Pettersson day-to-day with lower-body injury
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson missed Thursday's contest against the Minnesota Wild with a lower-body injury, the team announced.
Pettersson was bruised by a hit from Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk on Tuesday and remains day-to-day, head coach Travis Green said Thursday.
Late hit by Grzelcyk on #Canucks Pettersson pic.twitter.com/wtdJQiu2t6
— Matt (@dooley_matt_) February 5, 2020
Green aired his frustrations with the hit after Tuesday's contest.
"I’m so frustrated with it," Green told Sportsnet's Ian MacIntyre. "This guy is one of the best young players in the league. And he gets hit (when) he's totally defenseless.
"Those are hits that the league is trying to get out of the game, especially against top young guys, top players in the league. I think Petey has shown he is one of those guys, and it is frustrating for me as a coach to see some of the abuse he takes where he doesn't get (calls). I know that he's not the biggest guy, but that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of a player that's not ready to be hit. That should be a penalty all day long."
Pettersson stayed in the game but played just 16:15 - over two minutes below his season average. Grzelcyk, meanwhile, was not penalized.
The 21-year-old phenom was also not pleased with the hit.
"My point of view of the hit: I dropped the puck, I’m ready to get hit," Pettersson said Wednesday. "I see (Gryzelcyk) beside me. He doesn’t hit me, and then two seconds later he hit me when I’m, like, relaxed. Yeah, I’m not ready for the hit, so I flew into the boards.
"I was a little frustrated because I feel like it’s not a good play. It’s kind of like a dirty play because the hit is 10 meters away from where I dropped the puck and it's two or three seconds later after I dropped the puck.
"I know I get a lot more attention now. I can feel it. I get less time with the puck. I feel like I always have a guy around me. But I feel like plays like that isn't what we want in hockey because it's a late hit and I'm not ready for it."
The reigning Calder Trophy winner leads the Canucks with 23 goals and 55 points in his sophomore season.