Pacific Notes: Lindholm, Gaudet, Injuries
Hampus Lindholm will make his long awaited debut tonight for the Anaheim Ducks, figuring into the lineup after a long hold out and visa process. While the team is off to a 6-5-2 start without him, he’ll be a welcome addition to a blueline that has already lost Simon Despres for an indefinite period.
Lindholm is one of the more underrated skaters in the league, with his smooth possession style falling somewhat under the radar. He’ll likely take the place of Korbinian Holzer, who had worked his way into the lineup after the team sent Shea Theodore back to the AHL.
- After just a single game with the big club, the Arizona Coyotes have decided to send Tyler Gaudet back to the AHL. Gaudet got into the match against the Colorado Avalanche last night, but will now retake his spot with Tucson where he was off to a good start. The 23-year old has five points in eight games at the minor league level.
- On the ice today for the Coyotes were Michael Stone and Mike Smith, two key injuries the team has been fighting. Stone has gotten into just four games this season between two injury stints, while Smith has been out since October 23rd with a lower-body injury. Louis Domingue has taken the reigns in his absence and fared poorly, notching an .896 save percentage through ten games. The Coyotes will need both Stone and Smith to make quick returns should they hope to keep the playoffs within sight.
Atlantic Notes: Leafs Skate, Soshnikov, Blunden
In a scene from a mid-90’s sports movie, the power went out at Maple Leafs practice today as the team was put through a hard practice by head coach Mike Babcock. The Leafs lost 7-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last night and, as Morgan Rielly put it (via Pierre LeBrun)“I think we all understood if we didnt skate last night we were going to skate today.” The young Leafs were on a three game winning streak before getting dismantled by the experienced Kings.
- Also from practice today, Nikita Soshnikov was absent according to David Alter of NHL.com. With a groin injury, the coaching staff didn’t want to put him through the high-tempo practice. Soshnikov only just returned from injury a few games ago, but has contributed two points already and saw time with Auston Matthews during the loss.
- Despite saying that Craig Anderson would be the starter whenever he was with the team, Mike Condon will start for the Sens tonight, according to head coach Guy Boucher. Condon recorded a shutout in his first game for the Sens last week.
- Mike Blunden will be recalled from Binghamton to play tonight for the Senators, though no word has been given on who he’ll be replacing. The 29-year old has four points in nine AHL games thus far.
- According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Jonathan Drouin is working out on his own, and still has no timetable to return to the Lightning. Drouin was injured a week ago on a hit from Calvin de Haan. Coach Jon Cooper says he’s “gradually coming along” in his recovery.
Snapshots: Scandella, Benson, Sabres
The Minnesota Wild will be without defenseman Marco Scandella for the foreseeable future. Scandella suffered a high ankle sprain in his right ankle back on October 27 versus the Buffalo Sabres, according to a team release.
Scandella had previously been listed as week-to-week, before the Wild placed him on Long Term Injured Reserve. According to Cap Friendly, his entire $4MM cap hit is now available for the Wild to use until he returns. While Minnesota hasn’t given an indication other than week-to-week and now LTIR, generally high ankle sprains take 4-6 weeks at minimum to recover from. The Wild have recalled defenseman Mike Reilly from Iowa to take his place, as well as forwards Christoph Bertschy and Zack Mitchell.
- The WHL All-Stars and Russian Juniors are even at one game apiece in the CIBC Canada Russia Series. One of the WHL’s best players in their game two win was Vancouver Giants left winger Tyler Benson, with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win. Benson was playing in his hometown of Edmonton, who also drafted him 32nd overall back in June. Benson has dealt with injuries for much of his junior career, but told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector that he’s “starting to get [his] game back” after dealing with a shoulder injury in training camp. Benson was expected to be a top pick before injuries contributed to his slide down the rankings. Back in 2013, Benson was widely predicted to be the first CHL Exceptional Status Player from the WHL, before he decided to play at a prep school in B.C. In 2012-13, Benson scored an astounding 57 goals and 146 points in 33 games in Bantam AAA hockey (doubling his next highest-scoring teammate), breaking that league’s record for points.
- The Buffalo Sabres received some news on the injury front, with winger Evander Kane expected to return tonight, according to Dan Bylsma (quoted by Amy Moritz). However, Ryan O’Reilly is questionable for tonight with an unspecified injury and Tyler Ennis is out with a “mid-body injury.”
