Bruins center David Krejci has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week and has been ruled out of action for the rest of this week, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). The upper-body injury occurred last Thursday against Vancouver after awkwardly hitting the boards. Although he played in all 82 games last season, staying healthy has been an issue at times for the 31-year old who missed 45 games due to injuries between 2014-15 and 2015-16. For the time being, Boston will likely shift David Backes to play down the middle, a position he has plenty of experience with from his time in St. Louis.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick has resumed skating but isn’t quite ready to return yet from a concussion sustained on October 17th, notes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Additionally, blueliner Justin Schultz is doubtful for their next game on Thursday after suffering a concussion last night against the Oilers. As a result, Zach Trotman will likely make his season debut after being a healthy scratch since being recalled last Thursday.
- Stars defender Stephen Johns has been diagnosed with concussion symptoms, notes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The team was carrying eight defensemen already so it’s unlikely they’ll look to make a corresponding roster move. Johns has played in all nine games with Dallas this season, recording a goal and two assists while averaging just over 17 minutes per game.
- Despite leaving Tuesday’s game early after hitting the glass head first after taking a check, Flyers center Nolan Patrick is not expected to miss any time and should be ready to play on Thursday night, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The second overall pick from June has played in all nine games for Philadelphia so far which means that he will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract in his next outing. Carchidi adds that winger Wayne Simmonds missed practice today while being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.