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Injury Updates: Bjugstad, Leafs, Myers, Smith, Coburn

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The Florida Panthers announced that they have placed center Nick Bjugstad on injured reserve.  He suffered a lower body injury last night against the Predators early in the game and did not return.  George Richards of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter link) that he’ll miss a couple of weeks and that it’s a groin issue.

To say that this season has been a struggle for Bjugstad would be an understatement.  He broke his hand in the preseason which kept him out of the lineup until November 22nd and since then, he has scored just one goal and one assist in 21 games, despite seeing quite a bit of time in the top six.  He also has found himself shuffled to the right wing more frequently than he has been accustomed to.

With Roberto Luongo being a late scratch yesterday due to an upper body injury, the Panthers also recalled goaltender Sam Brittain from Manchester of the ECHL.  He’s expected to serve as James Reimer’s backup tonight against Boston if Luongo is unable to dress.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Maple Leafs center Ben Smith and defenseman Martin Marincin are skating but are not close to returning to the lineup, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Marincin has been out since December 11th with a lower body while Smith has been sidelined since undergoing hand surgery on December 19th.
  • Although he started skating this week, Winnipeg blueliner Tyler Myers is expected to miss at least another week as he continues to recover from a lower body injury, reports Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. He will miss his 25th straight game tonight and has five points (2-3-5) in 11 contests this year.
  • The Senators will activate center Zack Smith off IR and expect to have him in the lineup tonight against the Capitals, the team announced via Twitter. The 28 year old missed the last two games with an upper body injury and has 15 points (8-7-15) in 35 games this season.
  • Tampa Bay defenseman Braydon Coburn is day-to-day with an upper body injury and will not suit up today against the Flyers, reports Bryan Burns of the teams’ website (Twitter link).  Coburn had played in every game this season heading into this one, picking up a goal and four assists but is averaging his lowest ice time per night (15:56) since his rookie season back in 2006-07.

Snapshots: Vegas Golden Knights, Fort Lauderdale Shooting

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After the deadly shooting at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport today, there were discussions as to whether or not the nearby Florida Panthers would postpone tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators. Although the Predators were already safely in Sunrise, concerns over safety and the welfare of players, personnel, and fans after the scary incident were taken into account. The airport was just 20 miles from the BB&T Center, so the ongoing events were obviously going to impact the participants and spectators of tonight’s game. However, the NHL and the Broward County Sheriff came together and agreed to play the game tonight. Security has been increased for the match-up, which dropped the puck at 7:30 ET.

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins, flying into Fort Lauderdale for their game against the Panthers tomorrow night, were instead diverted to Miami International Airport. The shooting occurred around 1:00 PM ET, but events were still unfolding into the evening and no official updates were made until after the Bruins had been scheduled to land. The team arrived safely in Miami and will simply travel a little farther to Sunrise tomorrow.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are getting closer and closer to the realization of their NHL dreams, as the team released an update on the ongoing activities of their hockey operations staff. After scouting the World Juniors this past week, the team is re-focused on meetings to put together their plan for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft (June 18th-20th) and Entry Draft (June 23rd-24th), as well as their special pre-free agency negotiating window. General Manager George McPhee was excited to have his first real team outing at the World Juniors, an invaluable experience in preparing for the rookie draft, and now has his sights set on running some more mock drafts in preparation for the Expansion Draft. On top of all of this scouting and strategy, McPhee is also finishing up the hiring of his medical staff and is close to an agreement on an AHL franchise arrangement. McPhee believes that the team will have a greater understanding of their AHL status in the coming weeks. The teams has also said that their pre-season schedule is nearly complete. The NHL’s newest team is keeping busy as they prepare to be the first addition to the world’s best hockey league since 2000.

Snapshots: Panthers, Stars, Lightning

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Florida Panthers have called up Jared McCann from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, reports Harvey Fialkov. The Panthers acquired McCann from the Vancouver Canucks—alongside a 2016 2nd and 4th round pick—for defenseman Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 5th round pick. Initially drafted by Vancouver in the first round in 2014, McCann now has 1G and 2A in 17 games for the Panthers. He has also scored 4G and 2A in 15 games for Springfield.
  • Dallas Stars prospect Denis Guryanov scored the overtime game-winning goal for Russia—against Sweden—to win the bronze medal in the World Junior Championships. The Russian forward scored 4G and 3A this tournament, good for 11th overall in scoring. Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh tweeted that the team’s veterans liked Guryanov’s attitude, work-ethic, and talent. Guryanov currently plays for Dallas’s AHL affiliate the Texas Stars, and has scored 4G and 9A in 23 games. The team hopes his tournament performance carries over to the second half of his AHL season.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette returns to the lineup tonight against the Nashville Predators. Paquette missed the last six games with a lower-body injury suffered on December 20th against the Detroit Red Wings. Paquette has struggled so far this season, scoring only 3G and 4A in 31 games. Tampa is currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in, but could make a late season push when both Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos return.

