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Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Edvinsson, Rasmussen, Matthews, Point

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The Buffalo Sabres received unfortunate news on the injury front earlier today after an MRI confirmed the severity of Jordan Greenway’s current injury. It had already been announced that Greenway wouldn’t play in the team’s loss on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers but Paul Hamilton is reporting he’s expected to miss the next few weeks.

Greenway has played in 16 of a potential 18 games for the Sabres this season but has significant injury concerns dating back to last season. In his first full season with the organization in the 2023-24 campaign, Greenway missed 15 games due to injury while scoring 10 goals and 28 points in the other 67 contests.

It’s not all negative on the injury front in Buffalo as Hamilton also reported that Tage Thompson has become a realistic possibility to play on Wednesday. Thompson hasn’t played since November 11th due to a lower-body injury making Wednesday his first day of eligibility from the injured reserve. He’s been electric for the Sabres this season scoring 11 goals and 18 points in 16 games when healthy.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Detroit Red Wings should have a few returning players tonight as defenseman Simon Edvinsson and forward Michael Rasmussen are expected to return (X Link). Edvinsson missed the team’s most recent game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night due to a lower-body injury from a blocked shot against the Anaheim Ducks. Rasmussen joined Edvinsson in the press box on Saturday with an upper-body injury. A decision on both player’s game-time status should be confirmed shortly after warm-ups.
  • According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is expected to miss his seventh straight game on Wednesday. Alter interestingly adds that Matthews hasn’t been skating the past couple of days but the organization assures he hasn’t taken a step back in his recovery. Toronto has earned a 5-1-0 record since Matthews exited the lineup on November 3rd.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times couldn’t get any confirmation on Brayden Point’s status tomorrow night for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s next game. Encina shares that Point is ’trending in the right direction’ but is still in danger of missing a fifth straight game for the Lightning.

Central Notes: Predators, Novak, Wild, Hall, Stanley

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Originally announced in Elliotte Friedman’s ’32 Thoughts’ and expanded upon by Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean, the Nashville Predators are looking to buy. The Predators are looking to claw their way out of an early 6-10-3 record after spending $108MM on Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei this past offseason.

Friedman suggests Nashville is looking to add a top-four defenseman with term and a center to no surprise. In our recent diagnosis of the issues plaguing Nashville, a second-line center and a top-four defenseman topped the list of priorities.

The Predators have used a combination of Juuso Parssinen and Colton Sissons as the team’s second-line centers to unfortunate results. The two have combined for seven points this season and simply haven’t generated the offense required to keep them in the top six long-term. The defensive pairing of Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier have combined for an abysmal 39.2% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck despite playing the most minutes of any defensive pair on the roster.

Other Central notes:

  • Nashville could get a boost to their second line in the form of forward Thomas Novak who’s expected to return tonight after missing the team’s last six games (X Link). Novak has disappointed like many players on the Predators with three goals and four points in 13 games but is only a year removed from scoring 35 goals and 88 points in 122 games for Nashville.
  • There’s no long-term injury concern for either Joel Eriksson Ek or Jonas Brodin for the Minnesota Wild. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that both players are still waiting on medical clearance but should be available for tomorrow night’s contest. Eriksson Ek has only missed the last game for the Wild while Brodin has missed the past two.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks made a surprising move in their most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday as they made forward Taylor Hall a healthy scratch. He’s had a subpar season for his standards scoring two goals and six points through 17 contests. Still, the scratch caught him off guard with Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN quoting Hall saying, “I was surprised by it. It was unexpected from the standpoint of I just didn’t know I was even close to being in that spot, really. If there were some conversations in the days leading up about my game or if I was constantly being shown video it would be one thing, but I was a bit surprised.”
  • There was good news on the blue line for the Winnipeg Jets this afternoon with the team sharing that Ville Heinola has been activated off the team’s injured reserve. Still, it’s not all positive news concerning Jets’ defensemen as color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports that although Logan Stanley is expected to join Winnipeg on their upcoming road trip, he’s not expected to skate for the next four to five days. Stanley has been on Winnipeg’s injured reserve since November 12th with an undisclosed injury.

Pacific Notes: Olofsson, Nurse, Arvidsson, Miller, Wright

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The Vegas Golden Knights should only be a few days away from the return of an injured forward. The organization announced they assigned forward Victor Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, for a conditioning loan. This confirms the Golden Knights are quickly expected to activate Olofsson from the long-term injured reserve.

