East Notes: Heinen, Mayfield, Hinostroza, Zohorna
Free agent forward Danton Heinen is still on a professional tryout with the Bruins almost a month into the season, but it appears that’s about to change. The 28-year-old took full line rushes with the Bruins at practice this morning, indicating a contract signing could come ahead of Monday’s game against the Panthers.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pound winger is expected to make his return to Beantown in a fourth-line role with John Beecher and Oskar Steen if he does sign, with Patrick Brown sitting out. The Bruins currently have nearly $1.5MM in cap space to play with – forward Milan Lucic is on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, giving GM Don Sweeney some flexibility he’s yet to have this season. Heinen, a fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2014, amassed 103 points in 220 contests with the team before they traded him to the Ducks during the 2019-20 season.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this morning:
- Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield returned to practice today for the first time since sustaining a foot injury early this month, according to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. However, he’s not yet ready to return to game action and will miss an eighth straight game against the Red Wings tonight, instead likely aiming for a return against the Capitals on Thursday. The 6-foot-5 defender, already 30 years old, is beginning a seven-year extension earning him $3.5MM per season. The Islanders are off to a decent 4-2-1 start but have struggled to control play, and their 48.3% expected goals share (per MoneyPuck) ranks 22nd in the league. They’ve yet again received spectacular netminding from Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
- The Penguins have once again recalled Vinnie Hinostroza and Radim Zohorna from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and they participated in practice this morning, per Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff. The two were papered down after the Penguins’ last game, helping the team bank cap space on off days while netminder Alex Nedeljkovic remains on LTIR. Zohorna has two points through four contests this season, while Hinostroza has yet to make his Penguins debut.
New Jersey Devils Place Colin Miller On IR
Oct. 30: After scratching him for Sunday’s win over the Wild, the Devils have returned Dowling to AHL Utica, per a team announcement. The move is not surprising, given New Jersey does not play again until Thursday.
Oct. 29: Suffering a lower-body injury during a team practice on October 19th, the New Jersey Devils announced that defenseman Colin Miller has officially been placed on the injured reserve, and the team has recalled Justin Dowling to take his place on the roster.
It will not be a huge impact for New Jersey on the ice, as after being acquired from the Dallas Stars this past summer, Miller still has yet to suit up in any games this season, even before the injury took place. Last year in Dallas, Miller was an effective bottom-pairing option for the Stars, averaging almost 17 minutes a night, scoring six goals and 15 assists over 79 games.
With the Devils top-four defensemen essentially set in stone, the team has opted to keep the combination of Brendan Smith and Luke Hughes in the bottom pairing, allowing Hughes to play regular even strength with what the team has deemed a safer defensive partner.
Much like Miller, and potentially even more so, it’s going to be difficult for Dowling to break into the forward unit for New Jersey. He has not played an NHL game since the 2021-22 season with the Vancouver Canucks, and does not appear as an upgrade over any player already in the Devils’ bottom-six forward groups. However, he has gotten off to a strong start in the AHL with the Utica Comets, notching three assists in four games. At the very least, being able to practice with the Devils over the upcoming days will surely help his play once he eventually is sent back down.
Morning Notes: Janmark, Ružička, Dermott
Oilers forward Mattias Janmark did not dress in Sunday’s Heritage Classic win over the Flames, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, and the 30-year-old is listed as out with a shoulder injury with no timeline for a return. Defenseman Vincent Desharnais drew into the lineup in his place, scoring his first NHL goal in the process as the Oilers dressed seven defensemen for the fourth time this season.
Janmark, now in his eighth NHL season, signed a one-year, $1MM extension to remain an Oiler in June. The depth scoring winger has been held off the scoresheet through seven games, however, averaging 13:05 and posting a -2 rating. He hasn’t been shooting the puck as often as we’re used to seeing – he’s averaging just one shot per game, but his teammates haven’t helped him out in the assist department, either. The Oilers are shooting just 2.9% with Janmark on the ice at even strength, and his possession numbers have actually been quite good to begin the season with a 56.5% Corsi share. The Oilers do not have cap space for a corresponding recall, so unless Janmark lands on LTIR as a result of his shoulder ailment, Edmonton will roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the time being.
More from around the NHL this morning.
- Also absent from last night’s Heritage Classic was Flames forward Adam Ružička, who head coach Ryan Huska told reporters pre-game would not dress due to a shoulder injury (via Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun). The Slovak winger was off to a strong start this season, posting two goals and two assists for four points in seven games, but is now listed as day-to-day with the injury. The 6-foot-4, 24-year-old winger is in the second year of a $762.5K AAV deal and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.
- Lastly, Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott is expected to miss his second straight game tonight against the Blackhawks with an illness, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports. Dermott, who’s been one of the Coyotes’ best shutdown defenders through the first month of the season, also missed Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Kings. While he’s been held off the scoresheet thus far, the 26-year-old Dermott is rebounding nicely after missing most of last season due to a concussion, posting a relative Corsi share of 1.6% at even strength despite seeing more than 70% of his zone starts in the defensive end. He’s inked to just an $800K cap hit for this season.
