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Injury Notes: Capitals, Flyers, Canadiens, Grzelcyk

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At this morning’s practice before the team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reports that defenseman Martin Fehervary is doing some light skating for the Washington Capitals, but is not expected back for tomorrow’s game. Ferhervary has been out with a lower-body injury since the team’s win against the New Jersey Devils last week.

El-Bashir also notes that even though he has not missed a game due to the illness, Evgeny Kuznetsov will still be missing practice due to the ailment. Lastly, as the last report from practice, goaltender Darcy Kuemper appeared ’fine’ at practice after leaving Wednesday’s practice with an apparent injury.

After an incredibly slow start through the team’s first five games of the regular season, the Capitals have turned things around dramatically, producing a 7-1-1 record since that time, moving up to second place in the Metropolitan Division. If the team hopes to continue the hot streak, they will need to sustain relative health through the end of the calendar year.

Other notes:

  • Missing almost a month of action, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports that defenseman Marc Staal of the Philadelphia Flyers is out of the non-contact jersey at practice, indicating he could be close to returning. Dealing with a rib injury from the team’s October 19th game against the Edmonton Oilers, Staal has only managed four games this year, failing to produce a point.
  • Leaving last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Xhekaj notably missed the last month and a half of the 2022-23 regular season due to a shoulder injury, and has scored one goal and two assists in 17 games upon his return.
  • Eligible to return next Saturday against the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins’ defenseman, Matt Grzelcyk is still on the LTIR, rehabbing his way back from an upper-body injury sustained in late October. However, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald indicates the rehab process is going well, as Grzelcyk is back practicing with the team today.

Evening Notes: Lehkonen, Xhekaj, Meier

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Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen’s upper-body injury is a neck injury. Previous reports had the 28-year-old dealing with an upper-body injury, but Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Baugh the news today. The early reports come with no timetable for a potential return, or any specifics about how severe the ailment is. The Avalanche have put Lehkonen on LTIR which means the earliest he can return is December 5th against the Anaheim Ducks.

Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Lehkonen is currently in a neck brace after suffering a scary fall in a game last week against the Seattle Kraken, which is certainly not a great sign. Lehkonen’s mother has also flown to Colorado which indicates that he could need assistance over the upcoming weeks. Lehkonen is a player who plays a lot of important minutes for the Avalanche in all types of situations. He has three goals and five assists so far this season in 12 games.

In other evening notes:

  • The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj left tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old suffered the apparent injury after taking a huge hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev in the second period. Xhekaj appeared to be favoring his left shoulder as he left the ice, but the team has yet to comment on the nature of the injury. Xhekaj scored his first goal of the season earlier this week and has three points in 16 games for the Canadiens.
  • Star-Ledger reporter Ryan Novozinsky tweeted that New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters tonight that Devils forward Timo Meier will be out of the lineup on a short-term basis. What exactly that means remains to be seen but it is probably a safe bet that Meier won’t be in the lineup on Saturday night when the Devils are home to the New York Rangers. The 27-year-old is in his first full year with the Devils and has five goals and six assists in 14 games. He did not dress in tonight’s 5-2 Devils victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Matt Martin Out Day-To-Day, Gauthier Sick

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The New York Islanders have announced that forward Matt Martin is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play tonight against the Seattle Kraken. Martin played just 7:11 last night in the Islanders overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks which is below the 8:27 he has averaged this season.

Martin has a goal and an assist in 14 games to start the season and has seen his usage dip considerably which is unusual given that he is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He has been less physical than he typically has been in the past averaging just over two hits a game which is a steep drop from the almost four hits he averaged a game last year.

No word on what specifically is keeping Martin from the lineup or if he will be able to dress for the Islanders on Saturday when they take on the Calgary Flames.

The Islanders also announced that forward Julien Gauthier is out with an illness and will miss tonight’s game in Seattle. Gauthier has been a healthy scratch more often than not this season so its hard to say whether or not he will dress when he recovers and is good to play again. The 26-year-old has no points in two games this season and the team has struggled immensely when he has been deployed for New York.

The Islanders are 5-6-4 to start the season and have already dealt with a ton of injuries just a month and a half into the regular season. They were relatively healthy going into last night’s game and can ill afford to lose any regular starters at this point.

