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Hurricanes Reassign Tyson Jost, Pyotr Kochetkov Out Indefinitely

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The Hurricanes announced they’ve reassigned forward Tyson Jost to AHL Chicago. They haven’t done anything to fill his roster spot, although head coach Rod Brind’Amour also confirmed that goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has entered concussion protocol after leaving Saturday’s shootout loss to the Blue Jackets and doesn’t have a timeline for a return (per the team’s Walt Ruff).

Carolina is now officially without their top two goaltenders for the foreseeable future. Starter Frederik Andersen hasn’t played in nearly a month and recently underwent knee surgery that will keep him out of action until January or February.

Kochetkov, 25, left the Columbus game during overtime after teammate Sean Walker inadvertently skated into his head while trying to stop a rush chance from Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. There appeared to be significant whiplash on the play, but as with any head injury and subsequent concussion, Kochetkov’s absence could be anywhere from a week to more than a month.

A 2019 second-round pick, the young Kochetkov has had to step up many times in recent seasons with injury-prone veterans Andersen and Antti Raanta ahead of him. He started the year as the undisputed No. 2 for the first time after Raanta became an unrestricted free agent and wasn’t brought back following a brutal 2023-24 campaign. He’s done well in 13 starts, posting a 10-2-0 record with a .904 SV% and 2.42 GAA. That’s been good enough for 3.9 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, up from last year’s 0.7 mark despite his decreased SV% and GAA.

The buck now falls on 29-year-old journeyman Spencer Martin and inexperienced 24-year-old Yaniv Perets, although it’s hard to imagine the championship-contending Hurricanes not making a move to add a more stable name to their crease if Kochetkov trends toward missing significant time. Perets has not logged NHL ice aside from stopping one shot in less than 13 minutes of action in a game against the Kings in January of last season, although he served as a backup for Carolina once earlier this month. Martin, meanwhile, has a 1-2-1 record with a .870 SV% and 3.21 GAA in three starts and one relief appearance since coming up to the roster in October in relief of Andersen.

Perets’ minor-league numbers this season don’t portray him as a legitimate NHL option, even in a pinch. The undrafted free agent signing out of Quinnipiac in 2023 has just a .825 SV% and a 3.67 GAA in three AHL appearances for Chicago this season and had a subpar .889 mark in 34 games for ECHL Norfolk in 2023-24.

Jost, 26, heads back to the minors after going without a point in his last six games. The 5’11” center/left winger signed a one-year deal for the league-minimum $775K with Carolina over the offseason after being non-tendered by the Sabres, but he was waived and assigned to Chicago shortly after making the opening night roster. The Canes recalled him just over two weeks ago after he put up a goal and two assists in eight minor-league games, but he averaged just 9:20 through seven NHL appearances with a goal on eight shots. Since he remained on the active roster for fewer than 30 days and played less than 10 games, he doesn’t need waivers to return to the AHL.

Jets Recall Ville Heinola, Place Dylan Samberg On IR

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The Winnipeg Jets have placed Dylan Samberg on injured reserve with a broken foot. Samberg suffered the injury in the second period of Winnipeg’s Saturday matchup against Nashville, blocking a Steven Stamkos slapshot with his skate and immediately leaving the ice. Winnipeg has also recalled the oft-injured Ville Heinola from an AHL conditioning stint in a corresponding move, setting him up to make his season debut after starting the year on the season-open non-roster list. Heinola had surgery on his ankle in September.

Samberg has served a top role for Winnipeg all season long, recording six points through 21 games while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. He’s once again serving next to Neal Pionk, the same role that Samberg recorded a career-high 31 points in last season. He’s dug his feet in as yet another evergreen defensive-defenseman in the Jets lineup. That role was stamped this summer when the Jets signed Samberg to a four-year, $19.6MM contract extension. He’s recorded 83 points across 316 games with Winnipeg, bringing his career totals to 147 points in 575 games.