Olofsson has only been on the team’s LTIR for approximately a week but hasn’t suited up for a game in Vegas for over a month due to a lower-body injury. He had scored three goals in his four games before succumbing to the injury while averaging 15:03 of ice time per game.

It’ll be interesting to see how much playing time Olofsson can manage once he returns from injury despite the strong scoring pace to begin the season. The Golden Knights will have a clearer picture of their roster construction once Mark Stone returns to the lineup but Olofsson may become a healthy scratch upon activation. He projects as an upgrade on the right wing as the lineup is currently constructed but the team might prefer continuity as they’ve risen to the top of the Pacific Division standings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Jack Michaels, the play-by-play commentator for the Edmonton Oilers, confirmed today that defenseman Darnell Nurse is only expected to miss five to 10 days from the illegal check to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves this past weekend. Thankfully, the Oilers have a five-day break at the beginning of next week which should give Nurse ample time to recover. The Oilers will have a difficult time without him this week should he miss all four games with Edmonton deploying a subpar supporting cast behind Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard.
  • In the same update from Michaels, he shares that the Oilers will also be without forward Viktor Arvidsson tonight. Tonight will mark the third straight game Arvidsson has missed with an undisclosed injury. When healthy, he’s scored two goals and five points in 16 games in his first year with the Oilers organization.
  • Through the first 16 games of the 2024-25 NHL season for J.T. Miller, he had been averaging 18:49 of ice time. It’s dropped by more than a third of a minute thanks to getting benched in the Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Nashville Predators last night. In an explanation of the benching, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “I went with the guys I thought could get us back into the game.” (X Link)
  • Miller wasn’t the only notable benching last night with Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright also enjoying some time on the pine. According to Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times, head coach Dan Bylsma said, “As the games have gone along here, I think Shane’s game has been trending in not the best direction. Really the message is: Take a reset, watch the game tonight, which he did, and get back focused on playing the way you can play.” Wright has only scored two points in 18 games for the Kraken this season and the recent message from Bylsma isn’t exactly a vote of confidence for the former fourth-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

New Jersey Announces Several Roster Moves

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Before their game in a few days against the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, the New Jersey Devils are adding more pieces to their roster. The organization announced they have placed Nathan Bastian on long-term injured reserve retroactive to November 1st, Curtis Lazar on injured reserve retroactive to October 27th, and has recalled Shane Bowers, Justin Dowling, Nolan Foote, and Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

None of the moves are shocking from the cap-conscious Devils who’ve been slowplaying Bastian and Lazar’s designation to capture more salary cap space for the trade deadline. With a projected deadline space of almost $10MM, New Jersey could place both players on their respective injury reserve designations and fill out the rest of the roster.

Bastian has the less serious injury of the two after sustaining a jaw injury during a fight with Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg. He was originally expected to miss several weeks with the injury and if he’s fully recovered, can return on November 26th when the Devils take on the St. Louis Blues. The more serious injury concern lies in Lazar who may finish the year with only 12 games played after undergoing a procedure on his left knee keeping him out indefinitely.

Dowling is the only member of the call-up quartet that has already suited up for New Jersey this season. He was originally recalled to replace the lost minutes of Lazar and has tallied one assist in nine games while averaging 8:13 of ice time.

Foote was an obvious choice for a call-up as the former 27th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s already accrued 23 games of NHL experience in his young career and was leading the AHL Comets in scoring this season with four goals and nine points in 12 games.

The other two recalls are largely AHL-bound veterans at this point in their respective careers although Bowers may carry some prospect pedigree as a first-round pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s seen his scoring drop precipitously since transitioning to professional hockey in the 2018-19 season scoring a career-high 27 points for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2019-20. DeSimone, who reached a one-year extension with the Devils last season, has already been recalled this season but failed to register any games.

The downstream effects of the roster moves will be greatly felt in the AHL. The Comets have yet to earn a victory this season through 13 games and may have to play this weekend’s contests against the Syracuse Crunch and Rochester Americans without three of their top-10 scorers.

Mike Reilly Out Indefinitely After Heart Surgery, Other Islanders Updates

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Cory Wright of the New York Islanders issued several injury updates this afternoon including one unfortunate update for a member of the Islanders’ defense. The organization announced that defenseman Mike Reilly has fully recovered from his concussion suffered on November 1st but underwent a procedure on his heart that will keep him off the ice indefinitely.

