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Central Notes: Hintz, Lowry, Bertuzzi

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While the Dallas Stars managed to secure a victory over one of the NHL’s best teams last night, their win wasn’t without cost: center Roope Hintz left the contest with an injury, and the club did not issue an update to his status other than the fact that he is still being evaluated, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. The injury occurred when Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall delivered a heavy hit on Hintz – Hall was assessed a two-minute minor for charging on the play.

Should Hintz miss any time due to this injury, it would be a significant blow to the Stars, who are already dealing with injuries to other key veteran forwards. Last season’s leading scorer Matt Duchene has not played since Oct. 18 due to injury, while captain Jamie Benn hasn’t even made his season debut due to a collapsed lung. Depth forward Oskar Back, who was a full-time NHLer in Dallas last season, also hasn’t yet made his 2025-26 debut due to an undisclosed injury. Those injuries have contributed to the Stars’ somewhat underwhelming start to the season. Expected to be one of the NHL’s most dominant teams, they have a 4-3-1 record eight games into Glen Gulutzan’s tenure as head coach.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have been without their captain Adam Lowry for the early part of the season due to an injury, but it appears that absence is drawing to a close. TSN’s Danielle Bain reported yesterday that Lowry was back at practice in a regular jersey, and seemed “to be inching closer to a return.” It’s an important year for Lowry in terms of his Jets future. The respected all-around center is playing out the final year of a five-year, $3.25MM AAV pact, and could end up receiving a notable pay raise. It was previously reported that the Jets, who have managed to re-sign several key contributors over the last few years (including Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Neal Pionk) have made re-signing Lowry a top priority.
  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi is dealing with a day-to-day injury and is questionable to play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. This development positions Bertuzzi to potentially miss a game this season for the first time, as he’s skated in all eight of the Blackhawks’ contests up to this point. The 30-year-old has played a notable role in helping Chicago get off to a fast start to the 2025-26 season, beating most industry projections en route to a solid 4-2-2 record. Bertuzzi has scored two goals and six points through eight games, and combined with the recent trade of Lukas Reichel to the Vancouver Canucks, this injury is only further testing the Blackhawks’ forward depth, although there is a chance Bertuzzi is able to play in tonight’s game.

Maple Leafs Reassign Dennis Hildeby

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10/26/2025: As was expected due to the nature of yesterday’s call-up, the Maple Leafs announced Sunday morning that they reassigned Hildeby back to the AHL. Hildeby  backed up Primeau for the team’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres yesterday, and now returns to the AHL, where he’s expected to spend most of the season.

In Hildeby’s absence, Artur Akhtyamov started the Marlies’ game yesterday, saving 19 of 23 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Belleville Senators.

10/25/2025: Heading into the back half of a back-to-back set against Buffalo, the Maple Leafs have added some extra goalie depth.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Dennis Hildeby has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

With Joseph Woll away from the team to start the season, it looked as if the 24-year-old would serve as the backup for Anthony Stolarz.  However, when they claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers at the end of training camp, that was the end of that idea as instead, Hildeby was sent down to the Marlies while Primeau served as the backup.

Hildeby hasn’t received much playing time with the Marlies either, getting into just two games where he has allowed just two goals on 53 shots.  Toronto has played just four AHL games in the early going with Hildeby splitting time with prospect Vyacheslav Peksa.

There isn’t a notable injury situation between the pipes for the Maple Leafs as instead, the plan is to simply give Stolarz a rest day after a heavy workload to start the season in Woll’s absence.  Toronto doesn’t have an open roster spot so it appears they’re using a CBA exception that allows them to bring up an extra goalie as a 24th player.  It’s something that can only be used twice in a season and for a maximum of 48 hours each time so Hildeby’s time with the big club will be short-lived as he’ll likely be sent back down following the game or sometime on Sunday.

Metro Notes: Hurricanes, Rempe, Trocheck

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The Carolina Hurricanes issued several injury updates yesterday, via team reporter Walt Ruff. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that injured defenseman K’Andre Miller is considered “more day-to-day” than out long-term, while injured forwards Eric Robinson and William Carrier “won’t be coming back anytime soon.” Miller and Carrier are managing lower-body injuries, while Robinson is dealing with an upper-body ailment. Miller last played Oct. 20 against the Vegas Golden Knights, while both Carrier and Robinson last played Oct. 23.

