With several teams ending their bye weeks, Saturday is once again shaping up to be a busy day in the NHL with nine games on tap. Here is where we’ll keep tabs on the minor roster moves of the day.
- Following their loss to Vancouver on Friday, the Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that they have sent winger Tyler Motte and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to AHL Cleveland. Motte has spent the bulk of the season on the fourth line in Columbus but should be in line for more playing time in the minors while Korpisalo’s reassignment has been classified as a conditioning stint. He has made just two starts at the NHL level since December 2nd but has had a couple of appearances with Cleveland already this month after being sent down earlier in the month. With Columbus on their bye, both will likely be recalled next week.
- The Capitals announced that they have returned winger Travis Boyd to Hershey of the AHL. His stint with the big club was short-lived as he was only recalled yesterday and he did not play in their game against Carolina. Boyd has been productive at the minor league level this season, tallying 27 points (8-19-27) in 37 games. Washington has also returned winger Jakub Vrana and defenseman Madison Bowey to Hershey, via the AHL’s transactions page. The moves come as no surprise with the Caps on their bye as they have been shuffling the two back and forth on a regular basis recently to save a little bit of cap room.
- With the Lightning entering their bye, the team has sent goaltender Louis Domingue back to AHL Syracuse, per a team release. Domingue has made one appearance with Tampa Bay since being recalled, earning a victory over Detroit. That is his lone win this season as he struggled considerably in six appearances with Arizona earlier this season. CapFriendly notes via Twitter that Connor Ingram has been recalled to take Domingue’s spot and keep the team at the mandatory minimum goalies on the roster.
- The Stars have recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington from Texas of the AHL, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 2013 second-round pick has yet to play in an NHL game. He is in his third professional season and has picked up three goals and ten assists in 39 minor league contests so far this season.
- The Canucks announced via Twitter that they have assigned winger Nikolay Goldobin to AHL Utica. The 22-year-old has been reasonably productive this season with four points in 14 games but saw just 6:32 of ice time last night as Sven Baertschi’s return dropped him down the depth chart. He’ll be in line for much more playing time with the Comets where he has averaged more than a point per game (19 points in 18 contests) so far this season.
- After losing both Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader to injuries during today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, MLive’s Ansar Khan reports the Detroit Red Wings have recalled Dominic Turgeon from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL this evening for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 21-year-old center was a third-round pick in 2014 and will be making his first trip to Detroit. He has nine goals and 14 assists in 23 games for the Griffins this year.