The Blues will welcome back a key blueliner tonight against Edmonton. Team reporter Chris Pinkert reports that Justin Faulk will return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old has been more limited than usual offensively over the first couple of months as he has just one goal and six assists so far in 25 games. However, Faulk is carrying a big workload, averaging a team-high 23:26 per night, his highest ATOI since the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Akil Thomas off injured reserve. The 24-year-old had missed the last week due to an undisclosed injury. Thomas has been limited to just ten games so far in his first full NHL season and has a goal and an assist while logging a little more than 11 minutes a night of playing time. Los Angeles had two open roster spots so no corresponding move was needed to bring Thomas back to the active roster.
- The Red Wings won’t have goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon available for a little while longer. MLive’s Ansar Khan relays (Twitter link) that the netminders will likely miss the next two games as they continue to deal with lower-body injuries. Talbot has posted an impressive .915 SV% in 15 games in his first season with Detroit while Lyon is only a few points lower at .911 in his first nine outings. Ville Husso will continue to serve as the starter for the time being while prospect Sebastian Cossa is back with the team after being papered down on Friday for cap reasons and will serve as Husso’s backup.
- New Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen took part in the team’s optional practice today in a non-contact jersey, notes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed more than three weeks with an upper-body injury and is still likely a few games away from being cleared to return. Vaakanainen has played in just five games so far this season, those coming with Anaheim before being part of yesterday’s Jacob Trouba trade.
After last nights loss to the Av’s, Lalonde has shuffled the lines. Raymond, Larkin, and DeBrincat. Copp, Compher, and Terasenko. Kane, Kasper, and Rasmussen. Valeno, Berggren, and Motte/Fischer.
Looks like Kane is going to ask for a trade. This team is on the verge of a collapse and a new rebuild. If Yzerman was smart, he’d trade almost anyone on this team, except Raymond, Larkin, Kasper, Sieder, and Edvinsson. I’d mention Cossa, but he’s just being a bench warmer until Talbot or Lyon come back.
Wondering if Lalonde should be amongst the aforementioned potential trades?
Tend to agree about the rebuild V2.0, they have taken a decided step backwards from last season on the offense, and probably a little on the D as well. Notably Walman, 20 points in 25 games with Sharks.