East Notes: Bennett, Guhle, Bruins Injuries, Pysyk
The Florida Panthers got some good news this morning. Center Sam Bennett has returned to practice for the first time this regular season, per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. Bennett sustained a lower-body injury during the preseason that’s kept him out through six games thus far.
If he can get back into playing shape within the next 48 hours, he could make his season debut Saturday against the Kraken. That would likely coincide with a return to the lineup for captain Aleksander Barkov, says Richards, who missed the Panthers’ Tuesday contest against the Sharks with an illness. Bennett, 27, is in the third season of a four-year, $17.7MM extension signed with the Panthers in 2021. Last season was arguably the best of his career, logging a career-high 17:24 while producing 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points in 63 games. The 2014 fourth-overall pick also finished fourth on the Panthers in playoff scoring, notching five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 20 games.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this Thursday morning:
- Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle was a full participant in practice this morning and is nearing a return from an upper-body injury, notes The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. He will not enter the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets, however, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie says. Guhle, who had an assist and a +4 rating through three games, has not played since October 17 against Minnesota. The Habs have gone 2-1-0 in his absence despite injuries also sidelining blueliner David Savard, forcing the emergency recall of Gustav Lindström from AHL Laval. The 16th overall pick in 2020 is in the second year of his three-year, entry-level contract, which counts $863K against the cap.
- Despite still being on assignment to AHL Providence, Boston Bruins forward Jesper Boqvist is practicing with the NHL squad today, Bruins independent reporter Joe Haggerty relays. That comes with the news that forwards Jakub Lauko and Milan Lucic are both listed as day-to-day with injuries and will miss between one and two weeks, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters today. That means recalling Boqvist (or signing PTO invite Danton Heinen) will be necessary to fill out the Bruins’ roster for tonight’s game against Anaheim, as the team has just 11 healthy forwards even after recalling Patrick Brown from Providence this morning.
- Another unsigned player still with a team on a PTO is defenseman Mark Pysyk, who has returned to practice after sustaining a lower-body injury in preseason, relays Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Shelly Anderson. The 31-year-old spent last season under contract with Detroit but missed the entire campaign with an Achilles injury. He last suited up in an NHL game nearly 18 months ago, logging 12:51 in an April 29, 2022, game for the Sabres against the Blackhawks.
East Notes: Anderson, Stamkos, Guhle, Samuelsson, Bonino
The Ottawa Senators are expected to sign free agent netminder Craig Anderson to a one-day contract to officially retire as a Sen, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Thursday morning. It will likely come Tuesday, October 24, when the Senators host the Sabres, Anderson’s most recent team.
Anderson is arguably the best netminder in Senators history and certainly the longest-serving starter. After coming over via trade from the Avalanche in 2011, Anderson would go on to record a 202-168-46 record, a .914 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 422 starts and 13 relief appearances. He’s most remembered from the team’s storybook 2016-17 campaign when Anderson returned from a lengthy leave of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was battling cancer. He recorded a sparkling .922 save percentage in the postseason as he guided the Sens to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime in Game 7.
He departed the Sens in free agency in 2020, serving as the Capitals’ taxi squad netminder for the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign before heading to the Sabres for the final two seasons of his 20-year, 709-game career. While there was never an official announcement, it became clear at the end of last season that Anderson would not return for a 21st year. PHR wishes him and his family the best in his post-playing career and looks forward to providing more coverage of Anderson’s career when an official announcement is made.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference today:
- Lightning captain Steven Stamkos told reporters today he expects to make his return to the lineup Thursday night against the Canucks (via the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina). Stamkos missed the last two games with a lower-body injury after a hot start to the season, already potting two goals and two assists in two contests. His return couldn’t come at a better time for the struggling Lightning, who begin a crucial five-game homestand tonight after going 0-2-1 on an early road trip against key divisional rivals.
- The Canadiens announced Thursday that defenseman Kaiden Guhle is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, likely a wrist ailment. Guhle left Tuesday’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the Wild with the injury and has not practiced since. There was some concern in Habs circles that Guhle’s absence would be longer-term, but he appears to have avoided the worst. It’s the second injury to a core Habs player in a matter of days after a dual ACL-MCL injury costed center Kirby Dach the remainder of his 2023-24 season. Guhle, 21, had notched an assist and a +4 rating in three contests, the latter being the second-highest on the team behind Johnathan Kovacevic. Another 21-year-old defender, Justin Barron, is expected to make his season debut Saturday against the Capitals with Guhle out of commission.
