CBC-Sports

Pyatt won’t suit up for Game 2

May 1, 2009 07:13 PM | Posted by   CBC Sports Staff  

The Canucks had a full team practice at GM Place on Friday after a short team meeting. Head coach Alain Vigneault even went so far to say that his team practised better on Friday then they played in Game 1 despite taking the opener from the Chicago Blackhawks.

The three extra forwards, Taylor Pyatt, Jannick Hansen, and the recently recalled Jeff Cowan, were wearing the only grey jerseys on the ice - meaning Pyatt will not be in the lineup for Game 2 Saturday night (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 9 p.m. ET) in Vancouver.

“Our players are playing well, its unfortunate what happened,” Vigneault said of Pyatt, whose fiancée was killed in a car accident in Jamaica last month.

“He’s using this time to get his game to where it was. When we need Taylor, we know he’ll be ready.”

No suspension for Eager

There was plenty of talk about Ben Eager’s late hit on Vancouver's forward Rick Rypien in Game 1, even though the league didn't suspend the Blackhawks forward.

Rypien called it a “late hit [and] cheap hit”.

Associate captain Ryan Kesler agreed: “It was worse than Brashear’s hit [on Blair Betts for which he was suspended five games]. He deliberately tried to take his head off”.

Defenceman Shane O’Brien echoed those sentiments, saying “the puck’s no where near [Rypien] and Eager decides to take a lick on him … but it’s a long series.”

Eager wasn’t surprised to learn he wouldn’t be disciplined.

“It seems like all the time that there’s a big hit everyone is thinking suspension,” he said.

“It’s playoff hockey, there is going to be hits. You got to keep your head up out there. I was just back checking, I’m not going to turn up a hit like that. There [are] two good refs out there and they both saw it. There was no major penalty or anything, you know if there’s a hit like that I’m going to take it again.”

Stay tuned.

Under the weather

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews struggled in Game 1, playing just 13:46 and losing eight of 11 faceoffs. He finished minus-2 on the night.

There are suggestions that Toews is struggling with a troublesome shoulder. The team, meanwhile, is calling it the flu.

Coach Joel Quenneville said to “He’s been under the weather the last couple of days,” said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. “He’s feeling much better [Friday]. That’s why we didn’t use him as much [Thursday] night.”

Toews did take part in the Hawks practice at GM Place Friday.

David Bolland, Sami Pahlsson, Martin Havlat and Matt Walker did not skate, but are all expected to play in Game 2.

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