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The NHL is hoping to bring back regular-season games in Europe as early as next season, a source told ESPN.com. The league is looking at potentially having two regular-season games in Europe. It’s not a done deal and we’re already getting late into the calendar, so perhaps it won’t get done on time, but there’s still hope for next season. As well, word is the NHL is also looking at staging preseason games in China, which I would read as a reminder of the NHL’s interest in making sure it has its players participating in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

LeBrun also reports Las Vegas may get an early start to free agency.

4:15

It must pain Henrik to have to talk like this. Once, when they were younger, the Canucks would just skate the other team off the ice.

Now it’s about keeping it tight and looking to exploit turnovers. Via the Canadian Press:

“We’re not going to be a power offence team, that’s just the way it is,” said Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin. “That’s the way we have to win. We have to realize that.”

The Canucks won their first four games of the year — two in OT, one in a shootout and another in regulation — with three of those victories coming by way of 2-1 scorelines, before losing 4-3 at the Los Angeles Kings and 4-2 at the Anaheim Ducks last weekend prior to that setback against Ottawa.

Vancouver won three of its games despite trailing after 40 minutes — the club accomplished that feat three times all of last season — but Sedin has noticed the team beginning to stray from what had made it successful early, a trend that had consequences at both ends of the rink.