- In more positive news, Sabres head coach Don Granato said today that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson has avoided any further absence after leaving Tuesday’s win over the Lightning in the third period and will dress Thursday against the Flames. Samuelsson left the game with an upper-body injury but participated in morning skate today and seems no worse for wear. The 23-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM extension signed just over a year ago and leads Sabres defenders with a +2 rating through three contests, adding one assist while averaging over 20 minutes per game.
- After being listed as day-to-day yesterday morning, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says center Nick Bonino will be a game-time decision for tonight’s tilt against the Predators. Bonino, who’s still looking for his first point as a Ranger, is dealing with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old joined the Rangers on a one-year, $800K deal during free agency and has anchored their fourth line alongside a mixture of Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey to begin the season.
Evening Injuries: Vilardi, Samuelsson, Guhle
For the first time since being acquired from the Winnipeg Jets this offseason, forward Gabriel Vilardi would take on his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunately, Vilardi would only play around six minutes of the game before leaving with an apparent knee injury. Shortly thereafter, the Jets would announce that Vilardi would miss the rest of the game, and more would be known about the severity after the game.
Playing in their defensive zone early on the first, as they were both going into the corner, forward for the Kings, Blake Lizotte, appeared to get his stick behind the left leg of Vilardi, causing him to fall awkwardly on his right knee. Without the ability to put much pressure on his right leg after the fall, Vilardi immediately bolted for the locker room, where he is being attended to by team doctors (Link to video).
Although it is too early to tell, if Vilardi is set to miss significant time for the Jets, it would obviously be a big blow to both him and the team. There have been injury concerns for Vilardi in the past, but with him now playing on the top line in Winnipeg, it creates a much larger hole to fill. As it is well known throughout the league, Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks is on the trade block and could be a potential landing spot if Vilardi is set to hit the LTIR.
Other injuries:
- The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson would sit out the remainder of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury. Although the Sabres did add defensemen Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson to significantly improve the team’s defense, as far as the ability to shut down the opposing team’s forwards, Samuelsson is one of the best on the team. In the first season of a seven-year, $30MM contract extension signed at the start of last year, it would be a significant hurdle for Buffalo if Samuelsson is set to miss any time beyond tonight.
- In one of the more chaotic games of the young season, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle would miss the rest of the team’s game against the Minnesota Wild after leaving late in the second period. In total tonight, before leaving the losing effort, Guhle played just over 10 minutes of action, taking one slashing penalty against Marcus Johansson.
Injury Updates: Comrie, Guhle, Sharks
There should soon be a logjam between the pipes in Buffalo for the stretch run. Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relays that goaltender Eric Comrie has resumed skating and is expected to return soon from his lower-body injury. The 27-year-old has had a rough first season with the Sabres, posting a 3.95 GAA with a .877 SV% in 17 starts. When cleared, he’ll join Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as available options for Buffalo (Luukkonen wasn’t papered down at the deadline and thus is ineligible to play there again this season). Those three will also soon be joined by top prospect Devon Levi who is still waiting for his immigration paperwork to be finalized to allow him to officially join the team.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Following their victory last night over Tampa Bay, the Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss the remainder of the regular season due to a high ankle sprain. Despite dealing with injuries off and on, it was still a quality rookie campaign for the 21-year-old who had 18 points in 44 games while averaging over 20 minutes a night on a young Montreal back end. The team also noted that surgery will not be required.
- The Sharks could get a pair of veterans back on their current road trip which runs through Saturday as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now notes (Twitter link) that blueliners Radim Simek (concussion) and Jacob MacDonald (upper body) are close to returning from their respective injuries. Neither player logs heavy minutes on the back end but their returns would allow Nikolai Knyzhov and Derrick Pouliot to return to the minors to try to help their farm team push for a play-in spot in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, Peng adds that Jonah Gadjovich isn’t close to returning; the winger has been out week-to-week for the last five weeks with an upper-body injury.
