The Florida Panthers announced that they have placed center Nick Bjugstad on injured reserve. He suffered a lower body injury last night against the Predators early in the game and did not return. George Richards of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter link) that he’ll miss a couple of weeks and that it’s a groin issue.
To say that this season has been a struggle for Bjugstad would be an understatement. He broke his hand in the preseason which kept him out of the lineup until November 22nd and since then, he has scored just one goal and one assist in 21 games, despite seeing quite a bit of time in the top six. He also has found himself shuffled to the right wing more frequently than he has been accustomed to.
With Roberto Luongo being a late scratch yesterday due to an upper body injury, the Panthers also recalled goaltender Sam Brittain from Manchester of the ECHL. He’s expected to serve as James Reimer’s backup tonight against Boston if Luongo is unable to dress.
Other injury news from around the league:
- Maple Leafs center Ben Smith and defenseman Martin Marincin are skating but are not close to returning to the lineup, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Marincin has been out since December 11th with a lower body while Smith has been sidelined since undergoing hand surgery on December 19th.
- Although he started skating this week, Winnipeg blueliner Tyler Myers is expected to miss at least another week as he continues to recover from a lower body injury, reports Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. He will miss his 25th straight game tonight and has five points (2-3-5) in 11 contests this year.
- The Senators will activate center Zack Smith off IR and expect to have him in the lineup tonight against the Capitals, the team announced via Twitter. The 28 year old missed the last two games with an upper body injury and has 15 points (8-7-15) in 35 games this season.
- Tampa Bay defenseman Braydon Coburn is day-to-day with an upper body injury and will not suit up today against the Flyers, reports Bryan Burns of the teams’ website (Twitter link). Coburn had played in every game this season heading into this one, picking up a goal and four assists but is averaging his lowest ice time per night (15:56) since his rookie season back in 2006-07.