Canucks D Pettersson injured, Flames' Backlund (upper-body) exits
Published
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Elias Pettersson appeared to be injured after taking a high hit from Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss.
Zary appeared to throw a high cross-check at the head of Pettersson right after he landed a hit on Flames centre Nazem Kadri. Pettersson did not have the puck at the time of the incident and Zary received a two-minute minor penalty for interference.
The 21-year-old Pettersson missed six minutes before returning for one more shift in the first period, but did not return for the second period.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said he did not have an update on Pettersson post-game.
The rookie has two assists in 15 games with Vancouver after making his NHL debut earlier this season.
Backlund injured
Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund did not return to Wednesday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks due to an upper-body injury.
Backlund was not on the Flames' bench to start the second period and missed the final eight minutes of the opening frame.
In the opening 20 seconds of the game, Backlund went in for a hit on Canucks defenceman Victor Mancini, but looked awkward after making contact.
The 35-year-old has 11 goals and 24 points in 63 games this season.
He is in the first season of a two-year, $9 million contract with an AAV of $4.5 million.
A first-round pick (24th overall) by Calgary in 2007, Backlund has spent his entire NHL career with the Flames and was named captain on Sept. 27, 2023.