Snapshots: Skinner, Greenway, Hill, Atanasov
Rumoured to be on the horizon for several days now, the Buffalo Sabres have officially activated forwards Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway from injured reserve tonight, per a team announcement. According to the stipulations provided in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Sabres can activate both, and carry a 24-man roster over the roster freeze since they are under the salary cap.
Barring something extreme, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio expects both players to be in the lineup tonight as the Sabres take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Skinner, dealing with an upper-body injury, has missed three games for Buffalo, while Greenway, also dealing with an upper-body injury, has missed a total of nine games throughout his injury.
It is positive news for a Sabres organization seemingly unable to stay healthy up to this point in the 2023-24 regular season. With a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games, Buffalo has failed to gain any sort of traction this season, sitting stagnantly in seventh place in the Atlantic Division.
Other snapshots:
- Playing in only one game since December 1st, the expectation is that the Vegas Golden Knights will place goaltender Adin Hill on injured reserve (X Link). Not slowing down a bit since his impressive performance in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, Hill holds a 10-2-2 record this season, carrying a league-leading .933 SV% and a 1.93 GAA in 15 starts.
- According to Elliotte Friedman, one player who is gaining plenty of overseas traction in the NHL is Vasili Atanasov, currently rostered on Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League. With one year remaining on his current contract, the 21-year-old forward has 19 goals and 38 points in 39 games. Although he has shown quite the ability to score at the professional level, he is a bit undersized standing at 5’11” and 157 pounds.
Central Notes: Girard, Lucchini, Avalanche
One of the most notable inclusions in practice this morning for the Colorado Avalanche was defenseman Samuel Girard, who is working his way back from being in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program for nearly a month (X Link). Returning to the ice is positive in its own right, but Girard is not expected to be back in the lineup this evening.
Upon his entrance to the Player Assistance Program, Girard was very public with his reasoning, saying through his agency, “I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse” (X Link).
With his return to the team imminent, Girard will look to build upon his season after a month off, scoring one goal and four points in his first 15 games for the Avalanche this year. Aside from Girard’s play on the ice, the fact that he is nearing close to a return shows he has gained an adequate degree of success fighting his personal ailments via the program.
Other notes:
- After placing forward Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve only yesterday, the Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Jake Lucchini to fill the missing spot in the lineup. With over 250 games played at the AHL level since the 2018-19 season, Lucchini is only a veteran of 11 games in the NHL, all of which were played last season for the Ottawa Senators. In his first season in the Wild organization, Lucchini has scored nine goals and 20 points in 24 games for their AHL affiliate.
- Back to the Avalanche, having missed the last handful of games with a lower-body injury, defenseman Cale Makar is once again questionable for tonight’s matchup against the Senators (X Link). Furthermore, although forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton were absent from practice due to maintenance days, they are both expected to be in the lineup this evening.
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare Out Four-To-Six Weeks
The Seattle Kraken have announced that forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out on a four-to-six-week timeline.
Per the Kraken’s announcement, the 38-year-old veteran forward suffered his injury during the team’s Monday loss to the Dallas Stars. Bellemare was knocked out of the game by the injury, and he ended up playing in just over four minutes.
This injury is a setback for both Bellemare and the Kraken. For Bellemare, he loses the ability to contribute during a crucial time in the Kraken’s season as they work to attempt to re-enter the Pacific Division playoff picture. He’ll also miss the Winter Classic in the new year, which is unfortunate as well. For Seattle, they’ll be without a reliable veteran bottom-sixer for that important stretch.
A veteran of nearly 700 NHL games, Bellemare is a widely respected defensive forward who has appeared on both Selke and Lady Byng trophy ballots earlier in his career.
A winner of 51.5% of his career draws, Bellemare is a valuable presence at the faceoff dot as well as in the defensive zone, and although he’s averaging a career-low ice time per game the loss of Bellemare is still a notable one for coach Dave Hakstol’s squad.
