Kassian returns from back injury for game with Blues
Posted March 19, 2013 11:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canucks will turn to Cory Schneider in goal and they’ll get an injured forward back as they host St Louis tonight (7 p.m.) and try to salvage a positive result on their current homestand before hitting the road for three games beginning in Phoenix on Thursday.
It will be Schneider’s first start since March 10th.
Only a handful of Canucks chose to take today’s optional skate; it included forward Zack Kassian, who will return to the lineup tonight after missing two games with a sore back. Coach Alain Vigneault says Kassian’s morning skate went well, and the big winger says he no longer feels any pain from what he calls a “back tweak”.
The Blues come to town having won three straight and five of their past six games; they can match their longest winning streak of the season against the Canucks, who’ve suddenly dropped to seventh place in the NHL Western Conference following last night’s 3-1 loss to Minnesota. Vancouver has lost two straight and eight of its past 11.
Vancouver will face rookie goalie Jake Allen who has an 8-1 record with a 2.09 goals-against-average over nine starts overall and has bumped aside Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak as the team’s number one goalie. One of his wins came February 17th in Vancouver when he made 28 saves in a 4-3 shootout win.
The hottest Blue right now is forward Chris Stewart, this weeks NHL First Star of the Week. Stewart has seven points in his past three games and seven assists over the previous seven games.