Heinola will offer a quick substitute for Samberg, returning to the NHL after scoring one assist in two games on his AHL conditioning stint. Heinola spent all of the 2023-24 campaign in the minors, scoring 27 points in 41 games with the Manitoba Moose. He’s yet to vindicate a 20th-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft despite being in North American pros since 2019-20. He jumped into the NHL right away, recording five points in his first eight games with the Jets – but failed to maintain that scoring through injury and moves to the AHL and a return to Finland’s Liiga during the COVID-19 season of 2020-21.

Heinola played in five NHL games at the tail-end of that year, going without any scoring – even despite 11 points in 19 AHL games. He’s since bounced between Winnipeg and Manitoba, intercut by routine trips to injured reserve. Heinola has totaled 11 points in 35 career NHL games and a much-more productive 103 points in 154 AHL games.

Hurricanes Activate Seth Jarvis, Recall Yaniv Perets, Assign Ty Smith

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The Carolina Hurricanes have activated top forward Seth Jarvis from injured reserved. Jarvis missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice in a no-contact jersey on November 19th. In a corresponding move, Carolina also recalled goaltender Yaniv Perets and assigned defender Ty Smith.

Jarvis will return ahead of a three-game homestand for the Hurricanes, giving a much-needed boost to a Carolina offense that got outscored by New Jersey and Columbus in their last two outings. Jarvis has 11 points through 13 games this season, returning to a pivotal role in the team’s top-six and special teams. He’s coming off a prolific 2023-24 campaign, scoring 33 goals and 67 points despite playing most of the season injured. The 22-year-old has established himself as a pillar of the Carolina lineup, and will now get a chance to get back to point-per-game scoring. His return will likely bump William Carrier or Tyson Jost out of the lineup, with Eric Robinson hanging onto his role with four points in his last four games.

Carolina also bolsters their net with this move, recalling Perets following a scary injury to de facto starter Pyotr Kochetkov. No update on Kochetkov’s prognosis has been given, but Perets’ recall suggests Carolina will deal with at least a few days without their top netminder. They’ll now have to decide between Spencer Martin and Perets for the starting role. Martin has a 1-2-1 record and .870 save percentage through five NHL games this year. Perets hasn’t made his first career NHL start yet, but has stepped into three AHL games – with a .825 save percentage through three games. With both goalies on NHL recalls, the Chicago Wolves are left with Dustin Tokarski and Ruslan Khazheyev in their net.

The Hurricanes will move forward with an improved offense, but tattered goaltending room. They’re 6-3-1 through their last 10 games, outscoring opponents 39-to-28.

Injury Notes: Matthews, Thompson, Jones, McCarron, Samberg

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Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has returned from Germany where he consulted with a doctor he had worked with in the past in an attempt to relieve his lingering upper-body injury. It appears some progress was made considering he skated with the team during this morning’s practice.

In an article by David Alter of The Hockey News, Matthews was quoted saying, “We’ll take it day to day, continue to try to progress on the ice and see how this week looks and feels. Obviously, I’d love to get out there. I mean, tomorrow, not realistic, but Wednesday possibly, but we’ll just see how the week goes.”

Matthews’s reintroduction into the lineup would give a large boost to the Maple Leafs who’ve produced a 6-1-0 record since their captain went down with injury on November 3rd. He has scored five goals and 11 points in 13 contests for the games he’s been healthy for.

