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Mike Smith Suffers Setback; Returns To Edmonton

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The Edmonton Oilers are in the middle of a road trip that carries them through Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Winnipeg, but find themselves in first place in the Pacific Division. Their offense has been nearly unstoppable, but their goaltending has also been excellent to start the year. That’s despite Mike Smith dealing with an injury and Mikko Koskinen carrying the load; the latter has a 7-1 record with a .920 save percentage through eight games, easily the best numbers of his career to this point.

Koskinen could have to keep it up for the next while, as Smith has suffered a setback in his injury recovery and returned to Edmonton, according to Jason Gregor of TSN. Oilers head coach Dave Tippett told him that “it is a concern for sure” and that Smith will get more imaging back in Edmonton to evaluate the issue.

For now, it’s Koskinen and Stuart Skinner for the Oilers as they try to navigate this road trip. The team was defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in the first game, with Skinner allowing three goals on 38 shots in just the second start of his young career. It’s hard for fans to trust Koskinen as the de facto starter at this point after he has struggled in that role in the past. The big netminder has a .909 save percentage overall for the Oilers, with a 63-48-9 record.

In the case of Smith, though he has been relatively healthy in recent years, injury was always going to be a concern moving forward. The veteran goaltender is one of the oldest players in the league at 39 (40 in March) and has a lot of miles on his body from a long career in the NHL. His 645 games played puts him 43rd all-time among NHL goaltenders and he has faced more shots than all but 33 netminders–18,815 in fact.

Still, the hope should be that Koskinen can get them through this stretch and Smith can return at some point. If either of those things turn bad, the Oilers may find themselves in the market for another goaltender. Though Skinner is obviously talented, his inexperience is certainly something to consider for a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.

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

Brandon Hagel Out Two Weeks With Shoulder Injury

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The Chicago Blackhawks took home their third victory of the season last night, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout. They did it without Brandon Hagel, as he was being evaluated for a shoulder injury suffered on Sunday. Now the team has revealed that shoulder injury will keep Hagel out for the next two weeks. It’s not all bad news though, the team also announced that Isaak Phillips and Tyler Johnson have been removed from the COVID protocol.

Hagel, a sixth-round pick from 2016 by the Buffalo Sabres, has blossomed into a legitimate NHL player with the Blackhawks. Signed in 2018 after he failed to ink an entry-level deal with the Sabres, the former Red Deer Rebels star quickly climbed the ranks to become a full-time member of Chicago’s lineup last season. In 52 games he scored nine goals and 24 points, suggesting there was more to come from the winger in the future.

That future appeared to be this season, as Hagel started the year with four goals and six points in his first 13 games. On the first season of a three-year contract, he was already providing the kind of inexpensive supplementary scoring that the Blackhawks need to be effective.

Two weeks could mean that Hagel misses as few as five games, though it’s unclear right now when he’ll be fully ready to return to action. For now, he and MacKenzie Entwistle, who has also been ruled out for the next several weeks, will have to watch and hope the team can get things turned in the right direction without them.

Wyatt Kalynuk Activated From Injured Reserve

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Nov 10: Kalynuk has now been assigned to the Rockford IceHogs to get some game action in. The AHL club plays tonight against the Iowa Wild, where he’ll make his season debut.

Nov 9: The Chicago Blackhawks activated defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk from long-term injured reserve today, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. Kalynuk was previously sidelined with a right ankle sprain.

He’ll be taking warmups Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, interim head coach Derek King confirmed that he won’t be in the lineup.

Kalynuk was placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to October 5 with the injury and was classified as week-to-week. He could make his season debut soon and could make an effort to push Riley Stillman, who’s playing just 15:17 per game, out of the lineup.

The 24-year-old Kalynuk is entering his second season in the NHL after an impressive rookie campaign last year. Originally a seventh-round selection in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, he was never signed and instead signed his entry-level contract with Chicago prior to the 2020-21 season. Skating in 21 games, Kalynuk scored four goals and five assists for nine points while registering 16:16 of ice time per game last season.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Leivo, Place Niederreiter On IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes have moved Nino Niederreiter to injured reserve, recalling Josh Leivo to take his place on the roster.

Niederreiter is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss another little while as he recovers. The veteran forward last played on October 29, leaving that game against the Chicago Blackhawks early. He still isn’t practicing with the team, though it’s not clear exactly how long he’ll be out. His placement on injured reserve can be retroactive to his last game, so he will be eligible to return whenever he’s healthy enough to do so.

Leivo meanwhile had been playing at the AHL level for the first time since 2016-17 this season, suiting up for three contests with the Chicago Wolves. Though never a full-time NHL option, he has played more than 200 games to this point including 38 last season with the Calgary Flames. Armed with an impressive shot and some offensive upside, the 6’2″ forward could be used in a variety of ways by the Hurricanes if inserted into the lineup.

Injury Notes: Flyers, Maple Leafs, Canadiens

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The Philadelphia Flyers are getting closer to having both Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes back in the lineup, two of the team’s most important players. Head coach Alain Vigneault explained today that the earliest Hayes would get back in the lineup is next Tuesday, but Ellis is ahead of that schedule and could even have an outside chance at playing tomorrow. If Ellis did play, he wouldn’t immediately jump up to the top pairing; Vigneault explained that the team would have to ease him in.

