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Snapshots: Canucks, Sullivan, Blackwood

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The Vancouver Canucks have allowed 19 goals against in their last three games and now find themselves just three points ahead of the bottom-dwelling Seattle Kraken for last place in the Pacific Division. The team has lost four in a row, eight of their last ten, and now own a -14 goal differential on the year. Things are not going well in Vancouver, to say the least.

So when reports surfaced over the weekend that the team owner was on the road trip, some eyebrows were raised around the league. Would the team make a change in the front office if things didn’t turn around quickly? No, apparently not yet. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman tweets that though owner Francesco Aquilini is meeting with general manager Jim Benning this afternoon, he does not expect to make a change at the position. Friedman writes that the meeting is just to “understand why the team is losing and address it.” The Canucks are scheduled to welcome in the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and Chicago Blackhawks on their current three-game homestand.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres tonight and will have Mike Sullivan behind the bench, but the head coach won’t be able to travel with the team to Montreal for Thursday’s matchup against the Canadiens because of COVID restrictions. Sullivan has been cleared from the league’s protocol, but hasn’t eclipsed the 14-day period that the Canadian government requires. Luckily, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin, who both recently exited the protocol, will be eligible to travel and play.
  • Mackenzie Blackwood has cleared the concussion protocol and is available to play for them on Thursday if necessary. Blackwood collided with Kaapo Kakko in the third period of Sunday’s game, causing a concussion spotter to pull him from the match. He told reporters today that his neck is a little sore, but he practised in full today and appears ready to return.

Injury Notes: Canadiens, Pitlick, Sullivan

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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.

Crosby, Dumoulin Set To Rejoin Teammates Tomorrow

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Though they are technically not yet on the active roster, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin will be back in the coming days. Both players skated today and are expected to meet the rest of the team in Washington on Sunday, where the Penguins will play the Capitals in the second half of a back-to-back. Crosby and Dumoulin are both going through what the team has deemed the “final stage” of the protocol, though assistant coach Todd Reirden wouldn’t commit to their status for tomorrow’s game.

Reirden himself likely won’t have the final decision, as head coach Mike Sullivan is also set to be back behind the bench tomorrow night. Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson, who both exited the protocol for one game only to be unavailable to travel to Canada with the group, would also be technically available. Pettersson also skated today after suffering an injury that took him out of Thursday’s contest.

While Crosby is obviously the most important player for the Penguins, Dumoulin’s return shouldn’t be overlooked. The 30-year-old defenseman is a key part of the team’s defensive structure and logs big minutes in difficult situations. In fact, only John Marino among regular defensemen has started a higher percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone or logged more penalty-killing time than Dumoulin.

It’s been a tough stretch for the Penguins over the past four games, reaching at least overtime in each one. They’ve split those matches, but still sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-3-4 record on the year. Crosby meanwhile has only played in a single game, returning to the lineup just briefly before finding himself in the COVID protocol. Getting him back into game action may have to be a slow process, but it’s hard to wait around long for a player of his caliber. In 2020-21, for the 16th season in a row, Crosby scored at a rate higher than a point-per-game, racking up 62 in 55 games. He’ll try to turn that trick for a 17th time this season.

San Jose Sharks Remove Seven Players From COVID Protocol

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As suggested by the team’s AHL assignments this morning, the San Jose Sharks have removed seven players from the COVID protocol. Kevin Labanc, Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier, Jacob Middleton, Matthew Nieto, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have all been removed from the protocol and added back to the active roster. Head coach Bob Boughner, head trainer Ray Tufts and equipment manager Mike Aldrich have also all been removed from the protocol.

Sasha Chmelevski, Joel Kellman, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard, Ryan Merkley, Jaycob Megna, and Nicolas Meloche have all been assigned to the AHL. Nicholas Merkley, who had also been recalled with this group, remains with San Jose for the time being.