There shouldn’t be any long-term concerns for Reilly’s health after fully recovering from the surgery according to a few quotes from New York’s general manager and president of hockey operations, Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello said, “It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation. It’s probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you’re sometimes born with, but never knew. [His quality of life will be] 100% and he will be able to play once this procedure is done. It takes quite a bit of time. It could be several months before he’s back, because of the type of procedure“.

Because of the uncertainty of the recovery process, it’ll likely be some time before the Islanders issue any formal updates on Reilly’s status. Considering Lamoriello mentioned it could take several months, there’s every likelihood Reilly won’t return until next season.

The puck-moving Chicago native has played in 70 games for New York since being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers last year. He’s been a steady offensive performer over that stretch with six goals and 24 points, averaging 17:01 a night in an Islanders’ sweater.

The team also issued updates on Alexander Romanov, Anthony Duclair, Mathew Barzal, and Adam Pelech in the announcement. Romanov, the closest to returning, is still considered day-to-day and will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest against the Calgary Flames.

On the longer-term end, neither Duclair, Barzal, or Pelech have resumed skating, but the team hopes Duclair will soon. He’s been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th and was originally given a four—to six-week recovery timeline.

Barzal and Pelech haven’t been out as long as Duclair. The two were injured in back-to-back games in the first week of November and still haven’t been cleared by the team’s medical staff.

Sharks Recall Yaroslav Askarov

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The Sharks announced Monday that they’ve recalled top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov from AHL San Jose. The team placed center Nico Sturm on injured reserve to open up a roster spot.

Askarov was expected to compete for an NHL job out of training camp after being acquired in a blockbuster swap with the Predators in August. A lower-body injury sustained over the offseason threw a wrench into those plans, though. Since Askarov didn’t get on the ice with San Jose until the beginning of October, they kept their veteran tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Vítek Vaněček intact while loaning the 22-year-old to their AHL affiliate.

If the 2020 11th-overall pick’s desire for NHL time wasn’t apparent when he requested a trade out of Nashville, it’s crystal clear now after his impeccable start in the AHL. He’s been among the league’s best netminders with a 1.92 GAA, .939 SV%, two shutouts, and a 6-3-0 record in nine appearances behind one of the AHL’s worst teams over the past few seasons. His play has fuelled the Barracuda to a 93-point pace, which would be their second-best record in franchise history since their inception in 2015.

It’s a marked improvement on his already strong numbers with AHL Milwaukee while in the Predators’ system. He started 40-plus games in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns with matching .911 save percentages, earning himself a pair of All-Star Game nods. It only translated into two NHL starts and one relief appearance with Nashville during that time, posting a 2.58 GAA and .914 SV% with a 1-1-0 record.

Askarov is expected to back up Blackwood tonight against the Red Wings. His recall comes after Vaněček sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period against the Penguins on Saturday and did not return after the intermission.

While Blackwood has been strong for the Sharks this year with a .914 SV% and 4.7 GSAA in 11 appearances, Vaněček’s .899 SV% and -0.5 GSAA in 10 games have solidified him as the weak link in San Jose’s tandem thus far. If he’s out long enough for Askarov to get some game action, there’s a small but visible opening for him to steal the No. 2 job behind Blackwood and potentially push the pending UFA Vaněček to the waiver wire or force San Jose to carry three goalies.

Meanwhile, Sturm lands on IR after missing Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. His placement is retroactive to Nov. 14, so he’ll miss at least two more games but is eligible to return for Thursday’s road tilt against the Blues. The German pivot has averaged just 9:50 per game this season but is still tied for seventh on the Sharks in scoring with six points (3 G, 3 A) in 18 games.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Flyers Recall Helge Grans Under Emergency Conditions

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The Flyers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Helge Grans from AHL Lehigh Valley under emergency conditions. The 22-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight against the Avalanche, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Grans will enter the lineup for Emil Andrae, who the team said won’t play after sustaining a mid-body injury against the Sabres on Saturday. Philadelphia moved goaltender Samuel Ersson to injured reserve to open a spot on the active roster.

Grans arrived in the Flyers organization last year as part of the three-team trade with the Kings and Blue Jackets that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Drafted 35th overall by Los Angeles in 2020, the 6’3″, 205-lb righty already has loads of professional experience. He logged 69 games of Swedish Hockey League experience with Örebro HK before coming to North America in 2021, and he’s since recorded 11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points, 58 PIMs, and a -4 rating in 185 games for the Kings’ and Flyers’ affiliates in Ontario and Lehigh Valley.