Kaiden Guhle Will Sit Out Tonight
As their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning gets underway, the Montreal Canadiens announce that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will sit out of tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. With quite a large amount of injuries already, Guhle will join the list of Canadiens unable to play.
In his first-ever season in the NHL, Guhle has fit in very well with Montreal this year. Drafted 16th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, the Edmonton Oil Kings alumni has put up 18 points in 44 games for the Canadiens this year. Although these may seem like rather modest numbers from a defenseman, he actually sits second on the Canadiens’ defense in points scored. With a list including Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj, Guhle complements a list of Montreal defensemen 22 years of age or younger.
As he has primarily played on a unit with David Savard, it appears that Mike Matheson will move up to the top unit tonight against the Lightning, and defenseman Chris Wideman will fill in for Guhle in tonight’s lineup.
Montreal Canadiens Recall Anthony Richard
The Montreal Canadiens will be without Christian Dvorak this evening as he deals with a lower-body injury. In his place, the team has recalled Anthony Richard from the Laval Rocket.
Richard, 26, has been Laval’s best player this season, scoring 24 goals and 55 points in 49 AHL games. Mix in seven games with the Canadiens, where he scored his first NHL goal and registered his first NHL assist, and it’s been quite the year for the minor league veteran.
Dvorak is just the latest in a long line of Montreal injuries, including Jordan Harris, who is out tonight. Harris is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron both took part in the morning skate, the former in a regular jersey and the latter in a no-contact capacity. It’s been a carousel in Montreal this season, with players constantly moving in and out of the lineup due to injury. Thirty-three skaters have played at least one game; when Dvorak misses tonight, only Nick Suzuki will have suited up for all 65.
Injury Notes: Simek, Guhle, Barron
San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek did not travel with the team to Winnipeg, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Nikolai Knyzhov and Nick Cicek were recalled on Sunday, as the Sharks reshuffle their blueline ahead of their matchup with the Jets. They’ll be looking to put together a bounce-back performance after their squad was thoroughly dismantled by the Washington Capitals after the first period of yesterday’s game.
Simek has been a defense-first member of the Sharks’ blueline since coming over from the Czech league in 2017 as a free agent. He has recorded 28 points in 199 games played since making his NHL debut, and while he averages over 15 minutes of ice time per game for his career, he has struggled with nagging injury issues in recent years. Simek is making $2.25MM against the cap through next season.
Some other injury notes from across the NHL:
- The Montreal Canadiens announced today that rookie defenseman Kaiden Guhle is out with an upper-body injury. Per the announcement, Guhle’s status is to be considered day-to-day. It’s an unfortunate development for the 21-year-old as he just recently returned from an extended injury-related absence. When healthy, he has impressed despite being thrust into a challenging situation as a minutes-eating rookie blueliner with significant defensive responsibilities.
- Another Canadiens rookie, Justin Barron, is also out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. While Barron didn’t make the Canadiens out of training camp as Guhle did, Barron got some extra seasoning at the AHL level and has played well as of late. He’s scored three goals and nine points in 24 games this season and is averaging just over 15 minutes time-on-ice per game.
Montreal Canadiens Issue Injury Updates
The Montreal Canadiens have issued some injury updates, news covering several key players. Firstly, the team has revealed that rookie defenseman Kaiden Guhle has suffered a lower-body injury that will keep him out of the lineup for a minimum of eight weeks.
Additionally, forward Brendan Gallagher has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out for at least two weeks.
Finally, both Mike Matheson and Sean Monahan skated this morning, and are considered to be progressing well. Even so, both are expected to remain out of action for the next two weeks.
These developments are not especially encouraging ones for the Canadiens, who have been on a nightmarish stretch as of late. After an impressive start, the Canadiens have now lost six straight games and nine of their last ten.
Losing Guhle for eight weeks is a particularly disappointing development given how much of an important role he has played for the Canadiens in what has been an impressive rookie season.
Guhle has averaged the second-most minutes played of any regular Canadiens defenseman this season, behind only veteran blueliner David Savard.
He’s seen significant minutes on the penalty kill, and has impressed many with the poise he’s displayed in such unforgiving circumstances.
