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Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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The two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off couldn’t come at a better time for Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, who head coach Jon Cooper shared is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Benjamin Pierce, the Lightning’s Manager of Media Relations. Cooper added that Kucherov tweaked something at Saturday’s practice, forcing him to miss Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over Montreal on Sunday. The Sunday win marked the end of a busy stretch in Tampa Bay’s schedule, marked by two home games and two away games in just a five-day span. That busy stint could have exacerbated any minor injuries Kucherov was facing, but he’ll now have plenty of time to recover with Tampa Bay’s next game not until February 23rd.

The Tampa Bay offense fired on all cylinders without Kucherov on Sunday, but the star Russian has still served as the team’s beating heart. He’s scored eight points in his last five games and leads the Lightning lineup with 25 goals and 82 points in 52 games this season. He’s scoring at an 82-game pace of 39 goals and 129 points. Those marks would – impressively – not even scratch Kucherov’s career-high in scoring, which he set with 44 goals, 100 assists, and 144 points in 81 games last season. Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid became the first players to reach 100 assists this century last season. The feat had previously not been accomplished since Wayne Gretzky achieved it in the 1990-91 season. That was Gretkzy’s 11th consecutive season reaching the scoring mark that only four other players have ever hit, none more than once.

With a well-timed break in store, Kucherov shouldn’t miss any prolonged time with this injury. He’s appeared in at least 21 minutes of ice time in each of Tampa Bay’s last 10 games, and should continue in that role when the team returns from the 4-Nations break. If he does, only a few players in the league will stand as more of an assured scoring threat.

Injury Notes: Ristolainen, Rantanen, Samoskevich

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Earlier this morning, NHL deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman reported that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen would be a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed Ristolainen’s expected absence was due to injury concerns, not trade-related reasons.

In addition to today’s rivalry matchup, Ristolainen’s availability may affect Team Finland in the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off. Friedman suggests that the Flyers would like Ristolainen to participate if he is healthy; however, his current condition may prevent him from playing, becoming a more pressing issue.

Finland has already lost defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Jani Hakanpää to various injuries, and the potential loss of Ristolainen would further diminish their chances. Ristolainen has scored two goals and recorded 15 points in 54 games this season while averaging 20:31 of ice time for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is currently the highest-scoring active defenseman on Finland’s roster.

Other injury notes:

  • In another potential scare for Team Finland, the Carolina Hurricanes announced forward Mikko Rantanen wouldn’t be in the lineup this afternoon due to a lower-body injury after taking a shot off the foot in Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like Rantanen will miss the 4 Nations Face-Off based on a report from Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff. He’s only mustered one goal and one assist through his first six games with the Hurricanes but he’s still arguably Finland’s top offensive talent.
  • According to David Dwork of The Hockey News, the Florida Panthers will be without forward Mackie Samoskevich tonight due to an upper-body injury. It’s not expected to be a long-term issue as Dwork noted he’s only considered day-to-day. The second-year product of the University of Michigan has scored eight goals and 17 points in 48 games for the Panthers this year.

Penguins Recall Vasiliy Ponomarev, Place Bryan Rust On Injured Reserve

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Forward prospect Vasiliy Ponomarev is expected to get his fourth opportunity with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. The Penguins announced they’ve recalled Ponomarev from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have placed veteran forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.

Ponomarev was selected 53rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent two and a half years in the Hurricanes organization, scoring 35 goals and 85 points in 116 AHL contests split between the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and Tucson Roadrunners. Carolina eventually traded Ponomarev to the Penguins in the deal that sent Jake Guentzel to Raleigh last year.

Ponomarev’s performance in the AHL has improved since he moved to Pennsylvania, though the change has not been significant. While playing with the Hurricanes organization, he averaged 0.73 points per game starting in the latter part of the 2021-22 season. Since joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, his average has increased to 0.80 PPG.

