A freak collision overshadows the score
Edmonton beat Vancouver 2-1, but the result barely mattered by the time everyone left the building. Canucks forward Filip Chytil left the game in the first period after an odd collision with referee Riley Brace, and the injury is now the only story anyone in Vancouver wants to talk about.
The two collided near the boards during a normal sequence of play, sending Chytil crashing awkwardly into the glass while Brace also needed a moment to gather himself before continuing. Chytil skated gingerly off the ice and did not return. Coach Manny Malhotra did not try to downplay the concern afterward. “It’s never good to see a guy leave the game,” he said. “We’re having his shoulder looked at and we’ll know more Friday after the imaging.”
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The hockey, for what it was worth
Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson scored for an Edmonton team that got the two points, for whatever preseason points are worth. Linus Karlsson answered for Vancouver, keeping the Canucks within a goal for most of the night before Edmonton closed it out late. Both Edmonton scorers are fighting for bottom-six or call-up roles this fall, and a multi-goal night in a game like this is exactly the kind of tape that can tip a training-camp battle.
None of that will matter much in Vancouver until the imaging results come back. Chytil has dealt with injury trouble before, and a shoulder issue at this point in September puts his availability for opening night squarely in question.
What it means going forward
The Canucks expect clarity within a day. Until then, Malhotra’s guarded tone after the final buzzer said more about the night than the scoreline did, and Vancouver’s depth at forward is about to get tested regardless of what the imaging shows.
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