Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley is set to undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of an apparent neck injury sustained on Friday night against the Rangers, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. His first season in a Detroit uniform has not gone to plan and this certainly won’t help things. Through 23 games this season, Daley has managed to record just a single assist despite logging more ice time than he has in the previous two years. That’s hardly the type of output GM Ken Holland was expecting when he signed the 34-year-old to a three-year, $9.5MM deal back in the summer.
Other injury notes from around the Atlantic Division:
- While the Panthers are expected to get center Derek MacKenzie back in their lineup tonight after missing the last five games with a lower-body injury, they’ll have to wait a little while longer before winger Radim Vrbata makes his return, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Sun-Sentinel. The veteran took a puck to the face last Saturday and is hoping to play sometime next week. Vrbata sits tied for fifth in team scoring with three goals and eight assists through 19 games.
- Brad Marchand’s return to Boston’s lineup won’t happen this weekend. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have ruled him out of the lineup for Sunday’s game against Edmonton. They’re now targeting Wednesday against Tampa Bay for his first game back. The Bruins also revealed in a separate tweet that forward David Backes took some contact in practice for the first time since undergoing surgery to remove part of his colon at the beginning of the month. The original recovery time was expected to be eight weeks so it appears he’s ahead of schedule.
- Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber will miss his third straight game on Saturday as a result of his lower-body injury, the team announced via Twitter. He did, however, take part in the morning skate so his return likely isn’t too far away. Weber leads Montreal’s defenders in points (13) and average ice time (26:07) so far this season.