It’s obviously a huge moment for the Sharks, as they receive a good portion of their regular lineup back in time for tomorrow’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. The team is sitting at 7-5-1 on the season and is still well within striking range of the division playoff spots. Getting back key options like Labanc, Karlsson and Meier will only help them as they try to chase down the teams ahead of them.

Activating the group from the protocol is also a good sign that the team has this outbreak behind them, or at least contained. The activated players were actually able to skate in recent days, though they would not have been able to join the team in Canada given their recent positive tests. They’ll now be able to join the group in Denver, nearly two weeks after originally entering the protocol.

Artem Zub Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

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Things continue to get worse in terms of the amount of personnel available for the Ottawa Senators. Defenseman Artem Zub left Thursday’s game against Los Angeles with an upper-body injury, and head coach D.J. Smith says there’s “no update” on his status.

Ottawa is already without nine players due to COVID-19 protocol, including defensemen Nikita Zaitsev, Josh Brown, Victor Mete, and Nick Holden. The team is down to just nine healthy defensemen under NHL contracts now, as Jacob Bernard-Docker, Maxence Guenette, and Jonathan Aspirot remain with AHL Belleville.

The team’s depth is stretched extremely thin, as many young players are now getting NHL time sooner than expected. 2019 first-round selection Lassi Thomson made his NHL debut Thursday in place of Zaitsev.

If Zub is to miss any period of time, Bernard-Docker is the obvious choice to come up from Belleville. The 21-year-old right-shot defenseman does not require waivers and got into five games with the Senators at the tail end of last season.

Zub himself was having a great start to the 2021-22 season, notching five assists in 12 games while working his way up to the team’s top pairing with Thomas Chabot. He’s been Ottawa’s most responsible defenseman since joining the team prior to 2020-21, now averaging nearly 23 minutes a night this season.

Snapshots: Rask, Housley, Carrier

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TSN’s Chris Johnston notes on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading that free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask is working his way back after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and could be ready to return to game action as soon as January. Johnston notes specifically that Rask could be an option for Team Finland at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, potentially a huge boost to an already strong Finnish program. While Johnston reports that Rask’s main focus in his “mind and his heart” remains with the Boston Bruins, the door isn’t completely closed on other options, either. Regardless, it’s good to see one of the league’s best goalies of his generation working his way back to health for what could be his last chance at a championship.

More notes from around the league:

  • Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Phil Housley has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, per the team’s public relations department. He won’t travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. He’ll miss three games, including a back-to-back set against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators this Friday and Saturday. Arizona’s next home game is a week from today against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and pending test results, Housley could be available to return then.
  • According to the team, Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is out for Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury. The Predators note that he’ll be evaluated further when the team returns home. Carrier blocked a shot that hit him up high during Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars and did not return.

Nathan MacKinnon Out Three Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without their most explosive offensive weapon for the next little while, as head coach Jared Bednar told reporters today that Nathan MacKinnon will be out “give or take three weeks” with a lower-body injury.

MacKinnon suffered the injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets a few days ago but is set to miss around eight games depending on when he’s able to return. That’s another big chunk of what has been a tough season so far for the Hart Trophy finalist, who already sat out two games while in the COVID protocol. When he’s on the ice he’s been as explosive as ever, with ten points in eight games (though only one of those was a goal), but he’ll now face an extended layoff.

This is a brutal blow for the Avalanche, who are already floundering in the early part of the season. At 4-5-1 the team is eight points behind the Central Division-leading St. Louis Blues and six points back of the third-place Winnipeg Jets for a divisional playoff spot. While they have played the fewest games in the division, they’ve also allowed as many goals or more than every team ahead of them in the Central standings.

That’s not to say Colorado can’t compete without MacKinnon, but as arguably the most valuable contract in the entire league, he gives them a huge advantage every night. The 26-year-old is still carrying a cap hit of just $6.3MM, meaning their funds could be allocated to other places like retaining captain Gabriel Landeskog in the offseason. Landeskog is where a lot of the offensive burden will land in MacKinnon’s absence, as he’ll be asked to do even more to keep the Avalanche scoring.

