The Utah Mammoth were shut out yesterday by the St. Louis Blues, an unfortunate outcome for Utah that was made even more unfortunate due to an apparent injury suffered by star center Logan Cooley. The 2022 No. 3 pick had to be helped off the ice yesterday after a collision with Blues forward Alexei Toropchenko. Toropchenko did not receive a penalty on the play initially, but was assessed a match penalty after the game’s officials convened.
While we are currently awaiting an official update on Cooley’s status, FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland reported that Cooley “avoided serious injury” and that his apparent injury yesterday was more “very painful” muscle cramping than any kind of serious structural damage. Assuming Strickland’s report is accurate, that would be a massive, positive development for the Mammoth. Cooley is among their most important offensive players with 23 points in 26 games. He recently signed an eight-year, $10MM AAV contract extension to remain in Utah.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes told the media yesterday, including The Athletic’s Joe Smith, that forward Marcus Foligno will not travel with the team for its upcoming four-game road trip. In addition, he said the club is still evaluating whether center Marco Rossi will travel. Foligno is on IR with a lower-body injury and has missed each of the Wild’s last two games. Rossi is also on IR with a lower-body injury but is further along than Foligno by all accounts. He’s missed the Wild’s last eight games, last playing on Nov. 11.
- The Nashville Predators may be without towering forward Michael McCarron for a short while, as head coach Andrew Brunette revealed, per team reporter Brooks Bratten, that McCarron is currently considered “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury. According to Bratten, McCarron “didn’t play much after his fight with Logan Stanley in the first period,” which could be the cause of his injury. If McCarron misses any games, the Predators won’t lose much offense (he has just five points in 25 games) but will likely miss McCarron’s penalty killing. He ranks second among Predators forwards in short-handed time on ice per game with 2:26.