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22	August 2018

his NHL debut Thursday against Edmonton.

The New Jersey Devils are not sure whether top defenseman Sami Vatanen is going to be available for Game 5 of their first-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Vatanen is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury after being hurt on a big hit by Nikita Kucherov in a 3-1 loss Wednesday night that put the Devils within a game of elimination. The 26-year-old Finn did not make the trip to Florida on Thursday Youth Alex McGough Jersey , but he might join the team there.

Devils coach John Hynes didn�t give out much information about the injury before the Devils left.

�The focus right now is really on Game 5 and getting our team prepared to play and getting excited to play, and going through the video and making sure we are a better team and ready to put one of our best performances on the ice in Game 5,� Hynes said at a news conference in New Jersey.

Vatanen was hurt late in the first period of the Lightning�s win when he was checked in the shoulder and head area by Kucherov. He did not return.

No penalty was called on the play and Hynes screamed at referees Tim Peel and Wes McCauley before play resumed.

The NHL reviewed the hit Thursday and no supplemental action was taken against Kucherov, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in an email to an inquiry by The Associated Press.

Tampa Bay leads the series 3-1 and can wrap up the series at home Saturday.

�The good thing for me as a coach is that I have a lot of competitors in that room, guys with a lot of pride and guys who have had push back all year long,� Hynes said. �Guys that have been counted out and all year long they have responded.�

If Vatanen can�t play, the Devils can replace him with either Mirco Mueller or Steven Santini. Mueller played in the first two games of the series, while Santini started the season with the team but spent the second half in the AHL

Replacing Vatanen will not be easy. He plays in all situations.

�Sami�s a really important part of our team Cheap Marcedes Lewis Jersey ,� Hynes said. �He�s a really good player for us, but if unfortunately he isn�t able to go, it�s next man up. We�ve said it all year long, it�s not about the guys out of your lineup, it�s about the performance of the guys in your lineup.�

Vatanen has led the Devils in time on ice since being acquired from Anaheim in late November. He averaged 23:23 in the first three games of the series, but only played 6:46 on Wednesday night.

Vancouver coach Travis Green did a double take when he saw Alex Biega doing postgame TV interviews.

Biega got his first goal in over three years, Brandon Sutter had two goals and an assist and the Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night.

�You don�t see that a lot with the Bulldog being interviewed after his game-winner, so I had to get a picture of it James Washington Jersey Steelers ,� Green said about Biega with a smile.

Biega, who last scored on Feb. 16, 2015, blasted a slap shot from the corner of the blue-line that cleared traffic and found the net, giving Vancouver a 2-1 lead three minutes into the third.

�The other (goal) was around the same spot, so I think I�m going to have to shoot pucks after practice around that spot,� Biega said.

Sam Gagner also scored for Vancouver, which has won three of four since losing seven straight. Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots.

Andrew Cogliano scored for the Ducks Royce Freeman Jersey Elite , who wrapped a four-game trip and are on a 5-1-1 stretch.

The loss dropped Anaheim into a tie with the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division, though the Kings have a game in hand. The teams play Friday night.

�We�ve got probably two of the biggest games of the year coming up, L.A. on Friday night and Colorado on Sunday,� coach Randy Carlyle said. �That pretty much sums it up, it�s desperation time for everybody and we�re going to have to play to a higher level than we did tonight.�

Anaheim�s John Gibson made 26 saves. He has been dominant against Vancouver, coming into the game 6-1-1 with a 1.37 goals-against average and three shutouts against the Canucks.

Vancouver got to him at 9:53 in the opening period. Daniel Sedin�s shot from the faceoff circle bounced off Gibson and right to Gagner, who batted in the rebound.

Markstrom made two big saves in the second period. The first off a 3-on-2 with Ryan Getzlaf setting up Andrew Cogliano and the second on Corey Perry shooting from inside the slot.

Markstrom later made a gaffe that lead to the Ducks� tying goal. The puck took an odd bounce off the stanchion during a dump-in, and Markstrom was caught stranded as Cogliano whipped the errant puck in.

�If we win 4-1 and that is the goal that beat me I�ll take that any day Baker Mayfield Browns Jersey ,� Markstrom said. �It�s frustrating when it happens, but if we win 4-1, I�ll take that goal any day.�

Sutter made it a two-goal lead when he burst out to a breakaway, hit the side of the net, then collected the puck and flipped it in over an out-of-position Gibson.

Sutter added his second of the night into an empty net with 16 seconds left.

NOTES: U.S. Olympian Troy Terry made his NHL debut for the Ducks. He played on a line with Ondrej Kase and Adam Henrique. � Newly signed Canucks C Adam Gaudette did not dress and is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday against Edmonton.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Host Los Angeles on Friday night.

Canucks: Host Edmonton on Thursday night.

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