Blackhawks Announce Several Injury Updates

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The Chicago Blackhawks have shared that Nikita Zaitsev will be away from the team until early next week, at the earliest, as he’s taking time away for personal reasons. The team also placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with an oblique injury. He and forward Andreas Athanasiou, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, are both considered week-to-week.

The Hawks have recalled Filip Roos to the NHL lineup in response to Zaitsev’s absence. Chicago is also without Taylor Hall, who has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury and returned to practice on Wednesday.

The quartet of Tinordi, Athanasiou, Zaitsev, and Hall have served as go-to lineup pieces for Chicago early on, with each player appearing in five or more games. Hall has played the most prominent role, averaging a little over 16 minutes of ice time and four points through eight games. Tinnordi and Zaitsev have operated as bottom-pairing defenders, with each player averaging roughly 14 minutes of ice time and scoring one point. Athanasiou has averaged the least ice time of the group, playing just under 13 minutes of ice time through 11 games and scoring four points. This is despite Athanasiou playing with the team’s middle-six in the games he’s appeared in, with half of his ice time being played alongside rookie Lukas Reichel.

Despite the long list of injuries, recalled defenseman Filip Roos is expected to slot in as the team’s seventh defenseman – playing behind AHL teammates Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips. He is the team’s only healthy extra player for Chicago’s Thursday night game against Tampa Bay, as Hall is expected to sit out of the match.

Jets’ Rasmus Kupari To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Shoulder Injury

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5:24 p.m.: Kupari has been moved to injured reserve and winger Axel Jonsson-Fjällby has been recalled from AHL Manitoba under emergency conditions, per a team release.

2:23 p.m.: Winnipeg Jets associate coach Scott Arniel told reporters Wednesday that forward Rasmus Kupari will miss four to six weeks with a “shoulder issue” (via Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press).

It marks the continuation of a tough season for Kupari, who’s struggled in a depth role in his first season north of the border. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade last summer, Kupari left Tuesday’s win over the Devils after taking just two shifts due to an awkward collision with the boards. It left the Jets with just ten forwards for the remainder of the game after they opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, although they were able to post six goals against New Jersey regardless.

Kupari, 23, was a first-round pick of the Kings in 2018 but has yet to make much of an NHL impact. He did play in a career-high 66 games with Los Angeles last year, recording three goals and 12 assists for 15 points while going 54.6% in the faceoff dot, but had underwhelming possession numbers against easy competition. Through 15 games with the Jets, Kupari has just one assist and a -3 rating while averaging 9:02 per game, although that number is brought down by Kupari’s short stint in Tuesday’s game.

The Jets have used Kupari as their fourth-line center between Morgan Barron and David Gustafsson for the majority of the season, although they’ve controlled just 42.4% of expected goals, by far the worst of any Jets line with at least 30 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. Barron is leading the pack with three goals and five points in 15 games, while Gustafsson has two markers and no helpers in 11 games.

Kupari has not been placed on injured reserve yet, although the Jets won’t need to. They have two open spots on the active roster and ample cap space for a recall from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. With just 11 healthy forwards on the active roster now, a recall will almost certainly come before Friday’s game against the Sabres.

It will be intriguing to see if they opt for a more veteran option such as center Dominic Toninato, who has 169 NHL games under his belt over the past six seasons, or if they opt to give a younger player a shot. If they opt for the latter, 2022 first-round pick Brad Lambert could get a nod after lighting up the minors with ten points in ten games this year.

Atlantic Notes: Husso, Klingberg, Timmins, Benson

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Red Wings netminder Ville Husso has left the team, currently in Sweden for the 2023 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, to return home after the birth of his and his wife’s first child, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The 28-year-old, currently in the second season of a three-year, $14.25MM contract, has started 10 of the Red Wings’ 15 games this season but has struggled lately, posting a sub-.900 SV% in each of his last three starts. On the season, he now has a 6-3-1 record with a .885 SV% and 3.61 GAA, conceding 5.7 goals above average. In his place, 30-year-old Alex Lyon is expected to make his Red Wings debut in one of the team’s two overseas contests, either Thursday against the Senators or Friday against the Maple Leafs. Detroit has carried Lyon as a third goalie on the active roster for the entire 2023-24 season, unwilling to expose him to waivers, but he hasn’t seen a minute of action in the crease after a strong showing in 15 games to close out last season with the Panthers.