Ellis has played just three games for the Flyers this season, but had four points in those contests and averaged more than 24 minutes of ice time. The 30-year-old defenseman was acquired from the Nashville Predators in the offseason and was expected to carry a huge load at both ends of the rink. Hayes meanwhile is the team’s second-highest-paid player but hasn’t seen the ice at all as he continues to recover from offseason surgery. The 29-year-old had 12 goals and 31 points in 55 games last season and is a key option down the middle for the club.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs had a few absences at today’s practice, most notably captain John Tavares. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Tavares is day-to-day and a game-time decision for tomorrow’s match with the Flyers, according to Mark Masters of TSN. Ondrej Kase has the same designation, and is also a game-time decision for the Maple Leafs. With Petr Mrazek out, the Maple Leafs have the cap space to carry a pair of extra forwards and are expected to bring Joey Anderson and Kirill Semyonov to Philadelphia.
  • The Montreal Canadiens won’t have Jonathan Drouin back in the lineup tonight despite his appearance at the morning skate, while both Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson are questionable for the game against the Los Angeles Kings. The Canadiens have lost their last two and have just three wins in 13 games so far this season. That puts them at the very bottom of the Atlantic Division table, just a few months after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. A lineup without Drouin, Dvorak, and Anderson would certainly be put to the test by the Kings, who are currently on the league’s longest winning streak.

MacKenzie Entwistle Out 4-6 Weeks

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The Chicago Blackhawks have placed MacKenzie Entwistle on long-term injured reserve and expect the young forward to miss between four and six weeks with an ankle injury. The team did not have an update on Brandon Hagel, but announced that Henrik Borgstrom is also out for tonight with a non-COVID illness.

Entwistle, 22, has played in 12 games this season for the Blackhawks, scoring two goals and three points in limited minutes. He’s averaged just 11 minutes a game as he tries to establish himself at the NHL level but will now have to deal with a long rehab before getting back on the ice.

Selected in the third round of the 2017 draft by the Arizona Coyotes, Entwistle was involved in the Marian Hossa trade in 2018 and signed his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks. That entry-level deal is set to expire after this season, but earlier this summer the team signed the young forward to a two-year extension. The one-way contract carries a cap hit of just $800K, but suggests that Chicago had plans of keeping Entwistle with the NHL club moving forward.

Still, that deal was signed by a different front office and with the different coaching staff, meaning there’s still plenty to prove Entwistle. Losing more than a month at this point is certainly not ideal for a prospect still looking to make his stamp, and will only open the door for other young players to receive additional ice time with the Blackhawks. He’ll have to work even harder upon his return to prove he belongs at the highest level.

Kyle Capobianco, Marian Studenic Clear Waivers

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Nov 8: Both players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Nov 7: Two names are appearing on NHL waivers Sunday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Arizona Coyotes placed defenseman Kyle Capobianco there, while the New Jersey Devils waived forward Marian Studenic.

Capobianco, a 24-year-old who was expected to possibly steal a lineup spot this season, hasn’t played this season as a knee injury has sidelined him. Capobianco was activated from injured reserve today in order to permit the Coyotes to waive him. It appears as though recent call-ups Dysin Mayo and Cam Dineen have now surpassed Capobianco on the team’s depth chart.

The Devils have utilized Studenic in five games this season, but the 23-year-old Slovakian has yet to register a point. He was technically the team’s only extra healthy forward, but they’ve also played Mason Geertsen at forward instead of his usual defense at some points this season. Studenic’s averaged just 11:33 of ice time in those five games.

Both Capobianco and Studenic were younger players that appeared to have the inside track on roster spots heading into the season. It’s entirely possible that a team could choose to take a chance on either one of Capobianco or Studenic.

Devin Shore To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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Nov 8: According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the Oilers have moved Shore to injured reserve and recalled Ryan McLeod from the AHL.

Nov 7: Edmonton Oilers forward Devin Shore will be out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, per Tom Gazzola of TSN and NHL Network.

Shore had bounced around the Oilers’ bottom-six forward group so far this season but stayed mostly in a fourth-line role. He’d scored a goal and an assist through eight games, averaging just 8:37 per game.

Tyler Benson and Colton Sceviour are the two extra forwards on Edmonton’s active roster. They’ll both likely get opportunities to draw into the lineup in Shore’s absence. Neither have them have registered a point this year in three and two games, respectively.

Shore signed a two-year, $1.7MM extension with the team on June 9, prior to the opening of free agency. The 27-year-old forward has struggled to maintain a regular spot in an NHL lineup over the past three seasons after playing all 82 games in his first two full NHL seasons with the Dallas Stars in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Given his timeline, Shore is likely to miss between 12 and 19 games.

Miles Wood Out Indefinitely Following Surgery

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that Miles Wood underwent surgery on his right hip and is out indefinitely. The team explains the timeline so far:

During the Oct. 4 preseason game versus the Washington Capitals, Wood suffered an injury to his right hip.  After exhausting all conservative measures, and in consultation with team medical providers and external specialists, Miles has elected to receive surgery.

Wood has not played yet this season and likely will be out several months, though a specific timeline is not yet available. The 26-year-old put up another strong season in 2020-21, scoring 17 goals in 55 games, tying him for the club lead with Pavel Zacha. He has also developed into a key leader from the group, serving as an alternate captain for the Devils since last season.

It’s a tough blow for New Jersey, which has suffered several serious injuries now this season. The team finds itself with a respectable 5-3-2 record, but that’s only good enough for seventh place in the tough Metropolitan Division. The season is a long one, but losing Wood is certainly not an ideal situation given his place with the team.

Perhaps more notably, however, this injury will also have huge implications on Wood’s next contract. He is set to be a restricted free agent for the final time next summer and could have elected arbitration to give him a one-year deal, walking him directly to UFA status. Arbitration will be risky now, however, given that his counting stats from this year will be very low (if existent at all). Coming off a four-year, $11MM deal, Wood likely would have been looking at a nice raise on the $2.75MM cap hit he carries. Now, it’s unclear what kind of negotiation will take place as he recovers from major surgery.

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