Pettersson immediately reached for his right knee after getting untangled from Kotkaniemi. He skated off the ice under his own power.
After the game, Canucks head coach Travis Green said he doesn't expect Pettersson to play on Saturday in Toronto, but the 20-year-old likely won't be out too long, according to TSN 1040. Green also added that Pettersson will remain with the club on its road trip.
The Canucks' rookie missed six games earlier this season with a concussion, but he still leads all first-year players in scoring with 42 points in 37 games. He was named to the Pacific Division All-Star team on Wednesday.
Ovechkin notched his 30th goal of the season on Thursday, becoming just the second player in NHL history to begin their career with 14 consecutive 30-goal seasons, according to Capitals Public Relations. Fellow Caps legend Mike Gartner began his career with 15 straight 30-goal campaigns. Jaromir Jagr had a 15-year streak of 30 goals, but it was not to begin his career.
Here's a look at the goal, in which Ovechkin snipes from the opposite side of the ice we've become accustomed to seeing him bury.
Ovechkin's 30th came in just his 39th game this season, matching his lowest game total to 30 goals from 2007-08, when he potted a career-high 65, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Toronto Maple Leafs phenom Auston Matthews was voted as the Atlantic Division's captain at the 2019 NHL All-Star game, but if he had it his way, he'd sacrifice his spot for teammates Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly, who were left off the roster.
"In my opinion, having missed the time I did, seeing those three guys, the way they played - Johnny (Tavares), Mitch (Marner), and Mo (Rielly) - I think I'd give up my spot for them any day of the week because they've had unbelievable seasons," Matthews told TSN's Kristen Shilton.
Matthews missed a month with a shoulder injury, but still sits second on the Maple Leafs in goals (19) and fourth in points (36) despite skating in only 26 of the team's 40 games.
Tavares - who was named to the All-Star game roster - Marner, and Rielly have served as the team's offensive catalysts from the beginning of the season, all the way through to the midway mark of the 2018-19 campaign.
Rielly's 44 points are the most among NHL defensemen, while Marner leads the Leafs with 55 points and sits fourth in the league with 40 assists. The controversial All-Star game format - which requires one representative from each team - is responsible for leaving two of the league's premier players out of the midseason festivities.
For Marner, being left off the team despite a breakout season isn't a concern.
"Focus on here, focus on helping this team win. Nothing you can do about it," Marner told Shilton, adding that it would be cool to be there, but "it's not a big deal ... there's bigger things in the world to think about than that."
Rielly can still crack the roster thanks to a fan vote, but Marner's chances of making the All-Star game would seemingly need to come as an injury replacement, and given the format, that injury would likely need to occur to Matthews or Tavares.
Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel will miss at least the next two games and be re-evaluated early next week as he deals with an upper-body injury, head coach Phil Housley announced Thursday.
Eichel was banged up versus the New York Islanders on New Year's Eve and left the contest after just four shifts.
The 22-year-old ranks 10th in NHL scoring with 49 points in 40 games, and was named to the Atlantic Division All-Star team on Wednesday.
The New Jersey Devils have signed head coach John Hynes to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
Hynes is in the last year of his current contract and fourth season with the Devils. He surpassed Peter DeBoer to become the second-winningest coach in franchise history earlier this season, trailing only Jacques Lemaire.
"John's leadership has been instrumental in building both culture and systems that are focused on the development of our players," Devils general manager Ray Shero said in a statement. "He has cultivated a group of veteran leaders while helping our young players develop and gain experience.
"John is to be commended for the progress the team has made under his direction and this commitment shows that we are confident in the role he will play in our future success."
Last season, Hynes led the Devils to their first playoff appearance in six years after the team finished with 97 regular-season points for their highest total since the 2011-2012 campaign. They were dispatched in the first round of the postseason in five games by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
New Jersey has taken a step back this year, currently sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points out of the final wild-card spot.
Atop every goaltender's list of hopeful changes is to win more games, but the elite netminders of the league will also set their sights on adding some hardware in 2019.
Here are five goalies poised to make a run at the Vezina Trophy over the final three months of the season.
5. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
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The Golden Knights have quietly climbed up the Western Conference standings and now trail only the Calgary Flames by a mere two points. The club has gone 6-1-3 in its last 10 games and Fleury has played a vital role in that run.
He leads the league with 23 wins - on pace for a career-high 43 - and six shutouts. After a shaky October, Fleury's gone 18-6-3 with a .916 save percentage, 2.48 goals-against average, and looks to have Vegas in line for a second straight playoff run.
4. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
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Rinne and the Predators have endured a recent tough stretch, but the reigning Vezina Trophy winner is still in the running to repeat this year.
The 36-year-old boasts the second-best goals-against average (2.25) among those to play at least 15 games, to go along with a .920 save percentage.
His .905 high-danger save percentage ranks second and he's fourth in goals saved above average.
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
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He's back!
Vasilevskiy returned from a foot injury that caused him to miss a month and subsequently jumped back into the running for the Vezina Trophy.
He's made numerous highlight-reel saves, ranks among the league leaders in all major goaltending categories, and has helped the Lightning retain their status as the team to be feared.
The 24-year-old is rocking an absurd 15-3-2 record, and with the club's offense running as hot as it is, he's sure to keep piling up the wins.
2. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Outside of the Lightning, the Maple Leafs have arguably been the most dominant club in the East, and while the team's offense has been stellar, so, too, has its netminding.
Andersen sits second in wins, fifth in shots faced, second in goals saved above average at five-on-five, and sixth in save percentage and eighth in goals-against average among goalies to play at least 15 games.
The Leafs might be stacked up front, but it's quite clear their most valuable player is the man between the pipes.
1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
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It's astonishing that the Ducks remain in a playoff spot, but that's just a testament to how great Gibson has been this season.
The Ducks average the fewest shots per game, allow the second most, and average the second-fewest goals per game, and still sit in the second wild-card spot in the West.
Gibson is keeping the Ducks above water, which is nothing short of spectacular.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with some major complications in the crease.
Starter Frederik Andersen was placed on injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 23, as he deals with a nagging groin injury. His backup Garret Sparks is also out of action for precautionary reasons after going through concussion protocol following Wednesday's practice, the team announced.
With both regulars out, the Maple Leafs recalled recent trade acquisition Michael Hutchinson, as well as Kasimir Kaskisuo from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis to carry the load versus the Minnesota Wild on Thursday afternoon.
Hutchinson made four starts with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 before the Leafs traded for him on Dec. 29. Kaskisuo has appeared in 11 games with the Marlies, going 3-5-1 with an .866 save percentage.