Despite limited opportunities, Ponomarev has not made a significant impact at the NHL level. He made his NHL debut last season with Carolina, scoring only one goal and one assist in five games.

He’s certainly not expected to replicate Rust’s production this season. The 11-year veteran winger has scored 20 goals and 42 points in 46 games for the Penguins this season, ranking third on the team in scoring despite losing several games to injury.

Although injuries have limited his availability the last two years, Rust’s continued point production and renewed shot efficiency have made him the subject of trade rumors this year. He owns a no-movement clause in his contract, he loses all trade protection on July 1st, 2025.

Mathew Barzal Reportedly Out Six Weeks After Knee Procedure

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Feb. 8: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun provided an update to Barzal’s timeline this afternoon. LeBrun shared that Barzal had a small procedure on his injured kneecap on Thursday, and a normal recovery timeline would place Barzal’s return around six weeks from now. No matter if Barzal returns quicker or later than expected he should return to the Islanders’ active lineup sometime in March.

Feb. 4: Barzal has been moved to injured reserve, per a team announcement. It’s only a procedural move to open up his roster spot.

Feb. 3: The Islanders announced Monday that forward Mathew Barzal will be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Scott Mayfield will also miss some time with an LBI, although he’s only listed as day-to-day.

Barzal, 27, left Saturday’s overtime win over the Lightning in the third period and did not return after taking a Darren Raddysh slapper to the knee. He skated off under his own power, but he remained out of the lineup in yesterday’s loss to the Panthers as he underwent further evaluation.

The Isles will now be without their highest-paid player for an extended period for the second time this season. He missed 21 games with an upper-body injury in November and December, missing roughly six weeks.

When in the lineup, Barzal has disappointed offensively in 2024-25. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.7% rate en route to a six-goal, 20-point performance through 30 appearances. His 0.67 points per game are third on the team but rank as the worst of his career over a full season, below 2018-19’s 0.76 mark.

Barzal is in the second season of the eight-year, $73.2MM extension he signed in October 2022 with a $9.15MM cap hit. He provided strong value in the first year of the deal, hitting a point per game for the second time in his career in 2023-24, but has continuously seen a dip in his shooting accuracy. He has a 22-team no-trade clause that kicked in last July and remains in effect for the life of the deal.

After spending the first six seasons of his career as a center, continued faceoff struggles and the acquisition of Bo Horvat from the Canucks in 2023 have bumped him to the wing. Injuries everywhere on the Islanders’ roster have meant a rotating cast of linemates for Barzal this season, spending significant time with Horvat, Anthony Duclair, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Duclair and Lee, as well as Kyle Palmieri and Maxim Tsyplakov, will comprise the Islanders’ top-six winger group in Barzal’s absence. Most of them have had decent campaigns aside from Duclair, who’s been limited by an early-season leg and injury struggled to get off the ground with eight points in 23 games after signing a four-year, $14MM deal in the summer.

The Islanders’ seven-game win streak came to an end in Florida, but they’ve managed to get back within four points of a playoff spot despite injuries to Hudson Fasching up front and multiple on the blue line, namely their top two righties in Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock. General manager Lou Lamoriello has been aggressive in replacing his injured blue-liners, acquiring Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo and Scott Perunovich to help keep them in the playoff race. It’s worked, but with a key top-six piece now missing from a bottom-10 offense, it’s yet another significant blow.

Lamoriello could place Barzal on long-term injured reserve to open up some cap flexibility around the trade deadline, but that would require him to remain out through at least March 4 against the Jets. The Isles are among the league’s most cap-strapped teams with $1.95MM in current space, per PuckPedia, and they already have Dobson, Mike Reilly and Semyon Varlamov on LTIR helping them stay compliant.

As for Mayfield, a day-to-day designation means he may remain out until the 4 Nations Face-Off but should return after the break. Combined with Dobson and Pulock, the Islanders are now without their entire regular corps of right-shot defensemen, even if it’s for a brief period. Righties Boqvist and DeAngelo, plus a lefty playing on his off-side in Perunovich, give them an incredibly dynamic puck-moving group in the interim, even if all carry significant weaknesses away from the puck.