Other injury notes:

  • Forward Tage Thompson has been ruled out of tonight’s contest in another unfortunate turn for the Buffalo Sabres (X Link). There was plenty of expectation that Thompson would return tonight but he will now miss his fifth straight game due to a lower-body injury. Impressively, despite the injury, Thompson still leads Buffalo in goal-scoring with 11 goals in 16 games.
  • According to Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports, New York Rangers defenseman Zachary Jones is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Jones was likely injured in New York’s recent loss to the Calgary Flames, and he won’t be able to help the Rangers finish off their Western Conference road trip against the Edmonton Oilers later tonight.
  • The Nashville Predators are without forward Michael McCarron tonight due to an upper-body injury reports Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean. McCarron had been enjoying a consistent role down the middle of Nashville’s fourth-line scoring two goals and four points in 18 games on the year while averaging 12:24 of ice time per game. There was no added context of how long McCarron is expected to miss.
  • The Winnipeg Jets won’t have Dylan Samberg for the rest of tonight’s action as the organization announced he has left the game due to a lower-body injury. Samberg took a shot from Nashville’s Steven Stamkos off the foot and was in visible pain afterward. The Jets organization should provide an update on Samberg’s status at some point tomorrow or even after tonight’s game.

Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague, Pietrangelo Still Day-To-Day

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The Vegas Golden Knights will see the return of defenseman Nicolas Hague this evening as the organization announced they activated him off the injured reserve shortly before their contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Hague has been on the shelf for three weeks with an undisclosed injury and will play in his first contest tonight since November 2nd.

Hague has been an ultra-consistent defenseman for the Golden Knights since the team selected him with the 34th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s coming off an impressive stretch from 2022 to 2024 which saw him post some of the best defensive metrics of his career.

His 154-game stretch over the last two years only yielded five goals and 29 points on offense. On the defensive side of the puck, Hague racked up 244 blocks, 27o hits, a 91.3% on-ice save percentage in all situations, and an Expected +/- of 2.8. He became a focal piece of the Golden Knights defensive core leading the organization to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2023.

It unfortunately won’t be a completely healthy defensive core for Vegas tonight against Montreal. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is still considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Webster confirmed that Pietrangelo is progressing well through his injury but he will still miss his second straight game due to the ailment.

Central Notes: Wild, Nazar, Brossoit, Lundkvist

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The Wild will be without a pair of forwards today against Calgary.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Kirill Kaprizov and center Marat Khusnutdinov are out with lower-body injuries.  Kaprizov is off to a terrific start to the season as he’s tied for the league lead in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists in just 19 games, putting him on pace to pass his career highs of 47 and 61 respectively, set in the 2021-22 season.  As for Khusnutdinov, he’s off to a quiet start to his first full season in North America.  The 22-year-old has played in all 19 games but has just two assists along with 15 blocks and 18 hits while averaging 11:26 of playing time.  The injuries will permit Travis Boyd, recalled on an emergency basis last night, to make his Minnesota debut.  Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Kaprizov will be evaluated when the team is back home on Sunday while Khusnutdinov is listed as day-to-day.

More from the Central:

  • Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar is off to an impressive start to his first full professional season. Playing exclusively with AHL Rockford, the 20-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 13 games.  However, don’t expect him to be recalled for a while yet, at least.  Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that right now, the team feels his development is best served by continuing to play on the top line with the IceHogs while taking a regular turn on both special teams units, something that wouldn’t be the case if he was up with the big club.  Accordingly, Nazar might have to wait until the second half of the season to get another look in Chicago after playing in three games to finish up last season.
  • Still with the Blackhawks, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that goaltender Laurent Brossoit is still having issues with his right knee after undergoing surgery late in the summer. The 31-year-old has resumed skating at times but has had to shut those attempts back fairly quickly, leaving continued uncertainty as to when he might be able to make his season debut.  In the meantime, current backup Arvid Soderblom is four appearances away from becoming waiver-eligible so by the time Brossoit comes back, they might be in a spot where they have to carry three goalies or risk having someone claimed off waivers.
  • Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist took part in the morning skate today as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury, relays DLLS Sports’ Sam Nestler (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has played in 15 games so far this season, notching just one assist while logging a little under 14 minutes a night.  Lundkvist won’t play tonight and as of yet, he is not on injured reserve.

Jordan Eberle Out At Least Three Months

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Kraken forward Jordan Eberle has missed the last week due to what was originally ruled as a lower-body injury.  It’s one that is going to keep him out of the lineup for a considerable amount of time, however, as the team announced (Twitter link) that he underwent successful surgery on his pelvis earlier today.  The recovery time from the procedure is a minimum of three months.

