Injury Updates: Patrick, Vilardi, DeKeyser

Flyers center Nolan Patrick is getting closer to a return to the lineup as Sam Carchidi of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the youngster participated in practice in full with the team on Wednesday.  However, head coach Alain Vigneault was quick to caution that he’ll need more than a few skates with the team before getting clearance to play after missing the entire season so far with a migraine disorder.  Accordingly, he’s still probably at least a week away from returning although the fact that he has progressed to practices over light morning skates is promising.  Patrick is still exempt from waivers until he plays in his ninth NHL game this season so considering how long he has missed, a stint in the minors to work off some rust is a distinct possibility while it would also allow Philadelphia to bank a bit of much-needed cap space.

Other injury notes from around the league:

• Kings prospect Gabriel Vilardi returned to the ice for the first time on Tuesday as he tries to work his way back from continued back trouble, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. The injury limited him to just four games on an AHL conditioning stint last season and limited him in his post-draft year as well.  The 2017 first-round pick is expected to be evaluated at the end of the week and on a week-by-week basis after that.  It still sounds as if he’s a long way from returning but getting back on the ice is a start.
• Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser missed the final few minutes of Detroit’s last game on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury and it will hold him out of tonight’s game at the very least. Dana Wakiji of the Red Wings’ team site mentions (Twitter link) that the blueliner has left the team to return to Detroit for further evaluation.  DeKeyser is second on the team in average ice time per game as he checks in at 22:04 per night.