Vancouver Canucks recall Linus Karlsson

His third call-up of the season comes with Phillip Di Giuseppe ailing after leaving a Tuesday night game against the Ottawa Senators. Di Giuseppe, 30, took just three shifts during the game, and left in the first period.

As noted in The Stanchies, PDG is believed to be dealing with a lower-body injury after a non-contact injury. Head coach Rick Tocchett said, “I don’t think he’s going to be playing for a while.”

Karlsson, 24, was drafted by the Canucks in the third round of the 2018 draft and is in his second season of pro hockey in North America. Last season, he drew in for 72 games with the Abbotsford Canucks scoring 24 goals and 49 points. This year, he’s kept up the production through 25 AHL games, with a stellar seven goals and 23 points. His goal totals are tied for fourth on the team, with his 16 assists and point totals both third.

Earlier in the season, he got his first taste of NHL action, appearing in three games and scoring zero points.

The Pacific Divison leading Canucks are set to embark on their longest road trip of the season, one which will keep the club out of their home rink for over two weeks. It kicks off Thursday with a visit to the St. Louis Blues.

Then, the Canucks will head east visiting the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets.

There’s no word yet about what the lines will look like without PDG and with Karlsson in, but in his previous stints, the majority of his ice time came with Nils Hoglander (20:01), Nils Aman (11:49) and Sam Lafferty (9:40), according to Natural Stat Trick.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.