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Other than an apparently mild illness, Elias Pettersson is totally fine, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet insisted on Wednesday.
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Pettersson missed practice Tuesday with what Tocchet described as a head cold, but was back on the ice Wednesday morning, before Game 1 of the Canucks’ Pacific Division final series versus the Edmonton Oilers.
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Asked about whether he was concerned about how Pettersson’s illness might be affecting him — he’s just the latest Canuck to fall under the weather in the past two weeks — Tocchet went above and beyond in answering the question.
The team isn’t using illness to cover for another injury to Pettersson, he said.
“We don’t lie here,” he said, with emphasis.
Unprompted, Tocchet said he’s aware that there’s been speculation about whether Pettersson is carrying some sort of injury, perhaps to his back or his wrist. But he moved to quash that speculation.
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“He’s just a little sick,” he said.
Pettersson, for his part, said he’s feeling fine.
He had just three assists in the first round against Nashville and struggled to shoot, which drove much of the speculation around whether he’s injured.
Obviously to beat the Oilers, the Canucks will need him to be the player he has been for much of his career here in Vancouver, not the player who struggled down the stretch this season.
“He’s a big factor for us,” Tocchet said. “You know, hopefully, especially at home, we get him in some good situations on the ice. So hopefully he can take advantage of it.”
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