Sabres Officially Move Eric Comrie To Injured Reserve
The Buffalo Sabres have placed goaltender Eric Comrie on injured reserve. General manager Kevyn Adams said that the netminder is likely going to miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
Comrie’s injury has coincided with an injury to promising rookie goalie Devon Levi, leaving Buffalo without their top two options. The team has turned towards Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devin Cooley in their absence. Luukkonen has recorded a 1-1 record in two starts as the team’s newfound starter, setting a .881 save percentage and 4.83 goals-against-average. Cooley has yet to slot into the starter’s net but will be playing in his NHL debut whenever he gets the chance. Cooley was an undrafted free agent that operated as the backup to Yaroslav Askarov for the Milwaukee Admirals last season. He set a .909 save percentage in 26 games throughout the year – his second full AHL season. Now in the Sabres system, Cooley appeared in four games for the Rochester Americans this season, winning all four games with a .903 save percentage.
Buffalo will undoubtedly anticipate the return of Levi, who has recorded a .892 save percentage and a 1-3-0 record through four games this season. The quartet of games brings him to just 11 career NHL games between this season and last. He has a .901 save percentage through those 11 games and was anticipated to enter the season as the clear-cut starter. But the 21-year-old Levi is facing stark competition in Comrie, who has played in three games and set a .914 save percentage so far this season.
Levi, who is considered day-to-day with injury, will have a clear runway upon his return with Comrie now out of action. But how the duo vies for starts when both are fully healthy should be exciting to see. Either Buffalo will continue with the hot hand of Comrie, who has lost twice despite strong stats, or they’ll further empower the young and promising Levi. Either way, the Sabres are certainly due for better days in net once these injuries clear up.
Washington Places Dowd On IR, Recall Lapierre
The Washington Capitals have placed forward Nic Dowd on injured reserved and recalled 2020 First Round pick Hendrix Lapierre from the Hershey Bears. Dowd has been out since the team’s October 18th game with an upper-body injury and will now miss an additional week of action, at least.
And while Washington was able to fill in for Dowd’s injury, they are also anticipating Sonny Milano to miss action with illness. This means the team will need to recall one more forward to ice a full lineup, as they’re not currently carrying any extra forwards. One possible option for this recall could be top prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko, who garnered a lot of attention during Washington’s training camp but narrowly missed the mark for the roster. He has five points through his first seven career AHL games.
Lapierre’s recall is an enticing one for Capitals fans anticipating what the former 22nd-overall selection could become. His only NHL action came in the 2021-22 season when Lapierre played six games and scored one goal. Last season was his first full year of professional hockey, with the winger netting 15 goals and 30 points in 60 regular season games and three goals and six points in 20 playoff games. Lapierre has three points in six AHL games this year, continuing his modest minor-league scoring.
Aliaksei Protas has slotted into the lineup in place of Dowd, recording one assist in six NHL games while averaging just shy of nine minutes of ice time. The 22-year-old forward was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft and has 97 career NHL Games under his belt, with 25 career points.
Canadiens’ Mike Matheson Out Day-To-Day
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Mike Matheson is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old suffered the apparent injury during the club’s 4-3 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. Matheson has been on a tear to start the season with two goals and four assists in his first eight games of the campaign. Matheson dealt with several injuries last year in what was a shortened season for the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native. He dressed in just 48 games in 2022-23 registering eight goals and 26 assists and was a +7.
The Canadiens are already missing David Savard with a broken left hand and can ill afford to lose Matheson for any length of time after a surprising 5-2-1 start to their season. The Canadiens were expected to be in a transition year but have impressed thus far winning a lot of close games.
The severity of Matheson’s injury is unknown; however, early indicators are that his ailment isn’t of the serious variety. Matheson will travel with the Canadiens to Las Vegas today for their upcoming road trip, which indicates that he will likely play in the next week in one of the three games on the trip. Arpon Basu of The Athletic has tweeted that the team is saying that Matheson’s injury is nothing serious.
Matheson missed much of the Canadiens training camp with an injury that seemed to linger for longer than expected. This was also the case for several of the injuries he dealt with last year, including the abdominal strain that occurred at a morning skate and eventually caused him to miss the first month of the season.
While Matheson’s injury frequency must be of concern, his play on the ice is not. Since a difficult final season with the Florida Panthers, Matheson has been extremely responsible and creative with the puck which has led to him posting solid offensive numbers in recent years. And should the Canadiens’ assessment be correct, Matheson will return later this week to hopefully continue his solid start to the season.
Injury Notes: McDavid, Hischier, McCabe
As both the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames take the ice at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta today for practice in preparation for the 2023 Heritage Classic tomorrow evening, several reports are coming out of the Oilers practice that captain Connor McDavid has joined his teammates on the ice (X Link). There is growing excitement throughout Edmonton that McDavid will be in the Heritage Classic tomorrow, after missing the last two games.
The injury status of McDavid appears to be a bit complicated, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had mentioned he was extremely pessimistic that McDavid would be available for the Heritage Classic, given the nature of his injury and the atypical playing conditions on an outdoor rink. Given the importance of McDavid to the Oilers and the NHL in general, it is more than unlikely that Edmonton is trying to rush McDavid back, but he may have healed quicker than previously thought.
