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Ilya Samsonov

Washington Capitals Recall Ilya Samsonov, Intend To Start Him

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The Washington Capitals announced they have recalled goaltender Ilya Samsonov from the taxi squad and head coach Peter Laviolette said that he intends to start the netminder, who will be making his first appearance for Washington since Jan. 17. Veteran Craig Anderson has been returned to the taxi squad.

Samsonov has appeared in just two games this season before he and a number of Russian teammates found themselves on the COVID-19 protocol list. Once activated, the team sent him to the Hershey Bears of the AHL to find his game, but the 24-year-old has struggled there instead, posting a 3.25 GAA and a .869 save percentage in four games. Samsonov’s last game on Friday showed promise as he picked up the win, while allowing just three goals. The team hopes that giving him an easy assignment against the New Jersey Devils, who are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, might make for an easy transition back to the NHL.

The Capitals have been relying most of the season on rookie Vitek Vanecek, who has played quite well considering the workload they have placed upon him. Vanecek has posted a 2.81 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 17 appearances. Depending on Samsonov’s success, Vanecek will likely return to the back-up role that he was projected to take this year.

The Capitals allowed starting goaltender Braden Holtby to walk in free agency this offseason as they felt that Samsonov was the goaltender of the future after an impressive season in 2019-20. In 26 games, he put up 16 wins and a .913 save percentage. He didn’t appear in the playoffs, however, due to a lower-body injury and now has seen little time so far this year.

 

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/08/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. While Edmonton and Pittsburgh are still listed as TBA, the rest of the league is in:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Victor Rask*, Carson Soucy*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac,  Connor Carrick*, Nico Hischier*, Sami Vatanen*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim
Pittsburgh – TBA
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Jakub Vrana

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

Dahlin was technically added late last night, joining the rest of the Sabres on the list. More games for Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota were postponed today.

After being removed only yesterday, Vatanen re-appears on the Devils list today. Carrick is also there after previously appearing due to him leaving the league’s protocols to attend the birth of his child. The Devils are now up to 19 players, the largest number by any team this season.

*denotes new addition

COVID Notes: Dahlin, Wild, Kuznetsov

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The Buffalo Sabres will have another big name on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list when it comes out later today as they have already announced that Rasmus Dahlin has been added. The team now has nine players in the protocol, plus head coach Ralph Krueger.

Technically, Dahlin was actually added to the list last night. It originally had just Casey Mittelstadt joining the other seven players previously listed—Taylor Hall, Jake McCabe, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen, Dylan Cozens, and Curtis Lazar—but Dahlin was an update given later. Like with any other player, being on the list does not necessarily mean you have tested positive for COVID-19. The Sabres are currently scheduled to resume play on February 11.

  • The Minnesota Wild will also likely have some names added today, or at least in the near future. GM Bill Guerin implied that to Michael Russo of The Athletic, who did a very interesting examination of the outbreak with the Wild and the related league protocols. The Wild are also off until February 11, though that game against the St. Louis Blues seems very much in jeopardy should the team add several names today. Minnesota currently has nine players on the CPRA list.
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov of the Washington Capitals spoke to reporters today following their own bouts with COVID-19 and provided a bit different experiences. When asked if he was scared at any point while experiencing symptoms, Kuznetsov told Samantha Pell of the Washington Post “no, I’m from Russia.” Samsonov meanwhile told Pell through an interpreter that there were a few days where he had trouble breathing and walking. Both players were on the ice today at practice.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/07/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Here is the CPRA list for Sunday:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Casey Mittelstadt*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Samuel Girard*
Dallas – TBA
Florida – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov, Eric Comrie*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils

Sanheim was put into COVID protocol earlier in the day for COVID-19 and while that doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive, he at least could have been seriously exposed. However, the NHL announced that they conducted rapid testing for all Flyers players, coaches and staff before their afternoon game with the Washington Capitals. All tests came back negative and the game was still played.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/06/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Here is the CPRA list for Saturday:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens*, Curtis Lazar*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Connor Carrick, New Jersey Devils; Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg Jets

It should come as little surprise that the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild, two teams that have had games postponed due to COVID outbreaks, have new additions to the CPRA list. The Sabres are up to seven players, as well as head coach Ralph Krueger, in the protocol. Minnesota has eight players on the list now, including Cole who was added late last night, presumably following a positive test.

The surprise addition to list is Vrana for the Capitals. Washington has had the one incidence of COVID Protocol violation, one that cost them $100K and landed four players on the list, but otherwise had been unaffected. Yet, Vrana is now out of action with no word yet on the cause.