The Hurricanes have gotten off to an exceptional start to their 2025-26 campaign, but these injuries threaten their significant positive momentum. Carolina dropped yesterday’s contest against the Stars by a 3-2 score. The loss of the aforementioned trio of players, combined with other injuries to Shayne Gostisbehere, Jaccob Slavin, and Pyotr Kochetkov, has tested Carolina’s depth to an extreme degree very early into this season. As a result of these absences, the Hurricanes have been forced to rely on players with little NHL experience to fill roles in their lineup: call-ups Joel Nystrom, Bradly Nadeau, and Charles-Alexis Legault had just three games of NHL experience combined before the start of 2025-26.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Injured New York Rangers pivot Vincent Trocheck isn’t a candidate to return any time soon, head coach Mike Sullivan told the media (including the New York Post’s Mollie Walker) yesterday. Trocheck remains on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) with an upper-body injury, isn’t skating yet, and Sullivan directly said his return to play “isn’t imminent.” The Rangers have shifted veteran Mika Zibanejad back to his natural center position in response to Trocheck’s absence, and Zibanejad has started to heat up, scoring two goals and four points in his last three games. For the Rangers to make a serious push to gain ground in the Metropolitan Division early this season, Zibanejad, 32, will need to continue to produce and prove that he can handle some of the responsibilities left behind by Trocheck.
  • Physical forward Matt Rempe will not travel to his hometown of Calgary for the Rangers’ upcoming game as he is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. Rempe appeared to suffer the injury in the process or aftermath of fighting Ryan Reaves during the Rangers’ Oct. 23 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The 6’9″, 261-pounder had played a steady fourth-line role in all of the Rangers’ nine games so far this season, and in response to his injury, the club called up 2021 first-rounder Brennan Othmann, who himself has been the subject of recent trade buzz.

Evening Notes: Strome, Granlund, Ellis

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Washington Capitals centerman Dylan Strome exited Saturday night’s game after sustaining a lower-body injury in the opening minutes. The injury occured after Strome got tangled up with teammate Jakob Chychrun and tumbled hard into the endboards. He made a brief return to the ice during a TV timeout later in the game – but didn’t stick around after taking a few small laps.

The chance to see Strome already testing out his injury will be a silver lining for the Capitals, who could be losing their second-highest scorer with this news. Strome has racked up 10 points in eight games this season, all scored across a five-game point streak he was riding entering Saturday night. He led the Capitals in scoring with 82 points in 82 games last season.

Nic Dowd earned the most ice time of Washington’s centers following Strome’s absence. He was already in an elevated role to support Pierre-Luc Dubois, who made his return from a five-game absence. Dowd and Justin Sourdif should be the biggest beneficiaries, though both behind Dubois, should Washington need to fill-in Strome’s minutes.

Other later-night notes:

  • Anaheim Ducks forward Mikael Granlund also exited his team’s game, in the first period, with a lower-body injury. It’s not exactly clear when Granlund’s injury occured, though he appeared in discomfort away from play and headed towards the locker room after just six minutes of ice time. Granlund is tied with Leo Carlsson for the Ducks’ scoring lead with eight points in seven games. He’s in his first year in Anaheim, after spending last season split between the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars. He scored 66 points in 83 games between the two teams, his most since he scored 67 points in the 2017-18 season. Now playing for his sixth NHL club, Granlund has continued to prove he can be a flexible scorer in any lineup. His absence would leave Anaheim with a big role to fill. The Ducks would likely lean on Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Nikita Nesterenko to fill in.
  • The Buffalo Sabres intended to start Colten Ellis in Saturday’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but opted to rest the rookie after he woke up with tightness in his back, head coach Lindy Ruff told Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. Ellis made 29 saves on 31 shots, and recorded a win, in his NHL debut on Wednesday. He was strong throughout, carrying over the same sharp movement that earned him a .922 save percentage in 42 AHL games – sixth-highest in the league – last season. Ellis is another promising young goaltender in Buffalo’s system, and could get a chance to compete with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for a role behind Alex Lyon, should the Sabres continue carrying three goalies. Ellis should be back to game-readiness soon.