Nashville Returns Harry Zolnierczyk To Milwaukee
The Nashville Predators have assigned Harry Zolnierczyk to the AHL today, after playing just one game for the big club this season. The forward was originally called up when the team came down with food poisoning, but was a scratch for most of the season.
The 29-year old has been in limbo between the AHL and NHL for the last few years, able to jump onto a fourth line at any time but hardly getting any chances. Once a pretty strong scoring threat in the AHL, Zolnierczyk has only played 29 games since the end of the 2014-15 season.
The demotion might mean that captain Mike Fisher is close to a return; he’s been out with an upper-body injury since last Tuesday. Listed as day-to-day, getting Fisher back into the lineup would be an important move for a struggling Predators team.
LeBrun’s Latest: Budaj, Trouba, Hanzal
When the Los Angeles Kings lost not just Jonathan Quick but Jeff Zatkoff as well in the span of a few days, panic immediately set in for a franchise known for its excellent goaltending over the years. Even with Peter Budaj, an experienced NHL netminder coming in to start, the team was looking everywhere to find some help in net. That might have come to an end, says Pierre LeBrun in his latest column, as Budaj has performed extremely well and Zatkoff is back from injury. The team has stopped looking for help and is at least somewhat comfortable with the Budaj/Zatkoff tandem for now.
Budaj, the AHL goalie of the year in 2015-16, has posted a .912 save percentage and 2.06 GAA in ten games, including a shutout of the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The former Colorado and Montreal netminder has a ton of NHL experience over the years, and at 34 is still playing well enough to help the Kings. Zatkoff will likely figure in a bit more as the season stretches on, though he does have much less experience.
- Even though Jacob Trouba has signed on for two years and said that he’s ‘committed’ to the Winnipeg Jets, doesn’t sway LeBrun from thinking he’ll eventually be dealt. Though head coach Paul Maurice has said he’ll use Trouba in a variety of situations in order to keep him involved, the conviction that led to his holdout can’t possibly have all dissipated at this point. Trouba still wants to be a top pairing blueliner on the right side, something that simply won’t happen in Winnipeg, at least not right now.
- It’s an open competition in Colorado now, as the net will be shared between Semyon Varlamov and Calvin Pickard. Though Varlamov came into the season as the clear No. 1, the younger Pickard has played extremely well and forced himself into the conversation. A .946 save percentage even if it is just a few games. With the Avalanche going after a playoff spot this year, they can’t afford to wait for Varlamov’s game to come around.
- When you turn your calendar over to February in a few months, make sure you make a note to watch for Martin Hanzal rumors. LeBrun feels as though the Coyotes center – who’s injured at the moment – is an easy pick for a deadline deal. An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, he’s always had the talent to change a game. Health has always been a factor for Hanzal though, who just can’t seem to stick in a lineup for a full year. LeBrun believes that the Coyotes would need a young player, and not just picks, in return.
West Notes: Kane, Zatkoff, Las Vegas
While it doesn’t appear that talks are currently ongoing, the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres have held trade discussions regarding left winger Evander Kane, Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune notes in a reader mailbag.
Kane has had an adventurous last few seasons both on and off the ice. When it comes to his on ice performance, he has shown signs of stardom but hasn’t been able to deliver that with any sort of consistency since before the last lockout. He’s in his second year in a Buffalo uniform but has only played once after being injured in the season opener.
Off the ice, he was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of misdemeanor trespass after an incident back in June but it was announced last week that those charges will be dropped as long as he stays out of any legal trouble between now and March 30th.
Kane has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25MM and a salary of $6MM in each season. For any deal to work the Wild, who will be back into LTIR this week after they make a pair of recalls before their next game, would have to send matching salary Buffalo’s way.
More news from the West:
- The Los Angeles Kings have activated goaltender Jeff Zatkoff off of injured reserve and assigned goalie Jack Campbell to Ontario of the AHL as first reported by Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Zatkoff started the season as the backup to Jonathan Quick but was thrust into the starting job after Jonathan Quick suffered a long-term groin injury that will still have him out for another 2-3 months. However, Zatkoff had a groin issue of his own come up in practice, forcing veteran Peter Budaj into the starting job. There’s no word on when Zatkoff will make his next start but with the Kings on a lengthy Eastern road trip, he should see some game action soon. He has an 0-3 record so far this year with a 4.38 GAA and a .839 save percentage.
