Canucks Game Day update: J.T. Miller will play against the Florida ...

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The Province

The Stanley Cup champions are in town. J.T. Miller will play. The Vancouver Canucks sure need him.

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J.T. Miller - Figure 1 — Photo The Province

Published Dec 12, 2024 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 3 minute read

J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks goes for the puck against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center Nov. 02, 2024 in San Jose, California. Photo by Ezra Shaw /Getty Images

Florida Panthers vs. Vancouver Canucks

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When: Thursday, 7 p.m. PT, Rogers Arena

TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650

The buzz: J.T. Miller is back.

The Vancouver Canucks’ star last played Nov. 17 vs. Nashville but then took personal leave, for reasons that have not been fully divulged but which have implied to be mental-health related.

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning after taking part in the team’s morning skate ahead of the home game vs. the Florida Panthers, Miller said he didn’t want to get into the reasons why he took a leave, but that he was ready to return and ready to make the same impact on the lineup he always has.

“Excited to play. I want to play, and you know, obviously it’s fun game to play against the defending champions. So just happy to be around the guys and looking forward to tonight,” he said.

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It was tough to be away from his teammates, he acknowledged.

“It sucks, no matter what it’s for. You know, this is the ‘family away from family’ here, and you miss the guys and just excited to be around them and get back and compete,” he said.

He claimed to not know that fans were chanting for him in recent home games, as well as during last week’s WWE Survivor Series event at Rogers Arena.

“Whatever it was, I appreciate it,” he said.

He’s obviously ready to play, but knows it may not go exactly that smoothly.

“I’m sure rust is expected. I think this weekend’s four weeks, so I mean, it’s gonna be: try to keep it easy on myself, play my game,” he said. “Just literally try to make it easy on myself. Try to keep it simple, play physical, you know, things that I can control.”

J.T. Miller - Figure 3 — Photo The Province

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• Rick Tocchet said that Miller would have Brock Boeser, playing his 500th game, back with him. And he is looking at playing Nils Höglander on left wing.

Having Miller gets the lineup back to its proper balance, too, he said.

“We’ve been struggling with speed through the middle. I think (JT) coming back is going to help slot everybody,” he said.

• Derek Forbort was also set to return to the lineup, skating on the third pairing with Mark Friedman, who played Tuesday in place of Erik Brännström. Brännström’s defensive play has slipped a little, Tocchet said, but felt the Swede would get back in the lineup soon. He’s had some good practices recently he believes.

With eight healthy defencemen — Vincent Desharnais it dealing with a cold but is otherwise fine — Tocchet said he’s likely to start just using his depth defencemen in a rotation.

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• Despite Thatcher Demko’s strong game on Tuesday, Kevin Lankinen gets the start.

The history: Miller scored the overtime winner against Florida when the two teams met in the Sunshine State in October. That was the Canucks’ first win of the season and kicked off a run of eight-straight road wins for the Canucks.

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The hope: The Canucks need better starts, and they need more overall energy. Thursday’s the night, they’ll say.

The fear: The Panthers, the Stanley Cup champions, are vastly improved from the team that stumbled to open the season and lost to the Canucks. They have won three straight — and six of their last seven games — and are flying high in general. Can the Canucks keep up?

The top guns: Jake Debrusk has six goals in five games. Elias Pettersson has eight points.

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The wounded: Canucks: Derek Forbort (leg, day to day), J.T. Miller (personal leave, day to day), Filip Hronek (shoulder, eight weeks). Panthers: none.

The quote: “Every good team in the league is built down the middle, you know, one-two punch, and we’re fortunate to have that. We’re missing one of those guys.” — Conor Garland on his pal J.T. Miller.

The latest: Derek Forbort is back healthy. Will he finally draw back into the lineup? Rick Tocchet said he was a “strong possibility” to play against the Panthers. He practised Wednesday alongside Mark Friedman, who played Tuesday vs. St. Louis.

The lineup:

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood

Höglander-Miller-Boeser

Joshua-Suter-Garland

Heinen-Blueger-Sasson

Hughes-Myers

Soucy-Juulsen

Forbort-Friedman

Lankinen

The prediction: The Canucks still aren’t firing on all cylinders. But they’ve got their No. 1 goalie back, with the Canucks playing stout defensive hockey in front of him. Plus Florida bleeds goals against. The setup is there. Watch Vancouver take at 4-2 win.

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