Devils Notes: Bordeleau, Markstrom, Lammikko

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The New Jersey Devils acquired depth winger Thomas Bordeleau in a trade for center Shane Bowers in early July. In reflecting on that trade on Saturday, Bordeleau told Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News that he requested a trade from San Jose before the 2025 Trade Deadline. He explained that he didn’t feel he got a fair opportunity after coming back from an injury sustained in the 2023-24 training camp. With the path blocked ahead of him, he felt it was time for the fresh start.

After a full year with the San Jose Barracuda last year, Bordeleau hasn’t yet found a way to break out of the AHL in the Devils’ organization. He has two points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-four through five games with the Utica Comets this season – far below the scoring pace that led him to 38 poinnts in 59 games with the Barracuda last year. Bordeleau split time between the NHL and AHL lineups for three years before last season, ultimately totaling 18 points in 44 games in the Sharks’ lineup. With a quiet start to the 2025-26 season, Bourdeleau likely sits behind a few AHL teammates on New Jersey’s call-up chart.

Other notes out of New Jersey:

  • Starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom returned to the Devils’ practice on Saturday, per team reporter Amanda Stein. He will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip to the west coast, which spans matchups against the Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks. Markstrom has already missed five games with a lower-body injury sustained in October 13th’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has a meager .845 save percentage through parts of three games this season – far below the .900 he posted in 49 games last year. A return to practice will put Markstrom on pace to soon return to the crease, and begin working on improving those numbers.
  • Stein also shared that depth forward Juho Lammikko participated in practice in place of top center Nico Hischier, who sat out for a maintenance day. Lammikko is not yet ready to return to the lineup, though he’s continuing to progress from a lower-body injury sustained before the start of the season. Lammikko has had intermittent stints in the NHL. He played in 40 games, and recorded six points, with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 – then spent one season in both Finland’s Liiga and Russia’s KHL. He returned to the NHL for 119 games, combined between the Panthers and Vancouver Canucks between 2020 and 2022. He scored 20 points in those appearances. Lammikko has spent the last three years in a starring role for Zurich SC in Switzerland’s National League. His hot scoring – 112 points in 144 games – helped lead Zurich to back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025. Now, Lammikko is nearing his first chance to crack into the Devils’ lineup.

Canucks Issue Several Injury Updates

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Following his acquisition of Lukas Reichel from Chicago on Friday, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin met with the media (video link).  While the trade itself was the focus of the scrum, Allvin also provided several updates on the status of some of their injured players.

Center Filip Chytil has been making progress as he works through his upper-body injury.  While the team won’t confirm it, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province relays that the belief is that the 26-year-old has indeed suffered another concussion which is believed to be his sixth.  Allvin noted that Chytil still has to go through protocol and hasn’t been cleared yet.  That said, the fact they’re not talking about a possible extended absence – something he has endured multiple times – has to be considered a promising sign.

Meanwhile, winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki is expected to miss another two to three weeks with what is believed to be a shoulder injury.  The 21-year-old made the team out of training camp after spending most of last season in the minors and had a goal in his first four games after putting up six points in his rookie year in 24 games.

Center Teddy Blueger was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday to open up a roster spot for Reichel, who they hope to have available tonight against Montreal.  However, while he’s eligible to return to the lineup as soon as Monday, Allvin relayed that the veteran is going to miss at least a couple of weeks with his undisclosed injury.

Meanwhile, there is also some bad news on the back end.  Allvin indicated that defenseman Derek Forbort suffered a setback in his recovery from his undisclosed injury sustained in the second game of the season.  Now, he’s listed as out week-to-week.

At the moment, Vancouver has a little over $1MM left in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.  That doesn’t leave them much flexibility should they have anyone else get injured over the next couple of weeks before some of their injured players start to return to the lineup.  Teams can rarely afford injuries but in the case of the Canucks, it’s especially true with no immediate help on the horizon.

Ducks Activate Jansen Harkins From IR

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The Anaheim Ducks have activated forward Jansen Harkins off of injured reserve. Harkins has missed the first seven games of Anaheim’s season due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason. Despite returning to the active roster, Harkins is expected to serve as a healthy scratch in Anaheim’s Saturday matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Harkins is a true fourth-line forward for Anaheim. He recorded six points and a minus-13 through 62 games with the Ducks last season, while averaging roughly 11 minutes of ice time. But it was his off-puck impact that stood out. Harkins posted the best faceoff percentage (53.4) and third-most hits (136) on the Ducks 2024-25 roster. He had a similar impact with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023-24 season – recording four assists and 74 hits in 45 games. Before a one-year stay in Pittsburgh, Harkins sepnt four years with the Winnipeg Jets, where he racked up 27 points and 86 hits in 154 games.