 

Minor Transactions: 1/4/2016

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A day after calling up Daniel Altshuller from Charlotte of the AHL, the Carolina Hurricanes have returned the goaltender to the Checkers, according to the team’s official Twitter account. Meanwhile, the club has recalled veteran net minder Michael Leighton from their top minor league affiliate to serve as the team’s back-up between the pipes behind starter Cam Ward.

Altshuller did not see action in last night’s 3 – 1 loss to Carolina and has yet to make his NHL debut. The 22-year-old was selected in the third-round of the 2012 draft, 69th overall, by the Hurricanes and has appeared in 33 contests across the last two seasons with Charlotte, posting a record of 11 – 12 – 5.

Leighton, 35, has seen action in three games with Carolina this season, starting two, and has a 2 – 1 – 0 record with a GAA of 3.53 and a Save % of 0.875. He has appeared in 109 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons, spending time in the Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia and Hurricanes organizations during that time. He famously backstopped the Flyers to a surprising berth in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Blackhawks in six games.

  • The Florida Panthers have loaned blue liner Dylan McIlrath to the Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning assignment, the team announced on their website. McIlrath, a first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2010, has appeared in four games with the Panthers since joining the team after being acquired from New York in a November trade for fellow defenseman Steven Kampfer and a seventh-round pick in 2018. The hulking defender has tallied a single goal and has 14 penalty minutes on the season, while averaging just 9:39 of ice time per game.
  • Yanni Gourde was reassigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The 25-year-old pivot made two appearances this season, failing to register a point while seeing about nine minutes of action per night. The Lightning welcomed veteran forward Ryan Callahan back into the lineup last night and his return allowed the team enough roster flexibility to send Gourde to the minors.
  • In a procedural move necessitated by the activation of goaltender Michal Neuvirth from IR, the Philadelphia Flyers have placed blue liner Mark Streit on LTIR, according to CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio. Streit last played on December 11th and is expected to be out until sometime later this month due to a shoulder injury. By placing the veteran defender on LTIR, the Flyers are temporarily able to clear his $5.25MM cap hit from their ledger, thus allowing for the activation of Neuvirth. Had the transaction not been made, Philadelphia would have been over the salary cap by around $682K.

Aleksander Barkov Out Two To Three Weeks

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The Florida Panthers will be without top center Aleksander Barkov for the next 2-3 weeks with an undisclosed injury, reports NHL.com’s Alain Poupart.  While Barkov left Wednesday’s game against Toronto after taking a shot to the ribs from Keith Yandle, head coach Tom Rowe stated that this is not the injury that will keep Barkov out of the lineup.  He noted that the injury occurred a couple of games ago and that the 21 year old had been trying to play through it.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that Florida has placed him on injured reserve.

Barkov leads the Panthers in scoring this season with nine goals and 18 assists through 36 games and had a five game point streak snapped against the Leafs.

The injury opens up a spot on Florida’s top line alongside Jaromir Jagr and Seth Griffith.  Center Nick Bjugstad, who has struggled mightily since returning from a broken wrist, got the first look in that spot last night against Montreal.  Through 18 games, he has just a single goal and an assist but has put up at least 15 goals in each of the last three seasons.

