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Oilers Place Nurse On IR, Recall Simpson

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenseman Darnell Nurse on Injured Reserve (IR) and recalled Dillon Simpson from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

It’s not clear what is wrong with Nurse, who hasn’t missed a game all season. Coach Todd McLellan told the media Nurse will be out long-term with a lower-body injury suffered in the Oilers last game, a 6-3 win in Winnipeg. McLellan said GM Peter Chiarelli will update Nurse’s condition in the coming days, as is the Oilers custom with serious injuries.

Nurse played 70 seconds more than his average time-on-ice in Winnipeg. He’s been much improved this season, and has five points in 25 games. Nurse struggled last season when he was forced to play top-minutes as a rookie.

Because of Nurse’s injury, the Oilers have switched up their defense pairings for tonight’s game against Anaheim. Andrej Sekera will pair with rookie Matt Benning; Oscar Klefbom and Mark Fayne will form the second pair; Kris Russell and Adam Larsson the other pair (pairs per Bob Stauffer). Simpson will serve as the seventh defenseman, with Nurse, Brandon Davidson, and Eric Gryba all on IR.

Simpson has yet to play an NHL game, but has already been called up once this season as insurance for an injured player. He has one goal in 12 games with the Condors this season. The 2011 fourth-round pick is considered an all-round player who doesn’t have one standout skill, but is just good enough at each part of the game. The Edmonton-native is the son of former Oiler and Hockey Night in Canada commentator Craig Simpson.

Teddy Purcell Waived By Los Angeles

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The Los Angeles Kings have placed Teddy Purcell on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.

Purcell was expected to provide solid secondary scoring for a relatively-inexpensive cap hit of $1.6MM. However, he’s struggled in his first season with the Kings, with just two assists in 12 games in addition to his poor possession stats.

Purcell may have to go elsewhere to find last season’s form; he scored 43 points in 76 games split between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. He found good chemistry with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers top line for much of last season before being traded at the deadline to the Panthers for a third-round pick in this past June’s entry draft.

While Purcell’s play may not warrant a waiver claim, a team may trade for him if he clears to avoid adding a contract to their 50-man limit. However, that depends on how desperate the Kings are to move on. If he is assigned to the AHL, he’ll count for $650K against the Kings cap, saving them $950K.

Pro Hockey Rumors had ranked Purcell 23rd on our list of Top 50 UFAs back in June.

Predators Claim Reid Boucher On Waivers

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The Nashville Predators have claimed forward Reid Boucher on waivers from the New Jersey Devils.

Boucher won’t have to go far to join his new team, as the Devils are in Nashville for a Saturday afternoon game. No word yet on whether or not Boucher will be in the lineup against his former teammates.

Boucher was placed on waivers on Friday morning after being a healthy scratch for the previous week. He’s struggled to put points on the board so far this season, with just two in nine games. Boucher scored 19 points in 39 games with the Devils in 2015-16. He clearly has offensive talent, having scored 105 points in 164 AHL games

The Predators clearly believe they can provide Boucher with a fresh start to get him going offensively once again. With 1 injured, Nashville can use all the goals they can get.

With the return of Taylor Hall, the Devils needed to move a forward and Boucher hadn’t done enough to remain one of the top 14 forward options in New Jersey.

Jori Lehtera To Be Healthy Scratched

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Jori Lehtera will be watching tonight’s game from the press box.

The skilled center will be a healthy scratch on Saturday night when St. Louis host the Winnipeg Jets, according to Lou Korac, who covers the Blues for NHL.com. It appears that Nail Yakupov will take his spot in the lineup.

Lehtera has seven points (3-4-7) in 20 games, and was demoted to the third line during last game. Earlier this season, coach Ken Hitchcock scratched Robby Fabbri to get him motivated, and now he’s doing it again with another of the Blues top-nine forwards.

Yakupov will play on the third line with Patrik Berglund and Dmitrij Jaskin. The former first-overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers has five points (2-3-5) in 16 games this season. He’s been healthy-scratched eight times so far this season, since being acquired in October for ECHL forward Zach Pochiro and a conditional draft pick.

According to Korac, Hitchcock said he’s liked Yakupov’s effort in the last three practices. His last game was November 23.

Corey Crawford Ill, Blackhawks To Dress Emergency Backup

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12:04pm: Corey Crawford is undergoing an appendectomy at a Philadelphia hospital. Team physician Dr. Michael Terry said Crawford “presented this morning with acute appendicitis.”

The team is expecting a full recovery and return to action, and will update Crawford’s status when more is known.

11:19am: Less than an hour away from puck drop, the Blackhawks have signed Eric Semborski to an ATO. He’ll back up Scott Darling against the Flyers. The 23-year-old Semborski previously played club hockey at Temple U.

Because of the tight turnaround, Semborski will wear number 50, which is usually worn by the goalie that he’s replacing.

10:30am: The Blackhawks will be without their captain and their starting goalie when they take on the Flyers on Saturday afternoon.

Just a day after placing Jonathan Toews on IR, coach Joel Quenneville announced that Corey Crawford is ill and will miss the game. Crawford is not only too sick to start, but he’s also unable to serve as backup for Scott Darling.

With the Blackhawks on the road and the game starting at noon, their options are slim. Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune suggests goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. Waite played 11 seasons in the NHL (eight with the Blackhawks) as a backup goalie. Waite has previously filled in at morning skates if the team is down a goalie.

The Blackhawks also play tomorrow evening at home to the Winnipeg Jets.

