Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Vancouver Canucks may be getting a boost to their lineup at some point in the very near future.
With the team sputtering in multiple aspects of the game, having surrendered their stranglehold on first place to the Minnesota Wild, the return of Kevin Bieksa should bring not only an upswing in their performance on the blue line, but should provide a mental boost as well.
Bieksa has appeared in just one game since February 22nd. He’s been battling a groin injury and has been listed as day-to-day in trying to shake the nagging injury, while somehow managing to avoid injured reserve.
Cam Barker will go in place of Bieksa again on Tuesday night. The human pylon has played in just three games for the Canucks this season, with one point.
There’s no doubt that the Canucks need Bieksa back in the lineup. The one game that he has played in the past couple of weeks was the only game that the Canucks have won over the last stretch of seven games. They’ve managed to get points, with a couple of overtime losses over that stretch, but also lost a couple of division games, including one to the Wild on Saturday.
Bieksa won’t return on Tuesday, as indicated by Barker’s presence, but could very well return to the lineup later this week. His return cannot come soon enough for the reeling Canucks. He’s not the kind of guy that is going to come in and end their struggles by himself, but should provide a nice mental boost for this team when he does return.