Injuries And Recalls: December 29

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Injury Updates:

  • 4:20pm: The Kings have activated defenseman Brayden McNabb off IR, Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group relays.  He last played on October 29th before suffering a collarbone injury.
  • 1:20pm: The Devils announced that center Jacob Josefson has been activated off of injured reserve.  He had missed the last five games with a concussion and has two assists in 14 games this year.
  • 11:17am: The Lightning announce that rookie forward Brayden Point will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury. Point has 15 points in 36 games so far this season.
  • 10:28am: After leaving last night’s game, Florida Panthers center Sasha Barkov will undergo an MRI. This is according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, who says Barkov’s injury does not appear to be serious at this time. Barkov has been one of the Panthers’ few bright spots in an otherwise difficult year, with 27 points in 36 games. He will not be in the lineup on Thursday night when the Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens.
  • According to Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Times-Herald, Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will be out of the lineup on Thursday night. Kulikov aggravated a prior back injury and will be replaced by Cody Franson, who is returning from a mid-to-lower-body injury. Kulikov was one of the Sabres’ bigger additions this past summer, but only has one assist in 20 games, and that came on Tuesday night.
  • Also via Hoppe, Tyler Ennis is once again skating with the team seven weeks after undergoing surgery. His initial timeline was around six weeks. There is no timetable for his return.
  • Oilers winger Iiro Pakarinen is skating, according to Mark Spector. Pakarinen has yet to play a game this season after suffering an ugly knee injury in a pre-season game versus the Kings on October 2. He has 16 points in 80 games over the past two seasons with the Oilers.

Recalls:

  • 5:20pm: The Minnesota Wild announced that they have demoted forward Kurtis Gabriel to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The 2013 third-round pick recorded his first NHL point while on recall, an assist in an early December win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has failed to build on that. He has just the one point in 13 games with Minnesota over the past two seasons. The fourth liner was averaging just under six minutes of ice time so far this season. Not known for his offensive ability, the 23-year-old Gabriel will have to prove in the AHL that he is an NHL-caliber checker to earn another shot.
  • In light of Point’s injury, the Lightning have recalled Erik Condra and Yanni Gourde from Syracuse. Condra has played seven games for the Bolts so far this season, but has been held pointless. He does have 19 points in 21 AHL games. Gourde has just two NHL games under his belt, both last season. He has 26 points in 29 AHL games so far.
  • Columbus has recalled left winger Markus Hannikainen as they look to win their fourteenth straight game. He’s not expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night versus the Jets. Hannikainen has no points in five NHL appearances this season, but has 13 points in 23 AHL games in Cleveland.
  • The Panthers have recalled Michael Sgarbossa to fill Barkov’s roster spot, according to NBC Sports. The Panthers originally acquired Sgarbossa last month from the Ducks. He has 12 points in 14 games for the Panthers’ AHL affiliate.

Aleksander Barkov, Matt Murray Leave Games Early

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Midway through the second period of the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs game on Wednesday night, Aleksander Barkov disappeared from the bench and would not return. The 21-year old sniper is one of Florida’s few bright spots this season, following up his 59 point season with 27 in his first 35 games.

In his absence, Nick Bjugstad has been promoted to the top line. Hopefully it’ll spark the 24-year old, who only has two points this season. After three successful campaigns and in the second year of his six-year deal, Bjugstad has been a disaster. Injury and ineffectiveness have stolen the first part of the year, though perhaps skating with Jaromir Jagr will turn it around.

Heading into the third period in Pittsburgh with his team down 2-1, Matt Murray was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury in net with no explanation from the team (in fact, the team’s Twitter account was at a loss for words). While there was contact on an earlier goal by Lee Stempniak, Murray finished the period.

After missing the first part of the season with a broken hand, he’s come back just as strong as ever. A .928 save percentage, 2.14 goals against average and a 13-3-1 record has Murray among league leaders again in his sophomore season. If he misses any more time, it only makes the Pittsburgh decision on whether to keep both goaltenders through the expansion draft even harder.

Roster Moves: Auvitu, O’Connor, Dickinson

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With the Holiday Roster Freeze still in effect for one more day, teams are headed back to the ice today after a (hopefully) restful Christmas. Six games are on the schedule for tonight, and teams are making minor moves to prepare their teams for the unofficial second half.

