Jake DeBrusk likely to sit out as forward-rich Vancouver Canucks face surging Kraken

Vancouver coach Adam Foote suddenly has an excess of forwards, as the Canucks have gotten some players back to full strength and added others via the Quinn Hughes trade more than two weeks ago.

Which led to a surprise announcement Sunday.

Top-six winger Jake DeBrusk apparently will be a healthy scratch when the visiting Canucks, who are last in the NHL's overall standings, face the rival Seattle Kraken on Monday night in the first of four meetings between the teams this season.

"It sucks. It's embarrassing any time you miss a game," DeBrusk told reporters after practice Sunday. "I'd be wrong to say I wasn't pissed off right now, but I understand I need the jolt. Any time you're in this position, it's a lot of things. I have to control what I can do and just worry about me."

DeBrusk, a nine-year veteran, scored a career-high 28 goals last season, his first in Vancouver after the first seven with the Boston Bruins. But DeBrusk has just nine goals this season -- including only one at even strength. He has just one goal in 11 games this month.

"I believe in him to reset and know we need him to be at the net and getting those goals," Foote said. "This will be good for him. Sometimes, it's good to sit back and rest that brain and come back in."

Forwards Aatu Raty and Nils Hoglander are expected to be back in the lineup Monday as the Canucks attempt to snap a two-game losing streak.

Center Elias Pettersson returned for Saturday's 6-3 loss to visiting San Jose, going a minus-3 in his 500th career contest. Pettersson missed eight games with an upper-body injury.

Forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren and defenseman Zeev Buium made their Rogers Arena debuts Saturday after being acquired from the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12 for Hughes, the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman.

"Quinn is Quinn. We all know how good he is," Pettersson said. "It's tough to lose him -- a friend for a long time for me -- but it's a business at the end of the day. I'm just happy with the return we got. The players are looking good. We just turn the page and move forward.

The Kraken have won four games in a row following a 1-9-1 skid to go from the Western Conference cellar to within a point of a wild-card playoff spot. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves on Sunday night as the Kraken defeated the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 4-1.

"The first game after the (holiday) break is always a little bit scrambly, but yeah, unbelievable job tonight (by the team)," Grubauer said. "You've got to keep building, keep doing the right things."

The Kraken continued to get key performances from a trio of forwards. Eeli Tolvanen had two goals -- both into an empty net -- and an assist to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists) and give him a team-leading 25 points.

Chandler Stephenson added a goal and an assist and has five goals over the past seven games, and team captain Jordan Eberle scored for a third consecutive game to give him a team-leading 14 goals this season.

"They've contributed and given us a chance to win," Kraken coach Lane Lambert said of the trio. "Certainly, we talked a little bit about offense over the last 15 games or whatever, but it's nice to see (them producing), and it's nice to see for them. It makes them feel good, for sure."

The Kraken also got forward Jared McCann, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, back on Sunday after he missed seven games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Vince Dunn returned after sitting out the last game before the holiday break with an upper-body ailment.

--Field Level Media