Ryan Miller to miss 4-6 weeks with lower-body injury after collision

Vancouver's playoff hopes just took a major hit.

The Vancouver Canucks are currently in the thick of a flat-out dogfight for one of the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference, so they can ill-afford any major setbacks at this point.

Right on cue comes news that Canucks goalie Ryan Miller is out for 4-6 weeks after teammate Jannik Hansen collided with him on Sunday in New York.

The incident occurred just minutes into the second period against the Islanders. Hansen lost his balance, crashed into his netminder and Miller couldn't move without incurring lots of pain.

This means the responsibility of helping carry the Canucks to the playoffs falls on the shoulders of Eddie Lack. Vancouver has to have some level of confidence in him, since his numbers are similar to Miller's with a 2.47 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. The real question is whether the new backup, Jacob Markstrom, can pull his weight when called upon after a mixed bag of performances since joining the organization.

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