Shot to his face sidelines Hamhuis
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis will undergo surgery today for what the team described as a facial fracture above his mouth suffered during Wednesday’s game against the New York Rangers.
Hamhuis was struck by a shot by New York defenceman Dan Boyle in the third period of Vancouver’s 2-1 win over the Rangers. Hamhuis was taken to hospital and remained there Thursday.
The team said a prognosis on his recovery time will be released later.
But it seems likely Hamhuis will be out a few weeks and that leaves the Canucks short on defence. Fellow defenceman Luca Sbisa is also out with a hand injury.
Alex Biega was recalled from Utica on Dec. 1 and has played four of the past five games for the Canucks. Yannick Weber, who has been a healthy scratch the past two games, is the only extra defenceman on the Canucks’ roster.
The Canucks do not play again until Sunday in Chicago, where they begin a six-day road trip. It’s safe to assume general manager Jim Benning is working the phones trying to trade for a defenceman.
If the team is forced to call up a player from Utica, it figures to be big Russian defenceman Andrey Pedan, who had a goal and an assist in the Comets’ 4-3 shootout win over the Rochester Americans on Wednesday night.
The 22-year-old Pedan has two goals, nine points and 43 penalty minutes in 18 games with the Comets this season. He made his NHL debut with the Canucks last week, logging just 3:53 of ice time as a winger in Vancouver’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.