He now faces a relatively long recovery process, and in his absence, the Canadiens will be forced to rely even more on veterans Savard and Joel Edmundson, while also putting their glut of rookie blueliners under siege to an even greater degree than they have already been.
For Gallagher, another two-week absence due to injury is an unwelcome development, especially given the fact that he had just recently returned from an injury-related absence. Various ailments have laid waste to the veteran forward’s past two seasons, and is now seemingly derailing a third-straight campaign.
As for Matheson and Monahan, the news that they are progressing well is an important positive development for the Canadiens. While they’ll still remain out for the next two weeks, getting the two veterans on track to eventually return is a nice boost.
Monahan has been great in Montreal, scoring 17 points in 25 games, while Matheson has played significant minutes in the few games he’s skated in this year.
Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Evening Notes: Guhle, Tarasenko, Simek, Maple Leafs
After a tough 9-2 loss today at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the Montreal Canadiens received some more bad news. Rookie defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who missed today’s game with a lower-body injury, has already been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Nashville against the Predators, the team says. Guhle will be reevaluated when the team returns to Montreal after the Tuesday contest. The 20-year-old was injured during the third period of Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers.
Losing Guhle is a tough break for the Canadiens, who have had a respectable bounce-back in the standings thus far as compared to last season, but have had their recent struggles, giving up 16 goals in their last two games, 20 in their last three. The 16th overall pick of the 2020 NHL draft, Guhle is known for his physical playstyle, throwing 72 hits and blocking 65 shots through 36 games. Though he’d be considered more of a stay-at-home defenseman, the rookie has contributed nicely on offense too, recording 14 points through those 36 games.
- The St. Louis Blues announced winger Vladimir Tarasenko would not return to today’s game against the Minnesota Wild, dealing with an upper-body injury. The injury happened during the first period when Tarasenko stepped in front of a Minnesota shot, appearing to catch him in the right hand. The Blues will surely hope the injury isn’t too serious, as Tarasenko could be an enticing trade deadline pickup for a number of teams, should St. Louis find itself still on the outside of the playoff picture in a couple of months.
- San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek left tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury and will not return, reports Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. With his two points this season, Simek isn’t exactly challenging Erik Karlsson, however given that San Jose came into today 31st in the NHL in goals against, they’ll need the shutdown defenseman back in the lineup in order to work on their defensive issues.
- On tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment of Sportsnet’s Hockey Night In Canada, Elliotte Friedman discussed the potential trade strategy of the Toronto Maple Leafs as they approach the trade deadline. Friedman explains that the belief early in this season was that the Maple Leafs would take one big “swing” at a defenseman to add to the team. However, as Friedman says, that may have changed now with how the team’s defense has played thus far. Players like Mark Giordano and Rasmus Sandin have upped their game, while newly-acquired Conor Timmins is showing he may in fact be the player teams were expecting when he was a budding prospect. Given Toronto’s limited flexibility, operating close to the roster limit and salary cap, a pair of smaller moves to complete the team, perhaps one up front and one on defense, may make the most sense.
Injury News: Wild, Morrissey, Guhle
The Wild should get a key winger back for tomorrow’s game against St. Louis as Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Marcus Foligno is expected to return from the lower-body injury he sustained a week and a half ago. The 31-year-old had a career-high 23 goals last season but has managed just three in 27 games so far this year although he’s still averaging more than three hits per game. Minnesota has an open spot on their roster so no corresponding move will need to be made to activate him off IR.
However, it might not be all good news for the Wild as center Joel Eriksson Ek missed practice today with head coach Dean Evason acknowledging that he’s banged up at the moment. The 25-year-old sits tied for third in team scoring with 27 points (12-15-27) in 35 games. He’s listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Although Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that he’s hopeful that the blueliner will be able to play on Saturday against Edmonton. The 27-year-old has already set new career highs in assists (36) and points (42) this season while sitting second among NHL rearguards in scoring.
- The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss Saturday’s game against Washington due to a lower-body injury sustained late in Thursday’s loss to Florida. The 20-year-old sits third in the league for average ice time for a rookie, logging 20:46 per night while picking up 14 points in 36 games. David Savard joined the team for practice today and could be activated off injured reserve although they’d have to free up a roster spot for that to happen.