Mayfield, 32, has seven points and a +14 rating in 50 games. His 17:33 average time on ice is his lowest since the 2017-18 campaign, though.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Detroit Red Wings Activate J.T. Compher

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The Detroit Red Wings will only have one player remaining on the injured reserve heading into today’s action against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Red Wings announced they’ve activated forward J.T. Compher from the injured reserve, giving context to Dominik Shine’s reassignment on Wednesday.

Compher has missed the last five games for Detroit due to an upper-body injury. The incident that caused his injury led to a two-game suspension for Lightning defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, as Compher’s head was the primary point of contact. This issue may remain a storyline in today’s matchup if the Red Wings feel compelled to respond.

The former Stanley Cup champion is expected to center Detroit’s fourth line this afternoon, flanked by Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren. Compher’s ice time has been significantly reduced this season, dropping from an average of 19:23 during his first year with the Red Wings to just 16:41.

The reduction in ice time is justified. After coming close to scoring 20 goals in each of the past three seasons, Compher has only managed to score six goals this year. His performance falls well short of the expectations the Red Wings had for him as their fifth-highest-paid forward on the team.

His 41.0% CorsiFor% at even strength leaves a lot to be desired and his $5.1MM salary makes him one of the higher-paid bottom-six forwards in the league. Still, the veteran pivot provides respectable value as a defensive-minded forward given his 93.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Rangers Recall Dylan Garand, Igor Shesterkin Out With Upper-Body Injury

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If there was ever going to be an injury to a starting netminder, it arguably happened at the best possible time for the New York Rangers. Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that Igor Shesterkin is expected to miss the next week or two with an upper-body injury suffered in last night’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

According to a team announcement, New York has recalled netminder Dylan Garand from the Hartford Wolf Pack, their AHL affiliate. Given that the Rangers had one open roster spot remaining, they didn’t need to make a corresponding transaction or place Shesterkin on injured reserve. 

Aside from a game this evening against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Rangers don’t play again until February 22nd due to the 4 Nations Face-Off. The two-week break should give Shesterkin ample time to recover potentially only missing tonight’s game.

The upper-body injury reportedly relates to a scramble in front of Shesterkin during the second period of last night’s game. He tested his right wrist for flexibility but remained in the crease throughout the game, ultimately suffering another loss this season.

Those losses have recently become commonplace for Shesterkin. The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner is 1-4-0 in his last five starts with a .835 save percentage. Given that he hasn’t had more than two games in a row with a save percentage lower than .900, it’s his worst stretch of the season.

New York is likely hoping the 4 Nations Face-Off break will give Shesterkin the time he needs to fully recover and get his mind right for the remaining 27 games of the regular season. The Rangers’ success this season has typically started and ended with their goaltending.

Garand has received his second call-up of the 2024-25 season, although he has yet to debut in the NHL. The 22-year-old, a product of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers program, is having the best professional season of his brief career. Garand has managed a 12-7-4 record in 23 games with a .913 SV% and 2.68 goals-against average including three shutouts this season.

Golden Knights Place William Karlsson on LTIR, Recall Three

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The Vegas Golden Knights are spending their final days before the 4-Nations Face-Off break by jumping through salary cap hoops. They’ve announced a litany of roster moves intended to maximize their cap space accrued from long-term injured reserve, all captured by PuckPedia. Vegas first recalled winger Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid, then reassigned center Raphael Lavoie. Those moves placed them $135K under the cap ceiling. Vegas then placed top center William Karlsson on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Jonas Rondbjerg, which they wouldn’t have been able to afford without shelving Karlsson. By recalling two players and getting as close to the cap ceiling as they could before moving Karlsson, Vegas maximized the amount of LTIR cap relief they were provided. They now sit with $5.133MM in available cap space, but will be one contract’s worth of cap over the limit when Karlsson is back to full health.