It’s been a heck of a start for the Avalanche, who have had injuries or illnesses affect nearly every one of their key players. With MacKinnon now out for three weeks, their resolve will certainly be tested even further.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Carey Price Returns To Montreal Canadiens

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Nov 8: Price is now back with the team, though there is still no timeline on his return to game action. The veteran goaltender was examined by trainers at the practice facility yesterday according to John Lu of TSN, who also notes that his first interaction with teammates is expected to be Tuesday.

Nov 2: The Montreal Canadiens are floundering at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, winning just two of their first ten games. They’ve been working without Carey Price, who last month announced that he was entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The minimum 30-day period for the program is up at the end of the week, and today Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that they expect their star goaltender back soon.

There’s no exact date for Price’s return, but they could certainly use him. The team has been going with Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault in his absence, a tandem that has combined for a .899 save percentage through ten games. Montembeault in particular has struggled, allowing eight goals in his two appearances.

No team in the league could lose their highest-paid player without struggling, but in Montreal’s case, the absence of Price has only been magnified because of the departure of several other key players from last year’s Stanley Cup runner-up. Shea Weber, the team’s captain, is unlikely to ever play again. Phillip Danault, the team’s former top center, is now in Los Angeles. A Stanley Cup winner in Joel Edmundson has been on the shelf since the start of the year. Even the absence of depth players like Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi has really hurt Montreal’s lineup, despite the attempt to replace them with names like Mike Hoffman and Christian Dvorak.

Hopefully, Price is ready to return to the team in the coming days and can help them dig out of this early-season hole. Even more, hopefully he has received the help he needed during the month away.

Senators Place Nick Holden And Jack Capuano In COVID Protocol

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The Senators have added to their COVID list as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Nick Holden and associate coach Jack Capuano have been placed into COVID protocol.  Taking Holden’s place on the roster will be blueliner Erik Brannstrom who has been recalled from AHL Belleville.

Holden is in his first season with Ottawa and has played in all but one of their 11 games so far, recording an assist while averaging 17:35 per game of ice time, primarily on the third pairing.  It’s his presence on the roster that played a role in Brannstrom being sent to the minors at the start of the season as having the 22-year-old as a healthy scratch with the Senators would hardly have been ideal from a development perspective.  Brannstrom has a goal and two assists in nine games with AHL Belleville so far this season.

Capuano and Holden will join winger Austin Watson in the protocols after Watson was added there back on Friday and will be there for at least ten days.  While some teams have had some cap challenges when players are added to the list, that won’t be the case for the Sens who will still have more than $12MM in cap room following Brannstrom’s promotion, per CapFriendly.

Injury Notes: Hayes, Sabres, Raanta

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While Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve for Philadelphia’s game on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it sounds like the forward isn’t quite ready to return from an injury that’s kept him out all season up until this point. Head coach Alain Vigneault won’t rule it out but says that “Wednesday is an outside chance, more on the outside than on the inside” in terms of Hayes’ availability. If Hayes does return, it will be ahead of schedule. He was expected to miss roughly two months after being placed on injured reserve in late September as he continued to recover from offseason core muscle surgery.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • While the Sabres have dealt with some injuries to key players lately, it sounds like there’s good news on the horizon. Forward Victor Olofsson is close to returning, while a day-to-day injury that’s keeping goalie Craig Anderson out of the lineup isn’t serious enough to warrant placing him on injured reserve, per Sabres head coach Don Granato. Olofsson’s been a pleasant surprise, jumping out to lead the team in scoring with nine points in just eight games while playing over 17 minutes a night. The injury looks to be a bump in the road on a real breakout season for the Swedish forward, who’s often been chastised for his lack of production at even-strength.
  • Carolina Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta left Saturday’s game after colliding with Florida Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, and the team’s public relations team tweeted that he won’t return to the game with an upper-body injury. Raanta’s lengthy injury history gives serious cause for concern here, and it appears as though Frederik Andersen could need to continue shouldering the load for the next little while. Lomberg was assessed a five-minute major penalty on the play.

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