Despite Harkins bringing a poised and physical style, the Ducks will have little motivation to change up their fourth-line. Ryan Poehling has managed well enough as the team’s fourth-line center. He has managed two assists, splitting the gap in scoring between his wingers Sam Colangelo (one point) and Ross Johnston (three points). With chemistry looking strong between that trio, Harkins’ season debut may need to wait until Anaheim needs a physical, shutdown presence that Poehling can’t provide.

Capitals Activate Pierre-Luc Dubois Off IR, Assign Ethen Frank To AHL

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The Capitals have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Ottawa.  The team announced that they have activated center Pierre-Luc Dubois off injured reserve.  To make room for him on the roster, the team has returned winger Ethen Frank to AHL Hershey.

Dubois wound up missing a little more than two weeks with a lower-body injury that was originally hoped to be a day-to-day issue.  Instead, he wound up missing five games.  Dubois has been held off the scoresheet in his three appearances this season but is coming off a career season in his first campaign with Washington.  Last season, he had 20 goals and 46 assists in 82 games, showing flashes of being the impactful top-six center that made him the third-overall pick in 2016 and led to an eight-year, $68MM contract two years ago.

Dubois will presumably return to a role in Washington’s top six in his return.  Hendrix Lapierre skated on the second line last game and is the logical fit to cede his spot to Dubois with Lapierre then returning to the fourth line in place of Frank.

As for Frank, he got into a pair of games with Washington while on recall, picking up an assist in 12:34 per game of ice time.  That brings his NHL point total to eight in 26 outings after getting into 24 games with the Caps last season.  The 27-year-old also has a pair of goals in two appearances with the Bears in 2025-26 and is a strong candidate to be brought back up whenever the next injury arises up front for the Capitals.

Sabres Recall Josh Dunne, Place Tyson Kozak On IR

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Josh Dunne’s time in the minors was short-lived.  After being sent back down earlier this week, the Sabres announced that they’ve recalled the winger from AHL Rochester.

The move comes on the heels of center Tyson Kozak suffering a lower-body injury on Friday against Toronto.  While Kozak was still being evaluated after the game, it’s clear that he will be out for at least a week as Buffalo has placed him on injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site.

Dunne has played in two games with the Sabres this month, albeit in a very limited role as he’s averaging just 6:30 per outing while failing to register a shot on goal or a point.  The 26-year-old has 19 career contests at the top level, split between Buffalo and Columbus.  He was on Buffalo’s roster for nearly two weeks earlier this month and technically has spent more days with them than with Rochester since the season started.  Dunne played in last night’s game with the Americans, making him eligible to be recalled once again.

As for Kozak, the 22-year-old had locked down a regular spot on Buffalo’s fourth line in the early going this season, in part thanks to being waiver-eligible for the first time.  He had done relatively well, picking up a pair of goals while chipping in with 19 hits in just under 10 minutes a night of playing time and will likely return to that role whenever he’s cleared to return.

Kings Activate Anze Kopitar Off Injured Reserve

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It turns out that Anze Kopitar’s foot injury wasn’t as serious as they initially assumed.  Originally given a week-to-week diagnosis barely a week ago, he’s already ready to return as the team announced (Twitter link) that Kopitar has been activated off injured reserve.  It’s expected he’ll return to the lineup tonight against Nashville and play alongside Andrei Kuzmenko and Adrian Kempe.

The 38-year-old wound up missing just four games due to the injury with Los Angeles faring relatively well without him, posting a 2-1-1 record in that stretch, finding themselves just a point out of a playoff spot.  Still, having their top center available to them, one who plays in all situations, will be a nice boost.

Kopitar was off to a strong start to his 20th and final NHL season before the injury, picking up four assists in as many games while logging 18:45 of ice time per game.  While his offensive output has dipped slightly in recent years, he’s still coming off a 67-point effort last season and given his usage in the early going this season, there’s no reason to think he can’t be similarly impactful in 2025-26.

Los Angeles had an open roster spot prior to the activation so no corresponding roster move needed to be made.  Meanwhile, at first glance, it’s likely to be one of Alex Turcotte or Jeff Malott who loses their spot in the lineup to make room for Kopitar’s return.

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