The string of moves were a great exercise in how to leverage the NHL’s LTIR policies, but Vegas will still be worse for wear without Karlsson. The 32-year-old centerman hasn’t played since January 20th, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues. He was immediately ruled out week-to-week, and the team still didn’t have a clear timeline for his return 10 days later. An LTIR placement will now force him out of the lineup through at least February 24th, the second game after Vegas returns from break.

Karlsson has continued to serve as a top center for the Golden Knights, but his season has been filled with abnormal scoring struggles. He has just 18 points in 38 games on the year, and was amidst a seven-game scoring slump prior to his injury. Karlsson has one assist in 10 games since the start of 2025. He’s still provided strong performances for the Golden Knights away from the scoresheet. He currently sits with a fantastic 58.9 percent faceoff win-rate that ranks Karlsson fifth among all NHL centers. Karlsson has also recorded 89 shots on goal and a plus-seven, respectively ranking him third and fifth among the team’s forwards.

Those numbers represent an impact that’ll be hard for Vegas to replace. Their flurry of moves leaves the task of filling in up to Rondbjerg and Holtz. The latter has far-and-away been the more popular fixture of Vegas’ lineup. Holtz has scored 11 points in 49 games this season, while Rondbjerg hasn’t yet scored through 10 appearances. The duo should both earn ice-time on Vegas’ left wing while the team deals with absences to Karlsson, Lavoie, Cole Schwindt, and Tanner Pearson.

Sidney Crosby Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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Feb. 7: Crosby is day-to-day and won’t play against the Blueshirts, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including the team’s Josh Getzoff. However, his availability for the 4 Nations Face-Off is still uncertain and would certainly be feasible given his short-term designation.

Feb. 6: Crosby skated before practice Thursday but was not a full participant, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. It’s still unclear if he’ll play in tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

Feb. 5: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained in yesterday’s shootout loss to the Devils, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to reporters Wednesday.

Crosby got shaken up midway through the third period of the contest when he was caught between New Jersey skaters Erik Haula and Luke Hughes shortly after disposing of the puck. He didn’t leave the game but wasn’t available to practice today, Sullivan said.

An absence of any length ends Pittsburgh’s increasingly slim playoff hopes, which dropped to 0.9% after the shootout loss. They’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and seven points back of a playoff spot but have played three more games than the eight-place Lightning. They’ve been buoyed by their offense amid below-average defense and bottom-five goaltending, and the 37-year-old Crosby leads the pack as their only point-per-game player with 58 in 55 appearances.

Crosby continues to serve as the team’s undoubted MVP, averaging north of 20 minutes per game and winning 56.1% of his draws. He may have a -15 actual rating, but his possession numbers rank among the team’s best at even strength with a 53.4 CF% and +2.6 expected rating. Cody Glass is the only Penguin to post better numbers in both stats.

He hasn’t missed a game due to injury since a concussion kept him out of Game 6 of their 2022 first-round series against the Rangers. The Pens are also without No. 2 mainstay Evgeni Malkin, leaving Glass and Kevin Hayes as their projected top-six centers against the Blueshirts on Friday if Crosby can’t go.

The three-time Stanley Cup winner was also recently named captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins next week. He’d leave a huge hole on the Canadian squad, whose captaincy would presumably be filled by Connor McDavid if he can’t participate in the tournament.

Islanders Activate Hudson Fasching

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The New York Islanders have activated forward Hudson Fasching off of injured reserve per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Fasching has missed the Islanders’ last 13 games with an upper-body injury in the team’s January 5th game against the Boston Bruins.

