"Sami Salo walked off the Vancouver Canucks' charter Monday afternoon without a noticeable limp. No crutches. No cane. No wheelchair.

Salo was carrying his own luggage and not carrying an ice pack. So how good is this for the Canucks as they face elimination again Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks? No one is saying. Blackhawks lead the series 3-2 going into Tuesday's contest (6:30 p.m., CBC, Team 1040).

"Sami is day-to-day," solemnly declared Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault, who dispenses all medical information to the media. "All I can say for now is it's day-to-day."

"I don't know Sami's status," added captain Roberto Luongo. "Hopefully he'll be good to go, which I don't know. It was tough to watch."

Salo, as most of the hockey world knows, was hit in the groin area by a Duncan Keith slapper in the last second of the first period Sunday, a game won 4-1 by the Canucks. The Keith shot first deflected off Canuck forward Ryan Johnson before it struck Salo. He went down, stayed down and was later taken to hospital on a stretcher. Initial reports called it an injury to one of his testicles.

If the Finn can't go — he wasn't available for comment Monday — journeyman Lawrence Nycholat will take his spot in the Canuck lineup. Nycholat has not played a game in the league this season. The 31-year-old Calgary native has just 50 NHL games on his resume in 10 seasons as a professional. Fourteen of the those games came with the Canucks in 2008-09."