While Grans once projected as a solid puck-moving defender with good size, his point totals in the minors suggest he’ll be more of a stay-at-home option if he manages to lock down an everyday NHL role. He’s struggled to make a significant impact on the scoresheet after a 24-point rookie season in 56 games with Ontario in 2021-22, posting just eight points (1 G, 7 A) in 56 games with Lehigh Valley last season.

Grans will debut on the right side of a pairing with Yegor Zamula, head coach John Tortorella said. Don’t expect them to log a ton of minutes, though, with Tortorella adding he plans to “play the s*** out of [Travis Sanheim] and [Rasmus Ristolainen]” as the Flyers look to win their fourth game in a row and push their record above .500 for the first time since their first game of the season (via Kevin Kurz of The Athletic).

For Andrae, it’s a tough break for the 22-year-old. He’s played well in fringe top-four minutes with Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York hitting injured reserve in recent weeks, posting three assists with a +1 rating in 10 appearances while averaging 18:27 per game. The undersized 5’9″ blue-liner has gotten involved physically with 13 blocks and 15 hits, and his possession play has been quite good. The Flyers have controlled 51.2% of shot attempts with Andrae on the ice at even strength compared to 42.2% without him.

Ersson, meanwhile, hits IR after re-aggravating a lower-body injury last week. He’s not expected back until Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks at the earliest, so today’s move is purely for roster flexibility purposes and doesn’t impact his timeline for a return.

Canucks Recall Elias Pettersson, Place Derek Forbort On IR

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The Canucks have recalled defenseman Elias Pettersson from AHL Abbotsford, Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff reports Sunday. Defenseman Derek Forbort was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction to create an open spot on the active roster.

It’s the first recall of Pettersson’s career. The 20-year-old, who bears no relation to Vancouver’s star center with the same name, was selected 80th overall in the 2022 draft and is in his first full season in North America after spending last season on loan to Västerås IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional league.

Pettersson is a left-shot defender with good size at 6’3″ and 209 lbs. Elite Prospects lauds him as a “good skater with a long stride,” and while he doesn’t overtly dominate in any area of the game, he doesn’t have many glaring shortcomings that should impede his development. McKeen’s Hockey ranked him as the eighth-best prospect in the Canucks’ system in their preseason rankings, third among defensemen behind countryman Tom Willander and fellow first-year pro Kirill Kudryavtsev.

Through 15 games with Abbotsford this season, Pettersson has four assists, four penalty minutes and a +3 rating. He also had a pair of assists in eight regular-season outings with Abbotsford to end 2023-24 after his campaign with Västerås came to an end.

Pettersson has been on Sweden’s roster for each of the last two World Junior Championships, totaling five assists in 14 games with a +2 rating. He also has 64 games of European top-level professional experience with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, posting a goal and seven assists with a +10 rating.

Pettersson will likely serve as an extra defender for Sunday’s game against the Predators and watch from the press box. While he signed his entry-level contract before the 2023-24 campaign, it slid last season as he didn’t play in 10 NHL games. It goes into effect for 2024-25 with a cap hit of $838.3K and makes him a restricted free agent in 2027.

Meanwhile, Forbort lands on IR after sitting out the last six games with a knee injury. Gaffar reported earlier this month that Forbort’s injury could sideline him for over a month, meaning he could still be a couple of weeks away from returning to the lineup.

Since Forbort has already missed more than a week due to the injury, he’s eligible to be reinstated at any time. The 32-year-old has played in four games for the Canucks this season between the knee injury and personal reasons, posting one assist and a -2 rating while averaging 16:30 per game. The veteran of 500 NHL games inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract with Vancouver over the summer after completing a three-year, $9MM deal with the Bruins that didn’t result in an extension.

Snapshots: Wild, Perets, Edvinsson, Rasmussen

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The Minnesota Wild have assigned forwards Liam Ohgren and Michael Milne, and defender Daemon Hunt, to the AHL as they anticipate the return of Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek. Michael Russo of The Athletic points out that, even with the two veterans returning, the team will likely call another forward up in the coming days.

