While it was expected that the Senators would be without forward Nick Cousins for the rest of the season after he underwent knee surgery in January, that might not be the case anymore. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the 31-year-old could resume skating with them as soon as Thursday after skating on his own in recent weeks. As a result, it’s possible that Cousins could return either late in the regular season or be available to suit up in the playoffs. Through 47 games this season, Cousins has five goals and eight assists along with 80 hits in a little under 12 minutes of playing time.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Sabres defenseman Erik Brannstrom has had a bit of a whirlwind season with Buffalo being his fourth organization. Colorado signed him in free agency but moved him before the season to Vancouver and he was then flipped to the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade. Along the way, he has only gotten into 28 NHL games this season. As a result, it appears he could be eyeing a change of scenery as SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports (subscription link) that the 25-year-old could be off to Switzerland next season with a long-term contract expected. Brannstrom has 294 career NHL appearances under his belt but with a quickly diminishing role so a change of scenery could help his chances of getting back to the top level down the road. Buffalo can retain his rights via restricted free agency for the next two years.
- The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that center Aleksander Barkov was scratched from tonight’s game versus Toronto due to an upper-body injury. The captain was banged up on Tuesday in Montreal but while he left the game briefly, he returned for the third period and didn’t seem to have any lingering effects. Barkov is second on Florida in scoring this season, tallying 19 goals and 47 assists in 64 games.
- Still with the Panthers, center Nico Sturm suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday in Montreal and is listed as day-to-day, relays team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was injured in a collision in the first period with A.J. Greer in his first shift of the game. Sturm was added from San Jose at the trade deadline as extra depth and has one assist in 11 appearances with Florida in a little under 10 minutes per night of playing time. Sturm did not suit up tonight either with Tomas Nosek taking his spot on the fourth line.