Will Conor Garland play vs. Blues? Latest Canucks injury update

After missing Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets, it appears the Vancouver Canucks are preparing as though Conor Garland will be available to play on Thursday evening against the St. Louis Blues.

According to Dan Murphy of Sportsnet, Garland returned for Thursday's morning skate, practicing on the fourth line alongside Dakota Joshua and Nils Aman.

Linus Karlsson, a recent emergency callup from the AHL Abbotsford Canucks, appears set to remain in the lineup as the third-line right wing... for now.

The fourth line seems like an unusual place for Garland to be put in by head coach Rick Tocchet, so it could be possible that Tocchet and the Canucks are trying to monitor Garland's minutes in his first game back.

That, of course, could change depending on the situation and the score of the game.

The Canucks and Blues are currently duking it out for the second wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. The two sides are equal with each other at 75 points, though the Canucks hold the playoff spot because of points percentage with the game in hand.

Needless to say, the Canucks will need to win this one in regulation, and they will have the best chance of doing so if and when Garland is in the lineup.

In his last appearance for the Canucks, a 3-1 loss to Utah, Garland played 27 shifts - his most since he took 28 shifts in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Jan. 21. Garland generally ranges between 18 and 25 shifts a night, and Tocchet did acknowledge that the 29-year-old winger was a little banged up.

His role in the kerfuffle at the end of Saturday's win against Chicago certainly did not help Garland out in that regard, but a win is a win.

It is likely, though not confirmed, that Garland will return for the Canucks and draw into the lineup for the game against the Blues on Thursday evening.