Injury Updates: Rust, Spurgeon, Grzelcyk
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust has not played since the Penguins’ 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 6th, and in his absence, the Penguins have put together remarkably uneven performances. They’ve collected a few wins but an embarrassing 7-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs showed the cracks in the team’s foundation. Today, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays word from Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, who said Rust skated today on an individual basis, the first time he’s been on the ice since he went down on injured reserve.
Rust’s return to the Penguins lineup would provide the team with a significant boost as it looks to climb in the Metropolitan Division playoff race. Rust has scored 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games this season and scored 20 goals and 46 points last season. Although Valtteri Puustinen has filled in nicely in the team’s top-six with four points in five games, getting Rust back would give the team a needed boost for its playoff chase.
Some more injury updates from around the NHL:
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon was not present for the team’s morning skate, indicating that he will miss the team’s game tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Spurgeon is among the Wild’s most important players, but in his absence Brock Faber has emerged as one of the fastest-rising young defensemen in hockey, playing as many as 30 minutes per night.
- Independent Boston hockey reporter Joe Haggerty relayed word from Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery today, who said that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is out day-to-day. Grzelcyck has not been ruled out for any of the Bruins’ games during their upcoming three-game road trip, although an absence is certainly possible.
Atlantic Notes: Sergachev, Girgensons, Skinner, Greenway
Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss the next “one, maybe two games,” head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday morning (via NHL.com Lightning beat writer Chris Krenn). Sergachev blocked a shot with his left foot early in Tuesday’s win over the Blues and was seen in a boot and scooter yesterday at team facilities, per Diandra Loux of The Hockey News.
With Sergachev confirmed out for tonight’s clash against the Golden Knights and questionable for Saturday against the Capitals, veteran Calvin de Haan is projected to slide into a second-pairing role alongside Darren Raddysh. While they’ll be tasked with more arduous minutes over the next two outings, they’ve been the Lightning’s best defensive pairing by a wide margin this season. Playing over 200 minutes together, de Haan and Raddysh have allowed 1.74 expected goals against per 60 minutes, the best among any pairing in the league with over 100 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.
Through 33 games, Sergachev is off to a rocky start. His two goals and 19 points are second among Lightning defenders behind Victor Hedman, but he’s pacing far below the ten goals and 64 points he scored in 79 games last season. His -15 rating is also the worst of his career.
Other notes out of the Atlantic Division today:
- Sabres head coach Don Granato issued multiple injury updates today ahead of their clash against the Maple Leafs, saying that veteran forward Zemgus Girgensons practiced for the first time today since sustaining a lower-body injury nearly a month ago but that he won’t return to the lineup until after Christmas (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Girgensons, 29, has missed the team’s last 13 games. The team has gone 4-8-1 in that span. Before the injury, Girgensons was off to a tough start, scoring two goals in 20 games after notching double-digit totals the last three seasons. The longest-tenured Sabres forward signed a one-year, $2.5MM extension to remain in Buffalo last June.
- Granato also said wingers Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway are a “possibility” to return to the lineup tonight, meaning they’ll likely be game-time decisions. Both are currently on injured reserve, but since the Sabres have the cap space to activate them, no corresponding transaction will be needed until after the holiday roster freeze lifts on December 28 to get back under the 23-player limit. Both players returning would give the Sabres a fully healthy top-nine forward group for the first time all season, allowing players like Casey Mittelstadt and Zach Benson to see easier matchups in a third-line role.
New York Islanders Activate Matt Martin Off IR, Share Other Injury Updates
The New York Islanders have activated Matt Martin from injured reserve. The forward hsan’t played since November 15th, battling an upper-body injury. He was formerly activated on November 28th but faced setbacks that required him to be placed back on IR. Martin appeared in 14 games before being moved to IR, scoring two points and recording seven penalty minutes. The 34-year-old is in his 15th NHL season, with all but two years coming with the New York Islanders. Martin ranks eighth all-time in games played for the Islanders franchise, joining a top 10 that also features long-time teammates Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, and Casey Cizikas.