A few more notes out of the Atlantic Division today:

  • Maple Leafs right-shot defenseman John Klingberg is likely to miss that Friday tilt against the Red Wings, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Wednesday (via Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun). The 6-foot-3 Swede is still dealing with an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for November 10th’s shootout win over the Flames, although he returned to play 19:00 the following night against the Canucks, registering a +1 rating. The much-maligned 31-year-old from Gothenburg is cooling down after a decent start, posting no points in his last eight outings and is down to a -7 rating on the season. Klingberg did travel with the team to Sweden but has not practiced with the squad since arriving in his home country.
  • Staying with Toronto, Keefe also told reporters that defenseman Conor Timmins is likely to return from a lower-body sustained in preseason play during the team’s trip to Sweden. He practiced with the team earlier this week and is now expected to enter the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Wild, although he hasn’t been ruled against the Red Wings if he gets closer to playing shape quicker than anticipated over the next two days. Timmins has been strong in limited action since joining the Leafs via trade from the Coyotes last season, posting 14 points in 25 games with the team post-trade despite averaging just 15:37 per contest. His role in the lineup became unclear after Toronto added Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn after last year’s trade deadline, though, making him a healthy scratch for most of the tail end of the season. After a strong showing in the early goings of the 2023 preseason, too, Timmins will look to begin the first season of his two-year, $2.2MM contract on a high note and be of value to the Leafs, especially while Timothy Liljegren remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
  • Sabres rookie winger Zach Benson is likely to return from a lower-body injury on the team’s upcoming three-game road trip, head coach Don Granato told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News on Wednesday. Benson, still just 18, hasn’t looked out of place so far in NHL action, posting two assists in six contests while averaging over 13 minutes per game. He’s missed ten out of the last 12 games with the injury, however, and will need to be activated from IR before he returns to play. The Sabres’ trip includes stops in Winnipeg on Friday, Chicago on Sunday, and Washington next Wednesday.

Tage Thompson Listed As Week-To-Week

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Sabres head coach Don Granato announced to reporters Wednesday that center Tage Thompson is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, via Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report. Granato said Thompson, who left Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins on two different occasions with separate injuries, isn’t expected to miss more than two months.

The news is deeply concerning for the Sabres, who are now without their number-one center for the foreseeable future and already face an uphill climb to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thompson skated just six shifts against the Bruins, sustaining an apparent foot injury early after opposing defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s skate made incidental contact with the top of his left skate boot, causing a cut. He would return later in the contest but left again after a McAvoy shot appeared to hit him in the left wrist area. The latter is the injury sidelining him long-term.

Thompson, 26, had an All-Star-caliber season for the Sabres last year. His 47 goals ranked sixth in the league, while his 94 points ranked 15th, all while posting a Corsi share of 53.6% at even strength and earning a handful of third- and fourth-place Hart Trophy votes. Most importantly, he stayed healthy – appearing in 78 out of 82 games as the Sabres missed the playoffs by just one point.

This year hasn’t been quite as smooth for Thompson, who has six goals and a -5 rating through 16 contests. After taking 295 shots on goal last season, Thompson has struggled to find the net at times, recording just four shots on goal in three games leading up to Tuesday.

With the Sabres again struggling defensively and sitting seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 7-8-1 record, the timing of Thompson’s absence is far from ideal. The team will need to make up ground quickly here after a slow start to keep their hopes of ending their NHL-record 12-year playoff drought. Missing Thompson will certainly complicate that, even if he wasn’t quite at the level we’ve seen him perform at the past two seasons.

Thompson hasn’t been placed on long-term injured reserve yet, but he’s likely eligible as missing ten days and 24 games seems realistic given Granato’s phraseology. Doing so would free up a spot on the 23-man roster, which the Sabres will need to do in the coming days to activate netminder Eric Comrie from IR, who’s nearing recovery from a lower-body injury and will travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road swing, per Granato (via Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News).

Luckily, Granato also expects winger Alex Tuch to return to the lineup from a short-term upper-body injury before Friday’s game against the Jets, meaning at least the Sabres won’t be down two pieces of their top line. In terms of a direct replacement for Thompson, look for Dylan Cozens to slide up to first-line duties alongside team goals and points leader Jeff Skinner. The 22-year-old, like Thompson, has been off to a mildly disappointing start, registering eight points through 14 contests after registering 31 goals and 68 points last year.

