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Is Virtanen Playing Hurt?


dpn1

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Does anyone know if Virtanen playing hurt?  He seems to be very tentative.  He just dosen't seem to have same aggresiveness we saw last year. I think it was against Calgary that he got hit into the boards in front of the players benches and looked like he could have hurt his ribs.  Maybe they should rest him and then send him to Utica for a few weeks to let him get his confidence back up.  What do you all think?

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4 minutes ago, meh_wassup said:

Some of the media is claiming that he's playing hurt but the team is denying it. That's my understanding of the situation.

 

Edit: Probably going to get some flak on creating this thread, just wanted to give ya a heads up bud.

but same media is saying people close to him say that his 100% fine

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Looks like his shoulder to me.

Not that I'm anywhere near his level, but his reaction being slouched in the first after going into the boards looks a lot like how I react with my bad shoulder when I play. I've had rotator cuff issues a long time and that was just my first thought seeing him last night.

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Not sure, but I'm not seeing the drive from him I'd like to see. If NHL.com is right and he's 229 lbs (which I kind of doubt), then he should be barreling his way to the net like Big Bert, but I'm not seeing that kind of determination from him on a regular basis. At the very least, she should be throwing his weight around like a bowling ball.

 

So either he's playing hurt or playing without the necessary drive and determination to stick in the NHL. 

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3 minutes ago, Chris_P said:

Looks like his shoulder to me.

Not that I'm anywhere near his level, but his reaction being slouched in the first after going into the boards looks a lot like how I react with my bad shoulder when I play. I've had rotator cuff issues a long time and that was just my first thought seeing him last night.

the Canucks need to fire their medical staff if thats the case. What happened to Mike Bernstein

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Just now, The 5th Line said:

There is at least one instance every game where he goes down like a sack of potatoes and makes it looks like he is hurt, but he says he is fine and the team wouldn't be playing him if he was hurt.  The fact that people are accusing him of playing injured should wake him up, he should feel embarrassed.  He needs to toughen up out there. 

unless the canucks are telling him not to be tough

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I hope he is playing hurt. He's not the player I was hoping we would see this season. Next to zero offensive  push on his game right now, and his physical play is often just finishing the check after a player has dished the puck up ice. On a positive note, I do like his defensive play so far this year. He seems to be focusing to much on position, which leads him to look lost out there, but he is still so young. Once Rodin comes back, and our 4th line is looking a little more healthy I really hope he goes down to Utica and plays some big line minutes. Still have a ton of faith in Jake.

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Now that the team actually has a bit of depth, I doubt management/coaching would risk playing any injured player let alone their future franchise power forward. 

 

If he wasn't game-ready he wouldn't be in there.  As for his play, I think there is way more to question on the mental side than the physical side at this point.

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This is where he seemed to favor his shoulder last night. The same right shoulder he injured in pre-season.

 

jv18

 

This is where he normally would have lined up and lit up a player along the boards. Notice he turns away his right shoulder to try and chip him with his left. No way he's 100% and I'm convinced his right shoulder is gimped. One of those where the team doctor says he can't hurt it any more than it already is so might as well play through the pain and wait till the offseason to rehab or have another surgery.

 

Remember, I'm not a doctor. I just play one on CDC.

 

virtanen-hit

 

 

Gifs courtesy of The Province.

 

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