It looks like Kevin Bieksa may need a few more days off.
After being given Tuesday’s practice off for what Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault called “maintenance,” it was expected that Bieksa would be in the line-up against the Avalanche Wednesday night.
Bieksa did participate in the game-day skate, albeit briefly, but was not in the line-up when the puck dropped vs. Colorado. Maintenance was once again the reason for his absence. The playoffs must be close when the team doesn’t even tell you if Bieksa if maintaining his upper body or his lower body.
I’m hearing Bieksa has been dealing with something that has been bugging him for a few weeks now so, instead of playing through it, the Canucks want to give him some time to let the injury heal.
No word on the severity of the injury but it’s believed if the playoffs started tomorrow, Bieksa would be in the line-up. Since the playoffs don’t start tomorrow, Bieksa is likely to be given a few more days off for maintenance and in turn miss the next couple of Canucks games.
As for Daniel Sedin, he was spotted at the rink on Wednesday. I’m told Daniel is feeling better than he did the days right after Duncan Keith’s elbow knocked him out of the line-up with a concussion. Daniel is still suffering from headaches, however, and cannot exercise at all until he is symptom free.
Finally, with back-to-back games on the horizon, people are wondering how Vigneault will handle his goalies. Both Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider are coming off 1-0 shutout wins and both have been excellent of late so there really is no wrong choice for the coach.
Look for Luongo to go Friday against the Dallas Stars and Schneider to get the nod Saturday against the Calgary Flames.