SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Vancouver Canucks’ season is lost. But Jannik Hansen can still salvage his own.
The 30-year-old with lightning feet and thunder hands was on pace a month ago to obliterate the 20-goal barrier and the perception that he can’t finish at the National Hockey League level.
Then he suffered a rib injury and missed the first 11 games in March, which contributed to the Canucks’ dive toward the bottom of the standings. Stuck on 19 goals, Hansen was goal-less in four games since his return and hadn’t scored since Feb. 21 when the Canucks visited the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.