The Islanders also shared that Julien Gauthier is set to miss the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the Washington Capitals with an upper-body injury. Oliver Wahlstrom is expected to fill in for Gauthier, after serving as a healthy scratch for the team’s last seven games. Wahlstrom has scored five points in the 17 appearances he’s made this season. Gauthier has also spent time as a healthy scratch this season, only appearing in 14 of the team’s 31 games. He’s tied Wahlstrom’s five points in his outings.
Finally, New York head coach Lane Lambert shared that none of Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield, or Adam Pelech traveled with the team on their two-game road trip that takes them up to the league’s holiday break. All three defenseman are currently on injured reserve, with Pelech placed on long-term IR on November 25th. All three of the injured defenders have averaged 19-or-more minutes of ice time in the games they have appeared in, speaking to the impact that their absences makes on the Islanders lineup.
Minnesota Wild Move Mats Zuccarello To Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild have placed their leading point scorer, Mats Zuccarello, on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. This will hold the 36-year-old winger out for at least one week, although the team’s recent designation of Zuccarello as ‘week-to-week’ suggests that he might be out for longer. Zuccarello has 28 points in 28 games this season, including a team-leading 22 assists.
Zuccarello is continuing to excel offensively with Minnesota, after recording 67 points in 78 games last season and a career-high 79 points in 70 games in 2021-22. The Wild brought in Zuccarello ahead of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline, dealing two conditional draft picks to Dallas that would ultimately turn into a 2019 second round pick and 2020 third round pick. Minnesota signed Zuccarello to a two-year, $8.5MM contract extension in September, carrying the winger through the 2025-26 season.
Minnesota is getting back on track under new head coach John Hynes, winning eight of the 11 games they’ve played under the new brass. This hot streak has been manned by Minnesota’s youth, with Brock Faber scoring six points, Marco Rossi scoring seven points, and Matt Boldy scoring 10 points since Hynes took over. This includes Boldy’s seven goals in his last 11 games, tied for the third-most in the league since November 28th.
Vinni Lettieri slotted into the lineup to fill in for Zuccarello on Tuesday night and looks to remain on the ice as the Wild don’t currently have any extra forwards on the roster. The team could also turn towards a minor league call-up, with Nic Petan, Jujhar Khaira, and Samuel Walker all having slotted into the NHL lineup at some point this season.
Atlantic Notes: Skinner, Lundell, Gadjovich
While Sabres fans likely have a bad taste in their mouth after last night’s 9-4 defeat at the hands of the Blue Jackets, it’s not all bad in northern New York. Star winger Jeff Skinner was a full participant in practice today for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury last Wednesday against the Avalanche and could be a game-time decision against the Maple Leafs tomorrow, head coach Don Granato told reporters (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550).
The injury has kept Skinner out of the last three games, during which the Sabres have gone 1-2-0 with a -4 goal differential. He is one of three Sabres forwards on the injured list, joining Jordan Greenway and Zemgus Girgensons. His absence hasn’t helped a Sabres team that’s slipping further out of the playoff picture every day, now sitting squarely in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with a 13-17-3 record and 29 points.
It has been a trying season for the team, but Skinner has done his job for the most part. Through 30 games, he’s tied for the team lead in goals with 12 and is now on pace to score 32 this season if he stays healthy. That would be his third straight season above the 30-goal mark, the longest streak of his career. It’s been quite the revival for the 31-year-old Skinner, who’s rebounded nicely since a 2020-21 campaign in which he scored just seven goals in 53 games. His services may not be worth the $9MM cap hit he’s locked into until 2027, but he remains a bonafide top-six winger and one of the team’s highest-scoring threats.
Skinner is currently on injured reserve, although the Sabres have an open spot on their roster after assigning Brett Murray to AHL Rochester this morning.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division today:
- Panthers center Anton Lundell will be a game-time decision against the Blues on Thursday as he deals with an illness, head coach Paul Maurice said today. Lundell has missed the last three games with the ailment, which was severe enough to warrant being placed on injured reserve on Monday. The 22-year-old is still in the development stage of his career after the Panthers selected him 12th overall in the 2020 draft, but his stagnating offensive totals since his 44-point rookie season cause some concern. Through 28 games this year, Lundell has two goals and ten assists for 12 points and a +4 rating while averaging 15:38 per game.
