Vancouver — The moment of truth has arrived for the Vancouver Canucks. They must learn to cope with the uncertainty of playing without Markus Naslund, their respected captain and scoring leader, for at least a week, perhaps longer.
Naslund has a head injury. Yesterday, he was sent back to Vancouver from Denver, where he was injured on Monday, struck in the head by the blind-side shoulder and elbow blow delivered by rookie Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche.
There was no penalty on the play, not even an interference call when Naslund was not in possession of the puck. The Canucks are naturally irate, upset there was no action taken by referees Dan Marouelli and Rob Martell.
The National Hockey League may fine Vancouver coach Marc Crawford for his high-pitched, emotional tirade after the Canucks won 1-0, with dazed Naslund confined to the dressing room before spending the night in hospital for observation.
Crawford blew a gasket because he believes NHL stars should be afforded special consideration by game officials when there's headhunting.
Replays show Moore hit Naslund in the head before Naslund fell, striking his forehead on the ice. It may not have been intentional, but the effect of the blow knocked the NHL's leading scorer out of action.
Would there have been a penalty had the Canucks delivered a similar hit on Colorado captain Joe Sakic or oft-injured Peter Forsberg?
The same officials, Marouelli and Martell, then overlooked a blatant high stick on Forsberg by Vancouver penalty killer Jarkko Ruutu. Forsberg also was visibly upset and let the referees know in no uncertain terms.
Now the Canucks face a critical part of their schedule without Naslund, who will be examined today by team doctors. He doesn't have a history of concussions, unlike injured NHL players Jeremy Roenick of the Philadelphia Flyers and Eric Lindros of the New York Rangers.
The Canucks will play two more road games this week, tomorrow in Minnesota and Saturday at Edmonton, before returning home for anticipated difficult games next week against the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues.
Naslund, 30, has been the heart and soul of the Canucks since Mark Messier went back to the New York Rangers after the 1999-2000 season, paving the way for Swedish-born Naslund to become the first foreign player to captain Vancouver.
When he suffered a broken leg late in the 2000-01 season in Buffalo, the Canucks faded down the stretch, barely made the playoffs and were swept in the first round by the Avalanche.
In the next two seasons, Naslund missed only one game after his broken leg was repaired, using a steel rod for support. The healing of the mind is something else, of course, with teammates hopeful Naslund is not so seriously injured he can't return in a week or two.
With concussions, you never know, as Adam Deadmarsh of the Los Angeles Kings has found, not playing a single game this season.
Meantime, general manager Brian Burke could have railed for the suspension of Moore, although the NHL apparently saw the hit differently, taking no disciplinary action after Naslund had his face cut open in two places.
Burke was adamant yesterday that a hit to the head of a player away from the puck should be penalized. Moore claimed he did not know it was Naslund, a statement that sent Burke into a rant on a Vancouver radio station, calling it a "cheap shot" and "don't think the Colorado player didn't know who it was."
Burke added, "It's clearly a headhunting shot on a star player by a marginal player."
The fallout is that the scoring burden — Naslund has 30 goals and 68 points — now rests on the broad shoulders of Todd Bertuzzi, whose play has not reached the level of last season, when he scored 46 times, two fewer than Naslund.
Bertuzzi signed a contract revision in the fall that can reach $28-million (U.S.) over four years. It was his aggressive fore-check, eliminating two defenders, that allowed the Canucks to score the goal against the Avs.
Without injured players Naslund, Ed Jovanovski and Magnus Arvedson, it is clear Bertuzzi (16 goals) and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, will have their work cut out in coming games.
