Edmonton Oilers
Adam Henrique participated in the morning skate on Thursday but missed his third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury when the Oilers visited the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Arena.
"I think he's very close, day to day," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday. "I talked to him on the ice, it's day to day."
Henrique sustained the injury against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. He played all five games of the series but did not participate in four practices between the series-clinching 4-3 win on May 1, and he did not play in Game 1 against the Canucks on May 8.
The forward played in a 4-3 overtime win two days later in Game 2, but has missed the past two games.
Henrique, who has two points (one goal, one assist) in six playoff games, was acquired by Edmonton from the Anaheim Ducks in a three-team trade also involving the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6. -- Derek Van Diest
Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand practiced Thursday and is questionable for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Florida Panthers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Bruins captain exited before the third period of Game 3 on May 10 with an upper-body injury following a hit by Panthers center Sam Bennett. He missed Game 4 on Sunday, a 3-2 loss, and a 2-1 win in Game 5 at Florida on Tuesday that extended Boston’s season.
Marchand, who is day to day, participated in the morning skate Tuesday but remained unavailable. He skated on a line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic at practice Thursday.
The Bruins trail 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.
“I will say he looked good, but he’s got boxes to check,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Thursday. “Day to day. We have the extra day, which is beneficial for all of our players with bumps and bruises that they have. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
Marchand has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 games this postseason, sharing the team lead with forward Jake DeBrusk (five goals, five assists in 12 games).
“Having him around is awesome in any capacity,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said after the win Tuesday. “His presence for us means a lot.” -- Joe Pohoryles
Vancouver Canucks
Thatcher Demko is progressing in his recovery from an undisclosed injury, according to coach Rick Tocchet, but there is still no timeline for the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie to return.
Demko hasn’t played since sustaining the injury late in the opener of a six-game series victory against the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round on April 21. He resumed skating two weeks ago and has been on the ice this week working on crease movements with goaltending coach Ian Clark.
“All I know is he's improved immensely the last 72 hours,” Tocchet said Wednesday. “I can give you that. I'm not going to give you a percentage, but it's better than 10 percent (improvement). He's really, the last 2-3 days, made some strides. Big strides.”
Tocchet was asked about the possibility of playing Game 6 at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, or a potential Game 7 back in Vancouver on Tuesday. The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2.
“I don't know if I want to go that far,” Tocchet said.
Arturs Silovs is 4-3 with a 2.71 GAA and .907 save percentage in seven postseason starts.
Demko is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goalie, after going 35-14-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and five shutouts despite missing five weeks late in the season with a left knee injury.
He played the final two games of the regular season before getting injured in the playoff opener against Nashville, but Tocchet said at the time it was not related to the previous knee injury. -- Kevin Woodley
