The Vancouver Canucks lost one of their most exciting players midway through tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Kiefer Sherwood left early during the second period with an assumed injury. His last shift ended with 11:38 left in the middle frame and he finished with two penalty minutes.
The exact details around the 29-year-old’s absence are not known at this point. He didn’t appear to take any heavy hits and there were no obvious plays where he might’ve gotten hurt. Because of that, there is some chance it could be the flu, which has been going through the team recently, although an injury is more likely.
After missing a bunch of shifts, the Canucks put out a statement in the third period saying Sherwood would not return to the contest.
Forward Kiefer Sherwood will not return to tonight’s game.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 24, 2025
Nothing went right for the visiting Canucks in their game against the Oilers. The home team got out to an early lead and never looked back, jumping out 4-0 at one point. Losing Sherwood to injury was just the cherry on top.
The team generally looked lifeless and the poor performance continues a worrying trend of this Canucks team being unable to get up for premier matchups. There was a lot of buildup before this game after some fireworks during the last contest between these two teams. The Oilers used that as energy for this game while the Canucks didn’t.
The speedy winger has been one of the biggest positive surprises of this Canucks season. He’s already set a new career-high in goals with 13 and he’s got 21 points in 46 contests. The team will hope that any possible injury is not long-term as he’s been one of their better wingers.