Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring is expected to return on Thursday against Philadelphia after missing the last 14 games with a lower-body injury, reports Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. A key part of the JJ Peterka trade over the offseason, the 25-year-old has been limited to just nine appearances so far this season after also sustaining a knee injury in the preseason. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get eased back in but he’ll likely get a chance to take on a bigger role after the holiday break.
Meanwhile, among other injured Sabres, winger Jason Zucker has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and is hoping to return after the break. Forward Justin Danforth has missed 28 games with what’s believed to be a broken kneecap but head coach Lindy Ruff says he’s doing okay now. Lastly, goaltender Colten Ellis (concussion protocol) is expected to be reevaluated on Friday after missing the last two games.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk has been skating on his own recently, he has yet to join the team for practice. As a result, GM Bill Zito told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that they don’t know if Tkachuk will be available for the Winter Classic in a little more than two weeks. The 28-year-old had surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia back in August and has yet to play this season. He’s averaged more than a point per game in four straight years and whenever he comes back – be it for the outdoor game or later on – he’ll be a huge boost to a Florida team that sits around the middle of the pack in the East.
- Lightning winger Brandon Hagel is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and hasn’t been ruled out of Thursday’s game against Los Angeles, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Hagel was injured on a hit from Seth Jones on Monday, resulting in him leaving the game. He has been a key contributor for Tampa Bay this season, notching 18 goals and 13 assists in 32 games.
- Veteran winger Milan Lucic has decided not to hang up his skates. Released from an AHL tryout with Springfield late last month, he has found his next team as the Fife Flyers of the EIHL announced that they’ve signed the 37-year-old for the remainder of the season. Lucic has only played in nine games since the 2022-23 campaign ended so it’s far from a guarantee that he’ll be able to be an impactful player as he looks to continue his career.
Lucic has to recoup some of the money he lost in the divorce, Embarrassing!!!
#17 Milan Cementhead.
The DoPS missed badly in not calling in Seth Jones for the cheap headshot to Brandon Hagel. It’s utterly ridiculous how Florida keeps aiming for Hagel’s head constantly and the league does absolutely nothing about it yet again. What is the point of DoPS?…Obviously, it’s not player safety, that’s for sure. SMH.
George Parros sucks! A former NHL player whose only claim to fame in the league was for fighting people. Putting that sort of player in charge of player safety seems like an oxymoron, but the league went through with it. Total crock.
Granted, for Florida, I’m sure the Campbell theory surely plays a role, I don’t doubt.
Parros, Campbell, Shanahan, Quintal… it’s a running theme for the DoPS to have guys who were on the giving end of bad hits the job of protecting players. I’ll never understand it.
The Dept of Player Safety is good at manufacturing Pinellas County tears, and I am okay with that.
In a shocking development, you are stunned and ready to blame the entire NHL hierarchy for a TB loss. This just in: sometimes a team loses a game because the opponent was better during that game.