Three New York Islanders Added To COVID Protocol
Just under two hours ahead of the New York Islanders’ home opener against the Calgary Flames, Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech, and Andy Greene were added to the NHL’s COVID protocol, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross.
It’s an extremely tough situation for the team, which now has six total players in COVID protocol. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, and Ross Johnston were added over the past week. Their number one defenseman, Ryan Pulock, is on injured reserve.
The Islanders recalled forwards Richard Panik and Andy Andreoff as well as defensemen Grant Hutton and Paul LaDue today from the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Hutton, along with Robin Salo, who the Islanders recalled earlier, could make his NHL debut.
Losing Beauvillier and Pelech, in particular, is tough to swallow for the Islanders, who sit third-last in the Eastern Conference with a 5-6-2 record after their season-opening 13-game road trip. Beauvillier is one of the team’s top point producers with three goals and seven points through 13 games this season. While Pelech has just two assists, he’s counted on for his defense, not his scoring ability. He’s averaged 21:07 per game and with a +4 rating, his minutes will be tough to replace.
Washington Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd
The Washington Capitals activated forwards T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd from injured reserve today, per a team release. In a corresponding move, the release states the team also reassigned forward Brett Leason to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Oshie’s been absent from the Capitals lineup since October 28, when he was designated as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. At the time, he was in the middle of a good start to the 2021-22 campaign with four goals and six points in seven games.
Dowd, however, has missed just a week and a half with this undisclosed injury. He’s been in and out of the lineup due to injury this year, but after the placement on injured reserve, the Capitals hope he’s good to go at 100%. The 31-year-old has a goal in nine games.
As Washington deals with a variety of absences that include Nicklas Backstrom, Anthony Mantha, and Lars Eller, Oshie’s and Dowd’s returns couldn’t come at a better time. Oshie likely returns as a veteran presence on a line with Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Garrett Pilon, while Dowd reprises his role as the fourth-line center between Carl Hagelin and Garnet Hathaway.
Despite all the injuries, Washington’s soldiered on to a 10-2-5 record this year and sit at second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Arizona Coyotes Activate Ryan Dzingel
As reported by AZCentral Sports’ Jose M. Romero, the Arizona Coyotes have officially activated forward Ryan Dzingel from injured reserve.
The Coyotes originally placed Dzingel on injured reserve on October 27th with an upper-body injury. He’s missed the team’s last 10 games.
Like much of the Coyotes squad this year, Dzingel was having an uninspiring start prior to the injury. He’s netted two assists in six games, averaging 13:18 per game. Dzingel is expected to flank Jan Jenik on the team’s fourth line in his return to the lineup, with Liam O’Brien on the other wing.
Still, those two points are tied for tenth on the team in scoring. The Coyotes have scored just 26 goals through 16 games en route to a 2-13-1 record. That’s just 1.63 goals per game.
The team hopes that Dzingel, a two-time 20-goal scorer, can help provide some scoring punch to the team’s bottom six. However, he’s got just 16 goals in his past 110 games as it’s been a really rough go for the former Ottawa Senator.
Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier
Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.
More injury notes from around the NHL:
- The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
- Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.
Joe Thornton Activated From Injured Reserve
The Florida Panthers have activated center Joe Thornton from injured reserve ahead of Thursday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards.
Thornton was placed on injured reserve on October 30 with an undisclosed injury. The night before, ‘Jumbo’ played just 6:34 before leaving a game against the Detroit Red Wings.
In just six games this season, the 42-year-old Thornton’s got just one goal and a -2 rating but is still averaging over 10 minutes a night. Some added depth at center is a good thing for Florida right now, who is now without captain Aleksander Barkov on a week-to-week basis after sustaining a knee injury.
Expected to center the third line for the game against the Devils, he’ll be flanked by Frank Vatrano and Owen Tippett who’ve played well in depth roles, combining for seven goals and 14 points so far on the year. With the Panthers’ health issues, though, the lineups could certainly be in flux over the next few games.
Thornton joined the Panthers this offseason, signing a one-year, league-minimum deal on August 13.
Snapshots: Islanders, Norlinder, Fix-Wolansky
The New York Islanders were dealt a tough hand to start the season with a 13-game road trip, but things aren’t exactly looking up with the news that defenseman Ryan Pulock will miss the next four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Islanders sit with a 5-6-2 record, and while it’s certainly recoverable, especially considering their track record, they find themselves in an extremely competitive division with seven teams ahead of them. With a defense core that’s looked troubling at times, the team could look to get outside help via the form of a trade. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple says that while the team could put faith into their staff in AHL Bridgeport to help bridge the gap until Pulock’s return, there’s a variety of trade targets they could examine. While D-men who have experience playing on the right side aren’t usually available for trade, he lists Seattle’s Vince Dunn as a potential option who could still prove to pay dividends on the power play once Pulock returns, a role that hasn’t been filled properly since the departure of Devon Toews.
More from around the NHL:
- Montreal Canadiens prospect Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut on Thursday. The defenseman is healthy after a preseason injury sidelined him up until the last week, where he spent three games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint. The 64th overall pick in 2019 is expected to play on the second pairing alongside veteran David Savard, who’ll give him what should be a reliable defensive partner to open his NHL career.