The 34-year-old was named as the second captain in franchise history last month.  Eberle is in his fourth season with the Kraken after being selected by them in the Expansion Draft in 2021 and has been a valuable secondary scorer for them since then.  He reached at least 17 goals and 44 points in each of his first three campaigns with them while his 63-point effort in 2022-23 was the third-best point total of his career.

Eberle was off to a strong start this season, recording six goals and five assists in his first 17 games before suffering the injury which would have had him at a 29-goal, 53-point pace over 82 appearances, a number he clearly won’t be reaching now.  A three-month (minimum) recovery timeline will likely keep Eberle out through the 4 Nations Cup in February, or at least the next 37 games.  That’s a significant blow to a Seattle team that’s around the middle of the pack offensively.

Eberle will likely be transferred to LTIR at some point in the next little while.  The Kraken have ample cap flexibility at the moment with defenseman Vince Dunn on there already so Eberle’s placement won’t happen right away.  When Dunn is able to come back – and he will be with the team on their upcoming road trip per the team’s Scott Malone (Twitter link) – that will be the time when Eberle should land on there.  That will largely eliminate any hope of banking cap space in the meantime, however.

Central Notes: Wilsby, Dickinson, Lundkvist

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After another short stay in the American Hockey League, Adam Wilsby is back in the NHL. The Nashville Predators announced they have recalled the young defenseman from their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, before their game tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets.

Wilsby has already been on the Predators’ roster for an extended stay. The organization recalled him on November 13th before their Pacific Division road trip although he never factored into the lineup. He may make his NHL debut this week, especially considering how Nashville has played recently.

The West Coast road trip went unfavorably, with a 1-2-1 record, and Wilsby’s introduction into the lineup would provide a different look. According to MoneyPuck, the defensive pairing of Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier has provided a dismal 40.8% xGoals%, and the Predators would be wise to switch things up with their second pairing.

Other Central notes:

  • According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jason Dickinson should play for the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night despite having a hand injury. Dickinson only skated in a few shifts during the second period of last night’s win against the Florida Panthers but returned for the entire third after taking a puck off the hand. He still finished the game with 17:57 of ice time which ranks the second highest of his season.
  • Despite missing this morning’s practice, Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist will travel with the team for their upcoming three-game road trip (X Link). Lundkvist sustained a lower-body injury in Dallas’ recent win against the San Jose Sharks. He’s only considered day-to-day meaning he could factor into the team’s game tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Maple Leafs Notes: Myers, Ekman-Larsson, Knies, Domi

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The Maple Leafs announced Friday that they’ve recalled defenseman Philippe Myers from his conditioning loan to AHL Toronto.

No corresponding moves are necessary. Myers remained on the active roster and counted against the salary cap while on his conditioning stint, which could have lasted up to two weeks but ended after six days.

Toronto needs more available healthy players amid a rising tide of injuries. The 6’5″, 220-lb righty didn’t record a point in three games on the farm but managed 4 PIMs and a +2 rating.

Myers has played just once for the Maple Leafs this season after signing a one-way, $775K contract over the summer. He sat in the press box for 17 of 18 games before his brief reassignment. His only appearance came on Oct. 26 against the Bruins, when he recorded a -1 rating and one hit in 12:11 of ice time.

If the Maple Leafs want to send Myers back to the AHL on a longer-term basis, they’ll need to place him on waivers. He’s been exposed to the wire four times in his career, all in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the Predators and Lightning, and cleared each time.