Ohgren made his return to the lineup, and Milne his NHL debut, in Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Stars. Neither had much to show for their minutes, with Ohgren recording two shots in 12:10 and Milne recording three hits in 6:34. Another scoreless night pulled Ohgren through his eighth game this season with no points. Hunt hasn’t stepped into the lineup since being recalled on November 12th, though he did play one NHL game in October. All three have been far more productive with the AHL’s Iowa Wild – where Ohgren has four goals in four games; Hunt has two assists in six games; and Milne has eight points in 10 games. Ohgren and Milne will be the top options to be quickly recalled, though Minnesota could also turn towards veteran pros like Ben Jones, Travis Boyd, or Devin Shore.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have sent goaltender Yaniv Perets back to the minor leagues with Pyotr Kochetkov set to return from injury per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Kochetkov missed Carolina’s Saturday win over Ottawa with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour describing Kochetkov as “banged up” to postgame media including NHL.com’s Matt Komma was the closest indication of Kochetkov’s hold up. Whatever the issue was, the young netminder is set to reassume his familiar role as de facto starter with Frederik Andersen out long-term. Kochetkov has eight wins and a .897 save percentage through 10 games this season. Meanwhile, Perets has only served as backup in his NHL call-ups this season. He’s posted a .825 save percentage in three AHL games this year, and will return to a crowded Chicago Wolves goaltender room beside Spencer Martin and Ruslan Khazheyev.
  • Forward Michael Rasmussen (upper-body) and defenseman Simon Edvinsson (lower-body) are both expected to return to the lineup on Monday per the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Both players sat out of the team’s Saturday night loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Rasmussen has found a role in Detroit’s bottom-six, recording four points through 16 games this season. Edvinsson has proven far more impactful, usually serving as the go-to partner for star Wings defender Moritz Seider. Edvinsson has six points in 16 games this season, putting him on pace for 30 points in his rookie year.

Morning Notes: Peeke, Pionk, Goncalves, Kastelic, Tufte

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The Boston Bruins will soon receive some relief on the blue-line, with defenseman Andrew Peeke returning to the team’s practices per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Peeke hasn’t played since leaving Boston’s November 5th match against Toronto following a hit from Max Pacioretty that seemed to bounce Peeke’s shoulder awkwardly off the boards. He was ruled out week-to-week with an upper-body injury soon after, though participating in practice marks a big step in his path back to the lineup. Peeke isn’t expected to play in Boston’s Monday game against Columbus but could suit up when the team hosts Utah on Thursday.

Peeke was joined on the shelf by Hampus Lindholm, who’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The pair of absences quickly drained Boston’s top-four of its impactful, defensive stalwarts. Peeke rotated through the lineup when healthy, serving anywhere from 13 minutes in a sheltered role to 20 minutes on the top pair. He’s recorded two assists, 18 hits, and 21 blocked shots in 13 games. While not a thrilling stat line, Boston has felt every bit of Peeke’s absence – averaging the fifth-highest goals-against per-game (3.60 in five games) since he left the lineup. Upcoming matchups against Columbus, Utah, and Detroit should give Boston a chance to ease Peeke back into the lineup.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk has been fined $5K, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for “clipping” Florida Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist on Saturday. Pionk went in for a hip-check but caught more of Boqvist’s knee than anything else. No penalty was issued for the hit. Boqvist nursed his left-knee for a while, but didn’t need helped off the ice. Pionk played 20 minutes in the 5-0 loss, going without any major stat changes – but still boasting 17 points in 18 games this season. He’ll continue to be a main fixture of the Jets lineup – and likely continue delivering heavy hip-checks – after avoiding suspension here.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have once again assigned forward Gage Goncalves to the minor leagues, after he stepped into a third-line role in the team’s Saturday night win over New Jersey. Goncalves played a career-high 15:32 worth of ice time in the outing, though he only put up two hits and one shot. Goncalves has yet to record his first NHL point, despite four appearances this year and two last year. He’ll return to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he’s already posted six assists in five games – the only Crunch still scoring above a point-per-game pace.
  • The Boston Bruins received a couple more updates at Sunday’s practice, with forwards Mark Kastelic designated as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and Riley Tufte expected to be sent to the minor leagues per Steve Conroy. Tufte played in 7:46 of Boston’s Saturday overtime-loss to St. Louis, with a -2 his only stat change. Tufte has yet to record a point in three games this year, though he’s managed three points in 21 career NHL games while serving as a go-to call-up since 2021. Kastelic has been much more productive – posting seven points in 19 games this season – while still serving a fourth-line role.

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