Hughes leads the Canucks with 42 points and ranks second in scoring among NHL defensemen. He last played, through injury, in a 4–3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 23 logging 24:45 of ice time and recording two assists.

Hughes, a defenseman and the Canucks captain, and Pettersson, a center, are out with undisclosed injuries. They did not play in a 5-4 overtime loss to Seattle on Saturday.

Mike Tyson once famously stated, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In Vancouver Canucks terms, ‘punched in the mouth’ can definitely equate to ‘suffer a long-term injury to Quinn Hughes.