- The expansion Las Vegas franchise will officially unveil their team name and logo at a press conference on November 22nd, the team announced in a press release. It’s believed that the team colors will be available at that time as well although the actual look of the uniforms are expected to be revealed at a later date.
Canadiens Place Artturi Lehkonen On IR, Recall Sven Andrighetto
The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have placed left winger Artturi Lehkonen on injured reserve with an upper body injury, meaning he will miss at least a week of action. The issue likely occurred on Saturday night where the Finnish forward did not play a single shift in the third period against Philadelphia. In a corresponding move, the team announced the recall of right winger Sven Andrighetto from St. John’s of the AHL.
Lehkonen, a 2013 2nd round pick (55th overall) of the Canadiens, made the opening roster out of training camp and has played in all 12 of their games so far this season, bouncing from the first to third lines. He has two goals and an assist so far this season with 27 shots on goal, which ranks tied for eighth league-wide among rookies.
As for Andrighetto, he made the team out of camp but was placed on waivers in mid-October and went unclaimed. He’s off to a strong start in the minors this year with five goals and six assists in ten games. The Swiss winger has 56 NHL games under his belt in his career – including 44 last season – with nine goals and eleven assists.
[Related: Canadiens Depth Chart]
David Warsofsky Sent Back To AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman David Warsofsky to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. The 26-year old had played just four games with the NHL club this season, recording zero points.
Originally a fourth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, Warsofsky is carving out a journeyman-like existence in the NHL, and has now been a part of four different organizations. Last season, he was claimed off waivers from the Penguins by the New Jersey Devils, before eventually re-signing with Pittsburgh in the offseason.
With the Penguins on a three game home stand that begins tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, they can easily recall a defenseman should an injury occur. Warsofsky meanwhile can head to the AHL and stay sharp until his next recall.
Maple Leafs Notes: Bon Jovi, Rielly, Hunwick
After the Maple Leafs’ dynamic young duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were caught singing along to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” in the midst of the insane brawls all around them, and received a shout out on twitter from the man himself, they were asked today at practice whether they’d heard it from their teammates (via Mark Masters of TSN).
A lot of the guys telling us to focus on the game and stuff. We’re living our dream right now…probably the most important thing is to go out there and have fun.
While the teams were earning 130 PIM around them, Matthews and Marner were each earning more points and continue to dominate the conversation in Toronto. The teenagers have 11 and 10 points respectively through 12 games.
- Morgan Rielly, the Maple Leafs de facto leader on the blueline is being asked to do even more this season, and he showed it on Saturday with the hit that set off all the fireworks. Now as the current and future number 1 in Toronto, head coach Mike Babcock expects him to take on these responsibilities (via Kristin Shilton of TSN): “We need him to be a real high-end guy in this league and I think him and (Nikita) Zaitsev have a chance to be a real good pair. Dion (Phaneuf) was for a long time and took a lot of heat for a lot of kids..now (Rielly)’s at a point in his career, he’s got to be that guy for us.”
- Also from Masters, Matt Hunwick returned to practice today and is apparently “just around the corner” for his return to the lineup. Hunwick was placed on injured reserve a week ago with a lower-body injury. The 31-year old will have a good chance to get back into the lineup right away, as Martin Marincin has struggled in the early going.
Seth Jones Out Three Weeks With Broken Foot
Some terrible news came down from the Columbus Blue Jackets today, as they announced that Seth Jones will miss at least three weeks with a hairline fracture in his foot. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch provides some graphic notes on how the injury occurred in a series of tweets, saying that Patrik Berglund‘s skate cut through the laces and tongue of Jones’ boot to fracture his foot.
Jones came over from the Nashville Predators last season and made an immediate impact on their top defensive unit. Paired with uber-rookie Zach Werenski this season, Jones has six points in ten games and is logging over 24 minutes of ice-time a night.
Luckily, the team has other effective defensemen to take his place, though obviously he’ll be missed. Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson, currently the second pair, will likely be asked to take on a greater responsibility while David Savard probably moves up to Werenski’s right side. Columbus next plays Anaheim on Wednesday night, in the first game at home since the 10-0 shellacking of the Montreal Canadiens.