- Sticking with Florida, Maurice also confirmed winger Jonah Gadjovich will remain out with an illness for tomorrow’s game. Since signing a one-year deal with the Panthers a few days after the season began in October, the fourth-line grinder has played in nine games, recording one assist and a whopping 43 penalty minutes while averaging 6:42 per contest. He has been unavailable for the team’s last two contests but was a healthy scratch in three preceding games, meaning he hasn’t suited up since December 8 against the Penguins.
Mats Zuccarello Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
The Minnesota Wild have announced that Mats Zuccarello will miss the team’s Tuesday night game, designating him as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The veteran forward has been a focal piece of Minnesota’s offense through the early season, currently leading the team in scoring with 28 points in 28 games.
Zuccarello is in his fifth season with Minnesota, after spending nine seasons with the New York Rangers. His 14-year NHL career comes despite the 5’8″ winger originally going undrafted. Zucarello originally signed with the Rangers following the end of the 2009-10 SHL (then the SEL) season. Zuccarello led MODO Hockey in scoring that season,
Zuccarello began his North American career at the end of the SHL’s 2009-10 season, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Rangers after leading MODO Hockey in scoring. He split the 2010-11 season between the AHL and NHL, recording 23 points in the 42 games he managed with the Rangers lineup. He again split time between the two leagues for 2011-12 and traveled to the KHL for ice time during the lockout 2012-13 season. As a result, it wasn’t until 2013-14 that Zuccarello received his first full NHL season and he made the most of it – leading the Rangers in scoring with 19 goals and 59 points in 77 games. His strong offense helped propel New York to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, with Zuccarello adding 13 points in 25 playoff games.
Extra forward Vinni Lettieri will likely slot into the lineup in the wake of Zuccarello’s injury. Lettieri has already appeared in 14 games with the Wild this season, scoring three goals and four points. Minnesota could also turn towards an AHL call-up, with minor-leaguers Nic Petan, Jujhar Khaira, and Samuel Walker all slotting into the NHL lineup at some point this season.
Snapshots: Sabres, Kulich, Hagg
Still without forwards Jeff Skinner, Zemgus Girgensons, and Jordan Greenway, the Buffalo Sabres have dealt with numerous injuries to their forward core this season, but should be welcoming an up-and-coming player back to the lineup tonight. In an article from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, there is every expectation that Jack Quinn will draw back into the active roster, and make his season debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Dealing with an Achilles injury suffered in late June, Quinn has been prohibited from building upon his rookie season last year, in which he scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games, finishing 12th in Calder Trophy voting. Seeing their offensive output drop from third in the league last year, to only 26th in the league this season, the Sabres will only benefit from reintroducing Quinn back into the lineup.
After just failing to reach the playoffs last season, Buffalo currently holds a 13-6-3 record through 32 games this year, sitting 5th in the Atlantic Division and five points behind the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. With Quinn undoubtedly needing a few games to get back to full speed, the Sabres are hoping increased health in the organization will help change the trajectory of their season.
Other snapshots:
- Staying in Buffalo, Lysowski mentions in the same article that the team has loaned top prospect, Jiri Kulich, to Team Czechia for the 2023 World Junior Championships. Kulich was originally drafted 28th overall by the Sabres in the 2022 NHL Draft and has transitioned rather well to North American hockey. Playing for the Rochester Americans this season, Kulich has 16 goals and 22 points in 22 games, leading the team in scoring.
- According to Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune, the Anaheim Ducks have sent defenseman Robert Hagg down to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Originally recalled on December 10th, Hagg served as a healthy scratch for all five of the team’s games in the meantime, failing to suit up once for Anaheim this season.