Canucks’ Goalie Ryan Miller May Return To Practice On Friday
The Vancouver Canucks are one of six teams in the Pacific Division looking up at the Los Angeles Kings, who lead everyone by 10 or more points. It’s been an ‘up and down’ season for Canucks’ fans but they got some good news on Thursday with the revelation that starting goaltender Ryan Miller could return to practice on Friday.
Every indication suggests that Miller is near a return. The most significant, perhaps, was the assignment of backup goaltender Joe Cannata to Utica of the American Hockey League. Cannata had been serving as Jacob Markstrom’s backup during Miller’s absence though he didn’t get into any games during his stint with the team. Vancouver had the day off on Thursday and Miller has said that he hopes to practice Friday and get clearance from the medical staff to dress as Markstrom’s backup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Even though he’s ready to return to practice, he likely won’t return to action immediately. Head coach Willie Desjardins said earlier this week that Miller would need ‘three or four practices’ before he’d be ready to start a game. When he does return to action, he’s likely to see less ice time. Desjardins has commented on several occasions that Markstrom has ‘earned the right’ to play more. This could benefit both goalies, as it allows 35 year old Miller to get more rest between starts. Miller got very little rest in the early going–Markstrom was sidelined at the start of the campaign with a hamstring injury suffered in preseason play. This resulted in Miller starting the first 10 games and 14 of the first 15 games.
The hope is the extra play will make Miller more effective. He was clearly at his best when rested before he was sidelined. Markstrom started six games during Miller’s absence posting a 4-2-0 record with a .929 save percentage. That’s the good news–the bad news is that Vancouver has dropped into the bottom ten in goals allowed per game giving up 2.76 per game. They haven’t received much help from their defense either–they’re bottom ten in shots allowed giving up 30.6 per game.