The Vancouver Canucks will spin the wheel of healthy scratches again tonight, this time sitting down Nils Hoglander for their game against the Minnesota Wild. Conor Garland will be inserted back onto the top line after taking his turn in the press box, according to Harman Dayal of The Athletic, who also tweets out that Tucker Poolman will be a game-time decision.
Hoglander, 21, recorded an assist on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, his only point of the season so far, and has just seven shots on net through four games. The diminutive forward hasn’t been able to replicate the kind of impact he had when he first entered the league in 2021, scoring 27 points in 56 games during the shortened season. While head coach Bruce Boudreau likes the way Hoglander is playing, he told Dayal that “sometimes you look at your opposition and see what you need.”
- The offseason experiment of Denis Malgin on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ second line is coming to an end, at least for tonight. According to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the team will move top prospect Nick Robertson into the lineup to play beside John Tavares and William Nylander, an especially exciting opportunity for the young forward because of the opponent. Robertson’s brother Jason Robertson is in town with the Dallas Stars, making the second time the siblings will face off in the NHL. Despite starting games with the top-six unit, Malgin has averaged just 11:18 through his first four appearances with the Maple Leafs, seeing fewer than nine minutes in a recent loss against the Arizona Coyotes.
- Dylan Holloway isn’t going to play tonight, according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, who notes that while the young forward is listed as day-to-day, it could be a little while before he returns to the lineup if he’s dealing with a head injury. The Oilers’ prospect got punished by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin earlier this week in a massive open-ice hit. With Holloway injured, Edmonton will have to go with a roster of just 20 healthy players, unless another move is made (or the young forward ends up on LTIR).