The team could certainly use him back on the ice regardless of whether it is the Heritage Classic or not, as the Oilers have still only managed one win in their first seven games to start the regular season. If the team is set to take a step in the right direction on the season, there is no better team to do it against than their in-province rival.
Other injury notes:
- In last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils captain, Nico Hischier, was not in attendance on the bench to start the second period, after receiving a hit to the head from Sabres’ defenseman, Connor Clifton, earning him a match penalty for the rest of the game. Hischier would eventually come back to the game for New Jersey, but would not play a lot of minutes from then on out. Today, team reporter for the team, Amanda Stein, is reporting that Hischier will not be in the lineup tomorrow night, suffering an upper-body injury as a result of the penalty.
- Although Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman, Jake McCabe, will not be on the ice with the team in their next upcoming matchup against the Nashville Predators due to a groin injury, Toronto apparently gathered very positive results from McCabe’s MRI report. David Alter of The Hockey News reports that McCabe won’t be out of the lineup ‘too long’, and the MRI results were a best-case scenario for both the player and the team.
Sabres Recall Devin Cooley; Eric Comrie Out Week-To-Week
The Sabres have been carrying three goalies on their roster all season long but injuries have struck, resulting in them needing to bring up another one as the team announced that they’ve recalled Devin Cooley from AHL Rochester.
The recall was needed with Eric Comrie exiting yesterday’s game against New Jersey in the second period with a lower-body injury. GM Kevyn Adams told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that Comrie will be out on a week-to-week basis.
Meanwhile, opening night starter Devon Levi has only skated once in the last nine days as he’s dealing with a lower-body issue of his own; Adams indicated that they’re hopeful that he can return to practice on Tuesday. Buffalo also has veteran third-stringer Dustin Tokarski under contract but he suffered an upper-body injury during training camp that he hasn’t recovered from so Cooley is the next player up.
The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Sabres organization after spending the last three seasons in Nashville’s system. He has played in four games with the Americans this year, posting a 3.46 GAA with a .903 SV%. Cooley is set to serve as the backup to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Buffalo’s next game on Sunday against Colorado.
Evening Snapshots: Athanasiou, Bruins, Comrie
One of the most notable missing pieces in the team’s win tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights was Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Andreas Athanasiou, who was a healthy scratch. Signed to a two-year, $8.5 MM extension after last year’s season, Athanasiou has not gotten off to a strong start this year with Chicago (Tweet Link).
Last season, as the team’s regular season schedule came to a close, Athanasiou was tied for the team lead in goal-scoring with Taylor Raddysh, earning him an extension over the offseason. In seven games so far this year, Athanasiou only has three assists, which is still good for sixth on the team in point production but has not incorporated the goal-scoring production the team is accustomed to.
There is no doubt that the relatively high salary the Blackhawks gave him over the summer had to do with the team reaching the salary cap floor for the season, but the team should still be seeking more production out of his play. In any case, even on a rebuilding team in Chicago, Athanasiou will need to raise his level of play to earn a full-time spot in the Blackhawks lineup.
Other snapshots:
- To comply with the salary cap, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reported that all the transactions made today by the Boston Bruins were ‘paper’ transactions. For those that don’t know, ‘paper’ transactions are simply callups and reassignments that qualify for salary cap compliance, but the players included likely will not see any minutes with their respective teams.
- In tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the Buffalo Sabres announced that goaltender, Eric Comrie, will not return to the game after suffering a lower-body injury. It is unfortunate news for the Sabres after Comrie has had to start three of the last four games due to an injury from regular starting netminder, Devon Levi. If Comrie is expected to miss a significant amount of time, Buffalo’s third-string goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will likely see the majority of starts for the foreseeable future.
Andrei Svechnikov Set To Return From Injury
The Carolina Hurricanes have announced the return of top scorer Andrei Svechnikov, who received surgery on his ACL in March. Svechnikov shed the no-contact jersey at the team’s Monday practice and is now in line to return to the lineup, with Carolina slated to play the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
The return of Svechnikov has been highly anticipated and should have very interesting on-ice effects. The Hurricanes currently rank second in the league in goals-for, and now add a former 30-goal-scorer back into the fold. His 30-goal season came in 2021-22, when Svechnikov recorded 69 points in 78 games, and was one of four seasons where the 23-year-old Svechnikov has scored 20 or more goals. But more interestingly, Svechnikov tallied the third-worst xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) of any Canes forward, per Natural Stat Trick. This will be an area of improvement for Svechnikov, who is rejoining a Carolina team that’s allowed more goals than any other team in the league through their first eight games.
Michael Bunting has been performing well in Svechnikov’s role, scoring two goals and six points operating alongside Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Canes have also stuck with the trio of Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis as their top line. The seemingly locked-in top-six could spell for a bit of a logjam with Svechnikov returning, who has spent nearly all of the last two seasons alongside one of Necas, Aho, or Jarvis. Having high-scoring wingers sprinkled throughout the lineup is certainly a good issue to have, but how Carolina decides to utilize Svechnikov will be worth watching closely.