Elsewhere in Leafland:

  • Myers’ summons comes with Oliver Ekman-Larsson under the weather. He didn’t practice today due to an illness, the team said. It’s hopefully a non-factor in what’s been a strong start in Toronto for the 33-year-old, who signed a four-year, $14MM contract in free agency last summer. He has a +2 rating and is on pace for 33 points, which would be his highest offensive output since finishing 11th in Norris Trophy voting in 2018-19. He’s also averaging 21:09 per game, his highest usage in three years, and is posting his best relative possession numbers in six years. There’s a chance Myers could draw into the lineup on Sunday against Utah if OEL can’t play, with Toronto expected to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
  • The Leafs will be going with the 11F/7D formation because winger Matthew Knies has been ruled out with the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud in Wednesday’s win, head coach Craig Berube told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic. It’s unclear how much time the 22-year-old, who has eight goals and 12 points in 20 games, might miss beyond this weekend’s game.
  • Toronto might have 12 healthy forwards on hand if forward Max Domi can come off injured reserve, which Berube told Mark Masters of TSN is a possibility ahead of the Utah game. Domi landed on IR earlier this week and missed the win over Vegas with a lingering lower-body injury, but since the placement was retroactive to his last appearance against the Oilers on Nov. 16, he’d be eligible to come off IR after the one-game absence. Domi, 29, has yet to score in 19 games this season after inking a four-year, $15MM extension last summer.

Alex Ovechkin Out 4-6 Weeks With Left Fibula Fracture

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Nov. 21, 4:41 p.m.: Additional testing revealed a left fibula fracture for Ovechkin, per the team. He’ll miss the next four to six weeks, putting his return around Christmas at the earliest. He was already moved to injured reserve.

Nov. 19, 11:33 a.m.: It’s a lower leg injury for Ovechkin that will leave him out on a week-to-week basis, the Caps announced. He’ll undergo additional evaluation tomorrow.

Nov. 19, 8:59 a.m.: Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is being evaluated for a lower-body injury after leaving last night’s game against Utah following a knee-on-knee collision with Jack McBain, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters postgame, including Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.

The Capitals will likely issue a further update on Ovechkin’s status at some point on Tuesday, Carbery said. He left the game early in the third period after his and McBain’s left legs inadvertently collided while Ovechkin was attempting to carry the puck out of the Washington zone (video via Sportsnet). The 39-year-old tried to remain on the bench, but after testing out his leg during a stoppage in play, he went to the room.

It puts a significant damper on a monster season for the future Hall-of-Famer. After scoring twice last night, Ovechkin had five goals in his previous two outings to accelerate him to the top of the NHL leaderboard with 15 in just 18 games. Not only is he on pace to break Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals this season, he’s currently tracking to become the oldest player ever to lead the NHL in goals while also breaking Gordie Howe’s record for most goals by a player in their age-39 season with 39.

Ovechkin missing any length of time puts all those marks in jeopardy. Injuries have been a rare occurrence for the 2004 first-overall pick, who’s played in 1,444 of a possible 1,503 regular-season games over his 20-year career. His last injury absence was a three-gamer in January 2024 due to a lower-body issue, and he’s never missed more than six consecutive games in his career.

In addition to his 868 overall goals, Ovechkin is also the active leader in even-strength goals (547) and game-winning goals (132). His 316 power-play goals and 6,690 shots on goal are already league records.

His potential injury also deprives the Caps of their best goal-scoring weapon amid an incredibly resurgent start to the season. After barely making the postseason in 2023-24 with a shocking -37 goal differential, Washington is 13-4-1, has the league’s best offense and eighth-ranked defense, and ranks second in the Metropolitan Division with a .750 points percentage.

If Ovechkin is set to miss any length time, all eyes will immediately turn to Dylan Strome, who leads the team with 22 assists and 28 points and a +18 rating. While his breakout has certainly helped The Great Eight along in his chase for the all-time record, Strome’s point totals have almost certainly benefitted in kind from having the Russian on his wing. How much of that pace he can keep up remains to be seen, while others like Connor McMichael (12 goals, 19 points) and Aliaksei Protas (seven goals, 18 points) will need to keep up their scorching pace to help the Caps stay in contention for the Metro title.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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