Evening Notes: Arvidsson, Allen, Whitecloud, Sasson

Edmonton Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson has resumed skating for the first time since exiting the lineup last month with an undisclosed injury, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shared with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Knoblauch added that the hope is that Arvidsson will return to team practices next week. Little about the veteran winger’s injury has been revealed. He played through 14 minutes of ice time in his most recent game – an overtime win over the Islanders on November 12th. The Oilers announced Arvidsson as banged up shortly after that game, designating him as day-to-day. He was placed on injured reserve nine days later, and has since missed Edmonton’s last 11 games.

Arvidsson signed a two-year, $8MM contract with Edmonton this summer, but hasn’t found his footing in the new setting just yet. He’s played in 16 games and scored five points this season, though the bulk of that scoring came from a three-assist night against Pittsburgh on October 25th. Arvidsson has scored two goals in eight games since then, but still sits far away from the 31-goal season he managed in 2016-17. Repeated lower-body injuries held Arvidsson out of all but 18 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season, though he still managed an impressive 15 points. He’ll look to return to the lineup, and quickly rediscover his scoring kick, before the calendar turns over.

Other notes around the league:

• New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen is questionable for the team’s Tuesday game against Toronto per a team announcement. No specifics were provided as to what may limit the veteran backup. Allen was on the wrong side of a shutout on Sunday, allowing three goals on 22 shots in the Devils’ 4-0 loss to Colorado. Despite the losing efforts, Allen’s season-long stat line has been more encouraging – with a 5-4-1 record and .904 save percentage through 10 games. New Jersey would need to recall a backup for Jacob Markstrom should Allen miss Tuesday’s game. Utica Comets starter Nico Daws would likely stand as the next man up. Daws has three wins and a .897 in 13 AHL games this season.
• Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud returned to full practices on Monday shares Jesse Granger of The Athletic. It’s the next step towards a return after Whitecloud returned to practices with a no-contact jersey on Friday. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Whitecloud is expected to play at some point on Vegas’ upcoming three-game road trip. The 28-year-old defender has two points, 14 penalty minutes, and a +5 through 21 games this season; while operating out of a bottom-four role. He’ll be quickly slotted back into the lineup when back to full health, likely bumping Kaedan Korczak to the press box.
• The Vancouver Canucks are taking advantage of their off-days, assigning waiver-exempt forward Max Sasson to the minor leagues to help accrue cap space ahead of their Tuesday night game. Sasson made his NHL debut earlier this season and has since recorded two assists and a +2 in seven games. The 24-year-old has operated from Vancouver’s fourth-line, and is likely to return with a call-up before the Canucks’ next game. If he does stay in the minors, he’ll be returning to an AHL stat line featuring four goals, nine points, and six penalty minutes through nine games.