimate goal.
"I've had some good streaks. I've played well. What can I tell you? I'm in the final. I guess I'm playing pretty well."
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