The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Elias Pettersson on the injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 23, the team announced Friday.
Although Pettersson will miss a fourth consecutive game Friday due to an undisclosed injury, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters he has been skating quite a bit and is getting close to returning.
Pettersson broke out of a seven-game scoring drought with a pair of goals during Vancouver’s 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 23 before leaving in the third period.
The 26-year-old is tied for third on the team in scoring with 28 points (10 goals and 18 assists) in 34 games.
Vancouver also announced goaltender Arturs Silovs has been recalled from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.
The news comes a day after starter Thatcher Demko left during the second period of the Canucks' game against the Seattle Kraken due to back spasms. Kevin Lankinen came in to finish the game and helped the Canucks win 4-3 in a shootout.
Following Friday's loss to the Nashville Predators, Tocchet told reporters that Demko, Pettersson and captain Quinn Hughes are expected to travel with the team for its upcoming five-game road trip.
Demko, 29, missed the first two months of the season with a knee injury that he suffered in Game 1 of the playoffs. He made his season debut on Dec. 10 against the St. Louis Blues and has started in six games before Thursday, with a 3.43 goals-against average and .879 save percentage.
The Canucks (18-11-8) are fourth in the Pacific Division and are holding onto the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.