Red Wings Recall Nosek, Lashoff

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With Justin Abdelkader sidelined for the next 2-4 weeks, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled big-bodied forward Tomas Nosek from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.

The Red Wings have also recalled defenseman Brian Lashoff, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan. Neither Nosek nor Lashoff are expected to play Saturday night in Pittsburgh. It appears Drew Miller will take Abdelkader’s spot in the lineup against the defending champs. Miller has played 17 games with the Red Wings this season, and has two goals to show for it.

To make room on the roster, the Red Wings placed Abdelkader on injured reserve (IR). They have also moved Andreas Athanasiou from IR to long-term injured reserve (LTIR), retroactive to November 11.

[Related: Red Wings’ depth chart]

The 6’3, 209 lbs Nosek is hovering near a point-per-game this season in the AHL after back-to-back seasons with 30-plus points. Nosek was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Red Wings back in 2014. He’s been held pointless in six NHL games so far in his career, all played last season.

Should Lashoff get into the lineup during this recall, it will be his first NHL game since 2014-15, when he played 11 games for the Red Wings. The 6’3, 220 lbs defenseman has 13 points in 117 NHL games in his career, all with Detroit.

Neither player will count for much against the salary cap. Lashoff is the higher-earner of the two, making $650K at the NHL level. Nosek is in the first year of a two-year extension signed in May and makes $613K at the NHL level.

Blackhawks To Place Toews On IR

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It’s not a serious injury for Captain Serious, but Jonathan Toews is likely heading for injured reserve.

Toews has missed four games with a back injury, and is set to miss a fifth on Saturday night. CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers reported Toews is feeling better, but will not play in Philadelphia.

Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus quoted Toews as saying this is the kind of injury he’d “suck it up” and play through in the playoffs. But with defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk coming off IR after being out for the past five weeks, Lazerus speculates that the Blackhawks will place Toews on IR retroactive to last week to delay making another roster move.

[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]

Toews told Myers that he aggravated a prior injury in his last game, which was on November 23 in San Jose. The Blackhawks are 3-0-1 without Toews so far.

Senators Notes: Injury Updates, Searching For Depth

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The Ottawa Senators have placed winger Bobby Ryan on Injured Reserve, retroactive to November 29.

Ryan broke his finger two weeks ago, but only missed two games before returning. It appears he’s aggravated the injury in some way. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that it’s not clear whether Ryan will go with the Senators on their upcoming road trip, as he’s not eligible to return until next Thursday in San Jose.

It’s been a tough year for Ryan, who has just 8 points in 21 games. With a price tag of $7.25MM, the Senators will be expecting better production when Ryan returns from injury.

Meanwhile, Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg has double Ryan’s points in just three more games. Silfverberg was the main piece acquired by the Ducks in the 2013 trade that sent Ryan to Ottawa.

  • Marc Methot is nearly ready to return to the Senators lineup. In an interview on TSN 1200, GM Pierre Dorion said Erik Karlsson’s preferred defensive partner could return as soon as Saturday.
  • The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Binghamton and assigned Andreas Englund and Buddy Robinson.
  • When winger Clarke MacArthur was concussed early in training camp, some analysts wondered if his career was over. MacArthur missed all but four games in 2015-16 with a concussion. However, Dorion said MacArthur has been making progress and “will play this year.”
  • With Ryan and MacArthur out of the lineup, the Senators search for forward depth is picking up. Dorion said he’s “very” active in searching for scoring depth, though Garrioch doesn’t believe he’s close to making any deals.

Boucher Waived; Gelinas Clears Waivers

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The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Reid Boucher on waivers.

Boucher has been a healthy scratch for the past week, and with Taylor Hall coming back from injury, the Devils needed to make space on their roster for the return of their superstar.

With just two points in nine games, Boucher has been unable to find last season’s scoring success. The 5’10, 195 lbs center scored 19 points in 39 games with the Devils in 2015-16. If he’s not claimed, look for him to be assigned to the Albany Devils of the AHL, where he’s scored 105 points in 164 games.

Meanwhile, former Devil and current Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas cleared waivers.

The 25-year-old defenseman has just one assist in seven games this year. Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired at the 2016 trade deadline from New Jersey for a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft. Interestingly enough, before the trade to the Avalanche, Gelinas was originally the Devils defenseman that Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli contacted New Jersey about before talks turned to Adam Larsson.

The 6’4, 215 lbs left-handed defenseman has 55 points in 169 games, but is not considered to be a dependable defenseman because of his defensive awareness. Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM.

Justin Abdelkader To Miss 2-4 Weeks

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After leaving Thursday night’s game with a lower-body injury, Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a “slight MCL sprain” according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.

Abdelkader injured his right knee after hitting it into the boards while finishing his check. He left the bench shortly thereafter. Following the game, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told the media that the team may call up a forward to replace Abdelkader, but could also insert Drew Miller into the lineup. On Friday morning, GM Ken Holland said there will be a call-up from the AHL, but he won’t play on Saturday night.

While he’s posted 40+ points two years in a row, Abdelkader has struggled this year with just eight points in 22 games after a much-maligned appearance with Team USA at the World Cup.

Abdelkader is the latest in a long list of injured Red Wings, which includes forwards Darren Helm, Andreas Athanasiou, and Tyler Bertuzzi; defensemen Alexey Marchenko and Brendan Smith; and goalie Jimmy Howard.

The Wings are sixth in the NHL’s Atlantic Division as they look to make the playoffs for a 26th straight year.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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