He was designated as day-to-day in the immediate wake of the injury, but was quickly downgraded to week-to-week, then earned an injured reserve placement on January 17th. He was assigned to a minor league conditioning stint at the start of February and appeared in two games with the Bridgeport Islanders. The Islanders recalled Fasching on Tuesday and are expected to bring him on their upcoming two-game road trip. Defenseman Scott Mayfield won’t be going on the road trip, per Rosner, as he continues to sit out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and has been placed on IR to make room on the roster.

Fasching has been a fourth-line forward for the Islanders all year long. He’s appeared in 199 games but is still searching for his first point of the season. One penalty and a minus-six stand as his only notable stat changes. Fasching has been a bit more productive in the minors, with two points in seven games – but he’s still far off from the 14 points he posted in 45 NHL games last year. He moved to the Islanders organization ahead of the 2022-23 season, after spending four years as a top depth forward for the Arizona Coyotes. Fasching proved to be a productive minor leaguer with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, netting 106 points across 174 games and serving as the team’s captain in 2021-22. This return will place him back in the competition for bottom-line minutes in New York, pitted against Pierre Engvall and Marc Gatcomb.

Afternoon Notes: Dickinson, Pitlick, Acklin, Philp

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The NHL is gearing up for a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off, giving teams plenty to do before many of their players head off for vacation, international play, or minor-league stints. The spree of afternoon news begins in Chicago, where center Jason Dickinson has avoided the worst-case scenario after suffering a scary-looking injury in the team’s Wednesday loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Dickinson took an awkward crash into the boards that trapped his leg under him in the second period. He left the game immediately and was later seen leaving the arena in a walking boot. After testing, Dickinson has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and should only miss a couple of games, head coach Anders Sorensen told ESPN.

That’s relieving news after Dicksinon seemed poised to miss the long-term. He hasn’t racked up the points this season, with just seven goals and 16 points in 53 games – but Dickinson has returned to his role as one of Chicago’s top defensive centers. He leads all Blackhawks forwards with 137 minutes of ice time on the penalty-kill, and ranks fourth on the offense in xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) per Evolving Hockey. Dickinson’s stout defense has earned him top minutes, centering a top-six line between Teuvo Teravainen and Ilya Mikheyev – the two players above him in xGA/60. His role would have been tough for the Blackhawks to replace for an extended period, but with this news the team can rest assured that he’ll be available when they return from break.

Headed to the West Coast, the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have signed veteran forward Rem Pitlick to a minor-league contract for the rest of the season. Pitlick hasn’t played this season, but spent last year split between the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Rockford IceHogs. He accumulated 57 points in 59 games between the two squads, and got called up for nine appearances with the Chicago Blackhawks – though his stat line read no points, two penalty minutes, and a minus-seven. Those appearances brought Pitlick up to 132 career NHL games over the course of his seven-year pro career. He has totaled 21 goals, 54 points, and 54 penalty minutes. A deal with the Barracuda will mark a chance for him to rediscover his red-hot minor league scoring, and try to show his worth to a San Jose Sharks club that currently ranks dead-last in the NHL.

Across the Conferences, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin, has stepped down from the squad per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Acklin had been in the role since 2022, and previously served as a Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the team. In his presedential role, Acklin oversaw the day-to-day business operations, strategic planning, corporate partnerships, and marketing and communication of the Penguins brand. He also supported the development of a live music venue in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District, and supported maintenance of the former site of Civic Arena – the Penguins’ home rink from 1967 to 2010.

After stops at each region of the States, we head North for our final update – where the Edmonton Oilers have assigned forward Noah Philp to the AHL for the duration of the 4-Nations break. Philp has been one of Edmonton’s top call-up options this season. He received his NHL debut on October 31st and has since played in 12 games with the Oilers lineup, including their most recent nine outings. Philp has just two assists so far, and is still searching for his first NHL goal. He’s been much more productive in the minors, where his 17 points in 28 games places him fourth in points-per-game (0.60) among players with 20-or-more appearances. Philp will now get a chance to build on those totals while the Oilers are away.

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