While the Sharks needed to call up Laurent Brossoit on Friday to cover for Yaroslav Askarov’s injury, it appears the youngster won’t be out for long. San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reports that the lower-body injury is not believed to be serious. The 23-year-old has had an up-and-down first season in the NHL, posting a 3.56 GAA and a .886 SV% along with a -11.2 Goals Saved Above Average mark, per MoneyPuck. However, Askarov has made 40 starts so far, a solid number for a player in his first full NHL campaign. For now, Alex Nedeljkovic will serve as the starter heading into a back-to-back set against Montreal and Ottawa this weekend but he won’t be in that spot for long based on the news about Askarov, with Peng relaying (Twitter link) that he’s officially listed as day-to-day.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Sabres announced a trio of injury updates heading into their game tonight against Toronto. Winger Alex Tuch will return after missing Thursday’s game against Washington due to a lower-body injury. While that’s certainly some good news as they continue their push for the top spot in the Atlantic, there’s also some bad news on the injury front. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is listed as doubtful due to an undisclosed injury while newly acquired winger Tanner Pearson is out due to a lower-body injury he picked up while subbing in for Tuch versus the Caps.
- Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson has been named as GM of Team USA’s entry into the upcoming men’s World Championship, per an announcement from USA Hockey. It will be his second time running the team as he was also in charge back in 2024. Peterson is in his sixth season in his role with Florida. The tournament gets underway on May 15th.
- Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud has joined the team on its road trip and took part in the morning skate today, relays Sportsnet 960’s Derek Wills (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury. Acquired in the Rasmus Andersson trade earlier this season, Whitecloud is averaging more than 22 minutes per night since the swap, leading to some trade interest before last week’s deadline. Now, it appears he’s ready to return and will continue to play a big role down the stretch.