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VANCOUVER — "Spicy Tuna" may have played his last game this season.
Utah Hockey Club forward Liam O'Brien will miss four weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach André Tourigny said Sunday. That recovery timeline means his return will be right around Utah's final regular season games.
O'Brien sustained the injury during the third period of Utah's loss to Seattle Friday. The loss comes at an inopportune time for a team trying to stay in the playoff chase.
O'Brien hasn't had a productive season on the scoresheet — he's recorded just 2 points (both assists) on the season — but the team has regularly cited his energy as one of the catalysts for its strong play of late.
That energy made O'Brien a fan favorite before he even took the ice in a Utah jersey.
"OB is an important part of our team," Tourigny said. "His emotion, his drive, his passion every day, and he's a really structured guy. But we've had injuries before, so it's just next man up; it's unfortunate. We're thinking about him, but at the same time, we're moving on — next man up."
The next man will be Nick Bjugstad, who recently was activated off injured reserve. He will skate on the fourth line with Michael Carcone and Kevin Stenlund on Sunday in Vancouver in what is Utah's biggest game of the season to date. Bjugstad hasn't played since March 1.
"I think what's important for (Bjugstad) is not to change his game," Tourigny said. "What's made him successful in the NHL for a long, long time is he's a good skater, he has a big body, can protect the puck and bring the puck to the net. He uses his body well, so he cannot change."
He said the same thing for the team as a whole.
Utah has played good hockey over the last few weeks as it has fought its way back into the playoff mix. Tourigny doesn't want the emotions of a potential season-altering game against the Canucks to change how his team prepared or how it plays.
"If you arrive in an important game, and now you need to change your game, why didn't you do it before?" he said. "You look how our leaders behave on a daily basis, the way they work, the way they prepare, I think they do a really good job, and that influences the group."
He's expecting the same on Sunday.
Utah is 4 points behind Vancouver, and a win would put the team on the doorstep of the postseason picture; a loss may be hard to overcome this late in the season.
"It's everything you want; you want to play in the meaningful games," captain Clayton Keller said. "That's why you put in the extra work in the summer for big moments an big games like this. We're just gonna go out there, play our best, and see what happens."