  • In New Jersey, they’ve recalled Yohann Auvitu ahead of their matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. Auvitu has played 23 games with the Devils this season filling in for various members of their blue line. The 27-year old French-born Auvitu is a rookie in North America this year despite playing in the Finnish leagues for many seasons.  He has registered four points across his NHL time.
  • The continuing Ottawa goaltending saga has another chapter today, as Matt O’Connor has been recalled once again to backup Mike Condon tonight. The Sens face the New York Rangers tonight, and Craig Anderson will not be with the team. With Andrew Hammond still on the shelf for a while, O’Connor will head to the arena to suit up again after playing last night in the AHL.
  • Antoine Roussel hasn’t played since the 20th and will be out for a bit still. The forward was placed on IR today retroactive to his last game. Dallas has recalled Jason Dickinson in his absence, his second appearance in the NHL this season. Dickinson has 14 points in 19 games at the AHL level, and is starting to show the promise that made him a first round pick (29th overall) in 2013.
  • The Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau today with the club scheduled for a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs have played musical chairs with the backup goaltender of late, trying to get Bibeau as much ice time as possible while still having him with the NHL club if needed. Jhonas Enroth, signed in the offseason to be the primary backup to Frederik Andersen, has not performed well enough for the team to trust him any further.
  • The Maple Leafs have also recalled both Byron Froese and Frederik Gauthier. The duo was with the team before the holiday break but was given the chance to play in the Marlies’ first game back yesterday. With Tyler Bozak still out and Ben Smith on IR, the team will use the two young centers for the immediate future.

The Impressive Rise Of The Columbus Blue Jackets

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Raise your hand if you had the Columbus Blue Jackets ripping off 12 straight wins and rocketing to the top of the NHL as the league’s best team.

You’re not alone.

Outside of those who built the team or are currently playing for them, few had the Blue Jackets “making any noise” in the East. Coming off a poor showing in the World Cup of Hockey, bench boss John Tortorella was the odds on favorite to be fired first this season. What a difference a couple of months make.

The “first fired” honor would end up going to Gerard Gallant, who was let go by Florida. Tortorella, meanwhile, is guiding the Blue Jackets to one of their best runs in franchise history.

But there were a couple victories that stood out along the way:

  • Thumping Montreal 10-0 in Columbus back on November 4th. It was significant for two reasons: first, they blew out a Habs team on an eight game winning streak. Second, it signaled the turnaround for the Jackets was underway. Though at the time it was their third consecutive victory, Columbus recovered from an 0-2 start and were then 5-3-2 after its first 10 games. Since then, the Jackets are a staggering 18-2-2.
  • In the battle of the Metropolitan Division this past week, the Jackets slapped the defending champ Penguins in the face with a 7-1 romp that gave them sole possession of first place.

Columbus is undefeated in the month of December, and with only three games remaining before the calendar turns over to 2017, they have the possibility of running the table in the final month of 2016.  The Jackets have rightfully received a lot of press for their performance.

Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy writes that the cunning signing of Sam Gagner has paid dividends for the Jackets. Currently, Gagner has 26 points (14-12) and has been one of the better value based signings in years (one-year, $650K).

October 28, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center <a rel=Eric Seeds from Blue Jackets blog The Cannon argues that the Jackets are for real, no matter what pundits say. Seeds points out a number of the catalysts for the teams rise. First, netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has been healthy and dominant. Back in August, it was reported that the Jackets had sunk significant resources into ensuring Bobrovsky’s training was top notch. So far, so good. His numbers (21-5-2, .935 save percentage) should remain strong should he remain healthy and not run into the bumps of the past–which usually centered around getting injured.

One other point: the emergence of 19-year-old Zach Werenski. Much has been written about the dynamic defenseman from the University of Michigan who stands as one of the better bets to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. Werenski has helped the power play tremendously, and has shored up a blue line with other young talents like Seth Jones.

Fans and other teams are taking notice, but it doesn’t concern Tortorella, who has been vigilant in keeping attention off of his streaking team, especially since there are some who think the Jackets might not be as strong as they look.

Regardless of how it turns out, the Jackets’ rise in the Eastern Conference has been a treat for the hockey world to watch–and rewarding for a fan base that has only seen two playoff appearances in the organization’s sixteen seasons.

Are the Blue Jackets for real?
Yes 59.78% (269 votes)
Still too early to tell 28.00% (126 votes)
No 12.22% (55 votes)
Total Votes: 450

Mobile users vote here

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)

Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.

With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select?  Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!

With the 26th overall pick, the Calgary Flames select...
Benoit Pouliot 27.96% (144 votes)
Devin Setoguchi 20.00% (103 votes)
Vladimir Sobotka 15.53% (80 votes)
Mason Raymond 8.54% (44 votes)
Steve Downie 7.57% (39 votes)
Sergei Kostitsyn 6.60% (34 votes)
Jakub Kindl 5.83% (30 votes)
Nathan Gerbe 2.72% (14 votes)
Jared Boll 2.14% (11 votes)
Jack Skille 1.75% (9 votes)
Gilbert Brule 1.36% (7 votes)
Total Votes: 515

 

 

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