If there is any good news in regards to the Coronavirus in the NHL today, it is that all Vegas Golden Knights coaches were finally back at practice today after the entire staff had previously landed in the protocol. The New Jersey Devils also add one more player to their thin active list as Carrick, who had merely left the team for the birth of his child, has timed out of the protocol.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/05/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The Anaheim Ducks have yet to report their results for today. For all 30 other teams, here is the CPRA list for Friday:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: John Marino, Pittsburgh Penguins

The good news: there was no net gain to the CPRA list today. One player was added and one player was removed. For the injury plagued Pittsburgh Penguins blue line, getting Marino back is a major relief. It also removes the Penguins entirely from the COVID doghouse for the time being.

The bad news: a troubling situation in New Jersey gets only worse, as Kulikov joins the long list of players in the protocol. The Devils have seen a number of their coming games postponed and that could easily continue given the sheer number of players still out of action.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/04/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Today, commissioner Gary Bettman announced some in-arena adjustments for the league to follow, but also released a statement on the current situation:

With about 20 percent of our season played, we are mindful of the fact that we might be seeing a more aggressive transmission of the virus and will continue to make adjustments to our Protocols as we consult on a daily basis with, and adhere to, the recommendations of our medical advisors.

It is important to note that, while we have seen almost 100 players enter our COVID Protocols, fewer than half have done so because of confirmed positive tests – and, among that group, many have not been symptomatic. Our priority has been and will continue to be to act conservatively with an abundance of caution, understanding that there are many things about the transmission of COVID-19 that are still being discovered. As a result, we won’t hesitate to take additional measures as indicated by what we are learning and as directed by our medical advisors.

Here is the CPRA list for today:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich
Pittsburgh – John Marino
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings; Aaron Dell, New Jersey Devils;

Of course, the list does not include Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger, who has also tested positive and is isolating away from the team. McCabe joins four other important members of the Sabres that are sitting out, though it is not clear how many have actually tested positive.

The addition of Landeskog is also important to note, given that the Avalanche are not shutdown like the Minnesota Wild, their last opponent and have a game scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The team is already dealing with a long list of injuries and now will likely be without their captain as well.

It is important to note that Dell wasn’t actually on the list because of the outbreak among the Devils, but because of quarantine rules after he was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, he still won’t get to practice with his new team until the Devils go back to work.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/03/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The list for today:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour*, Tobias Rieder*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit –Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad*, Nick Bonino*, Joel Eriksson Ek*, Marcus Johansson*, Jared Spurgeon*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian*, Nikita Gusev*, Yegor Sharangovich*
Pittsburgh – John Marino*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Sam Gagner, Detroit Red Wings; Jonathon Merrill, Detroit Red Wings; Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers

The big news is the addition of five players from Minnesota and one from Colorado, who played each other last night (and twice before that). Tomorrow’s game between the two clubs is expected to be postponed, but it is not clear yet how many matches will be affected.

The Devils are up to 17 players on the list as they deal with the biggest outbreak of the regular season, while the Sabres–who played the Devils on the weekend–are now up to four. Both teams currently have all activities suspended and games postponed.

Marino’s placement for the Penguins comes at a brutal stretch while they’re without almost all of their top options on defense, though again it is not clear if he has tested positive or how long he will be kept away from the team.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/02/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The Anaheim Ducks are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall*, Rasmus Ristolainen* 
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter; Lucas Wallmark
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit – Sam Gagner, Jonathon Merrill, Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes*, Damon Severson*, Ty Smith*, Matt Tennyson*, Jesper Bratt*
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Jesper Fast, Carolina Hurricanes; Nicolas Beaudin, Chicago Blackhawks; Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks; Adam Erne, Detroit Red Wings; Robby Fabbri, Detroit Red Wings

The huge news today is the exploding outbreak in New Jersey, where now 14 players are listed in the COVID Protocol. The Sabres, who played the Devils on Sunday (and Saturday) before they were shut down, also now have two players listed and have shutdown their own operation for the rest of the week.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/01/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Here is today’s group:

Carolina – Jesper Fast
Chicago – Nicholas Beaudin, Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter; Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Wallmark
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Jonathon Merrill, Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno
New Jersey – Mackenzie Blackwood, Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson*, Janne Kuokkanen*, Michael McLeod*, Pavel Zacha*
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Patrik Laine, Columbus Blue Jackets

The big news is the huge outbreak in New Jersey, where three games have been postponed because of the ten players on the CPRA list. The Devils will not play for the next week, though obviously test results could extend that even further. Several of these players took part in yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, but thankfully no Sabres players were included here today. It’s important to remember that at least some of the Devils listed are because of travel protocols (Vatanen, Dell), or, in the case of Carrick because he left the team for the birth of a child.

Laine meanwhile hit the ice today for the first time since his trade to the Blue Jackets after serving his 48-hour quarantine. He’s expected to be in the lineup tomorrow night to make his Columbus debut.

Kakko too was added today for the Rangers, who recalled Jonny Brodzinski from the AHL earlier today. The young forward has two goals in eight games and will now miss some time as he moves through the protocol. The Rangers play this evening against the Penguins and Thursday against the Capitals.

*denotes new addition

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