Afternoon Notes: Mantha, Grzelcyk, Avalanche

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NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti tweeted today that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha suffered a ruptured ear drum when an Evgeny Kuznetsov shot bounced off a defender’s stick and hit Mantha in the ear. The injury happened November 8th in a game against the Florida Panthers and led to the 29-year-old being placed on the injured reserve.

Mantha reportedly lost hearing in that ear for six days and has only now started to get it back. He reported feeling dizziness initially, but according to Tarik El-Bashir, he should be well enough to play on Saturday when he is eligible to come off the IR.

Mantha has three goals and an assist in ten games this season with the Capitals and has been a healthy scratch at times as he hasn’t been able to find his game in Washington. He had two of his goals in the Panthers game when he suffered the injury but was knocked out of the game before he could complete the hat trick.

In other notes:

  • Boston Globe writer Conor Ryan is reporting that Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media today that he expects defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to be cleared to return to the Bruins lineup by this Saturday. The 29-year-old has been out of the lineup since October 30th when he suffered an upper-body injury in an overtime win against the Florida Panthers. Grzelcyk played just 3:29 in that game and left during the third period of the win. The native of Charlestown, Massachusetts has dressed in nine games this season and has a single assist but has looked off his game when in the lineup. His average ice time is down, as are many of his defensive numbers which could lead one to speculate if he was dealing with a nagging injury prior to sitting out these past few weeks.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve essentially reversed yesterday’s roster moves. The Avalanche sent Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones to the Colorado Eagles yesterday and today decided to recall both players. No word yet on why Colorado opted to change course, but both players are back on the Avalanche’s NHL roster as of this morning. Jones has an assist in his one NHL game this year while Malinski is pointless in one game.

Carson Soucy Out Week-To-Week With Foot Injury

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November 15th: The Vancouver Canucks have updated Soucy’s status and provided a clear timeline by now saying that the defenseman will miss the next six-to-eight weeks of action.

November 14th: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared that defenseman Carson Soucy will undergo further evaluation on a foot injury that currently has him designated as week-to-week. Tocchet also shared that Tyler Meyers should be ready for the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the New York Islanders. The team also recalled Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup ahead of their Tuesday practice.

Soucy has been out of action since he left the team’s November 12th game early. He’s appeared in 13 games this season, netting two goals and five points, while averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time. He’s in his first season with the Canucks, after signing a three-year contract on July 1st that carries a $3.25MM cap hit.

Meyers’ return to the lineup will help fill in for the missing Soucy. The 33-year-old defenseman looked strong to start the season, netting six points in 15 games before his injury while operating on the team’s second pairing. If he can’t go, Akito Hirose will step back into the lineup after spending 11 games in the AHL. Hirose appeared in two Canucks games earlier in the season before being sent to the minors. He’s failed to score in either the NHL or AHL this year, although he did record two penalties and a +2 in his AHL appearances. Hirose is in his first full season as a professional, although the NCAA free agent he did appear in seven games with the Canucks last year as well – netting three assists. He’ll have a chance to record his first NHL goal or his first point of the year if he’s able to slot into the lineup.

Tage Thompson Left Tonight’s Game

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Buffalo Sabres star center Tage Thompson left tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins with an apparent upper-body injury. It was eventful night for the 26-year-old as at one point it did look like he could leave the game with a lower-body injury after he was involved in a collision with Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Thompson returned to the game at the start of the second period but left towards the end of the period with what could be a wrist injury.

Thompson took a shot to the wrist from McAvoy and appeared in discomfort on the Sabres bench immediately after. A short time later the Sabres made the official announcement that Thompson would not return.

If Thompson is out for any length of time it could become a big issue for the Sabres who sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 7-8-1 record. The native of Phoenix, Arizona opened the season with massive expectations after exploding last year for 47 goals in 78 games. This came on the heels of a 38-goal campaign in 2021-22 in which Thompson came out of nowhere to eclipse career highs in nearly every statistical category.

Thompson has been okay to start the year with six goals and six assists in 16 games but will probably need to find another gear if the Sabres are going to find themselves in the playoff hunt come Spring 2024. Many expected Buffalo to challenge for a playoff spot this year, but the competitiveness in the Eastern Conference could push the Sabres out of the playoff picture sooner than expected, particularly if Thompson is sidelined for any length of time.

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