- It’s another prospect returning to the lineup as Columbus’ Trey Fix-Wolansky is making his season debut for AHL Cleveland tonight after an eight-month absence. The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig notes that the forward had ACL surgery in March. Fix-Wolansky wasn’t picked until the seventh round in 2018, likely due to his 5′ 8″ height, but proceeded to light up the WHL the following season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, scoring 37 goals and 102 points in just 65 games. After having an impressive first professional go-around with Cleveland last year as well, look for Fix-Wolansky to get an NHL look sooner rather than later.
Chicago Blackhawks Activate Caleb Jones
According to PuckPedia, the Chicago Blackhawks activated defenseman Caleb Jones from long-term injured reserve today, adding him and his $850,000 cap hit back to the active roster.
The Blackhawks originally placed Jones on LTIR retroactive to October 6, 2021, when he sustained a wrist injury during training camp. His return is in line with his expected recovery time of six weeks.
Chicago acquired Jones as part of the return for long-time Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith in one of the most talked-about trades of the summer. Caleb, the younger brother of offseason acquisition Seth Jones, is a strong candidate to push Riley Stillman out of the lineup in order to make his Blackhawks debut.
20-year-old Isaak Phillips, who’s averaged just 10:51 through three games this season, will likely be sent down to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs to accommodate Jones as he doesn’t require waivers.
Originally a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Jones is only seven games short of hitting the century mark in games played. Through 93 games across the past three seasons, all with Edmonton, the 24-year-old has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points.
Jones is in the final season of a two-year, $1.7MM contract extension he signed with the Oilers on January 15, 2020.
Injury Notes: Canadiens, Pitlick, Sullivan
Ahead of Sunday’s road tilt for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins, head coach Dominique Ducharme provided injury updates regarding a few Canadiens players. After leaving Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Jake Allen has been assigned a day-to-day status while he undergoes evaluation for a more detailed evaluation. Allen left the contest after a net-front play which resulted in him colliding with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. Ducharme also notes that Mike Hoffman is absent from the lineup with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, as Adam Brooks draws into the lineup in his place. It’s Hoffman’s second instance of injury this season, missing the team’s first three games of the season with a lower-body injury.
- Calgary Flames forward Tyler Pitlick is absent from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s classified as day-to-day, per the team. Forward Walker Duehr was inserted into the lineup, making his NHL debut. Pitlick has just two assists in 12 games this season, playing a bottom-six role, but remains a strong defensive presence if nothing else.
- After being activated from the league’s COVID-19 protocols today, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t think he’ll be available for Thursday night’s game in Montreal due to border restrictions. Sullivan will be behind the bench for Sunday’s game against Washington and Tuesday’s game against Buffalo barring any unforeseen circumstances. The Penguins have dropped three out of five as they finally look to be close to healthy for the first time this season.
Ottawa Senators Place Drake Batherson In COVID-19 Protocol
Per the team’s communications department, the Ottawa Senators placed forward Drake Batherson in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol on Sunday.
Batherson becomes the fifth Sens forward and tenth Sens player overall now listed as non-roster due to COVID-19. It’s a tough loss for an already depleted Senators team, as Batherson leads them in scoring with 16 points in just 14 games.
Andrew Agozzino is the team’s only extra healthy forward on the active roster, and he’ll make his season debut for Ottawa Sunday afternoon against the Calgary Flames. Ottawa is now down to just five forwards in AHL Belleville under active contract, but they have three other forwards on loan who could theoretically be recalled to the team in an emergency.
Depending on how head coach D.J. Smith shuffles the team’s lines on Sunday, offseason acquisition Zach Sanford could get a look in the top-six in place of Batherson. Sanford has just three points in 14 games and hasn’t quite been what Senators fans had hoped.
They’ll need increased minutes and performance from Joshua Norris and new captain Brady Tkachuk to help the team stay afloat.
Minor Transactions: 11/14/21
There’s a six-game slate in the NHL tonight on this Hall of Fame weekend, but transaction action keeps rolling along at lower levels of the game as well. As COVID rears its ugly head again, affecting the rosters of multiple teams this season, teams in the AHL and ECHL have had to adjust their rosters as they lose players to their NHL affiliates. Keep track of today’s minor transactions right here.
- As the Ottawa Senators deal with the NHL’s worst COVID outbreak this season, the AHL’s Belleville Senators made a minor trade yesterday, acquiring forward Chris Wilkie from the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for future considerations. Wilkie, a product of Colorado College, was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers back in 2015. This is his second professional season, and he notched a goal and assist in his Belleville debut yesterday.
- Defenseman Alec Rauhauser was returned to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits today after being loaned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Rauhauser, an undrafted free agent, spent last season in the Florida Panthers organization after four seasons at Bowling Green State University. He made his AHL debut in one game with the Syracuse Crunch but spent the majority of the season in Greenville. In 52 games over two seasons, Rauhauser has 13 ECHL points.
- The AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms recalled forward Charlie Gerard from the ECHL’s Reading Royals today. Gerard is in his second professional season after a four-year run at Minnesota State University-Mankato and showed promise last season with 34 points in 49 games in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Now with the Phantoms on a professional contract, he’ll get his chance to show what he can do within the Flyers organization.