After he was expected to be healthy-scratched in the Vancouver Canucks' surprising 4-2 win against the Minnesota Wild last night, Jonathan Lekkerimäki will be returning to the AHL. This comes after the forward's past four games in the NHL, during which he put up one assist. 

Lekkerimäki began the season with the Canucks but was injured on October 19 and proceeded to miss nearly a month of play. When he returned, he was assigned to Abbotsford, where he played in five games and put up three goals and two assists. His re-assignment comes on the same day that Abbotsford will celebrate the franchise's fifth anniversary. 

This particular roster move can indicate a couple of things. The most likely reason for this move is that Canucks forward Nils Höglander, who has yet to play this season due to sustaining and injury during the pre-season, will be activated off the injured reserve. Höglander has been practicing regularly with the team and is expected to make his season debut sometime this upcoming week. 

Another thing to consider about this move is that center Elias Pettersson missed last night's game due to an upper-body injury, putting the team at a total of three natural centers in the lineup yesterday. With that being said, given that Lukas Reichel is still with the team and Höglander is expected to be back soon, this particular move is not the likely outcome. 

The Canucks resume their four-game home stand with a match against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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