Central Notes: Holloway, Kapanen, Makar, Novak, Sissons, Marchment, Vlasic
In an impressive feat, St. Louis Blues’ forward Dylan Holloway will return to the lineup tonight after leaving the team’s most recent game after taking a puck to the neck (X Link). He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to an emergency department following the incident.
He’s been a solid addition to the Blues this season, as he’s off to the best scoring pace of his career to start the season. Four goals and six points in 13 games don’t necessarily jump off the page but considering he’s only managed nine points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it’s a good improvement.
Unfortunately for St. Louis, the team will still be without forward Kasperi Kapanen tonight. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported the projected lineup for tonight’s game and it didn’t include Kapanan meaning he’s likely still recovering from his upper-body injury.
Other Central notes:
- Marc Moser of the Colorado Avalanche originally reported earlier that defenseman Cale Makar would be a game-time decision for the team’s contest tonight. As it turns out, Makar is expected to play in tonight’s action. Makar left during the second period of the team’s recent game against the Seattle Kraken but returned for less than a minute in the third period. He’s been the team’s best and arguably the league’s best player this season with five goals and 23 points in 13 games.
- The Nashville Predators are without a few middle-six forwards tonight as the team announced Thomas Novak is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Colton Sissons has a similar injury designation. The news will inevitably hurt the Predators in one of their least productive areas as their 2.38 GF/G currently ranks 27th in the NHL.
- Brien Rea of Victory+ reports that Dallas Stars’ forward Mason Marchment is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. This means that Marchment won’t be in the lineup tonight but could make his return this weekend against the Winnipeg Jets. He’s gotten off to a decent start on the year with two goals and eight points in 11 games.
- Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman Alex Vlasic had an impressive defensive season last year with a 90.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations on a basement-dwelling Blackhawks roster. Now that he’s recorded seven assists in 14 games this year, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic share that Vlasic is now getting outside consideration for Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played internationally for the United States this past summer recording two assists in eight games in the 2024 IIHF World Championships.
Central Notes: Joseph, Kapanen, Marchment
St. Louis Blues forward Mathieu Joseph skated today as he tries to work his way back into the lineup from a lower-body injury (as per Lou Korac of NHL.com). Joseph hasn’t played since October 26th against the Montreal Canadiens after he was hurt in the third period of a 5-2 loss. To this point, Joseph has missed four games, and it seems likely that his number of missed games will increase.
Joseph is unlikely to play tomorrow night given that he didn’t take much contact today and focused more on flow drills. The 27-year-old has had a decent start to the season, posting two goals and two assists in nine games to go along with 13 hits and 14 shots on net.
In other Central Division notes:
- St. Louis Blues head coach Drew Bannister believes that forward Kasperi Kapanen could be an option to return to the Blues lineup tomorrow night (as per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Kapanen has missed the Blues’ past three games with an upper-body injury and will be looking to get his season on track as it has been a rough start for the former first-round pick. Kapanen has just a single goal in eight appearances this season and has struggled with possession, committing seven turnovers and seeing his team control just 46.5% of the play (at even strength).
- Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury according to head coach Pete DeBoer (as per Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas Morning News). Marchment has been dealing with an issue since he fought during the second Global Series game on Saturday night against the Florida Panthers. Marchment had a run-in with Panthers defender Nate Schmidt after he had boarded the defenseman from behind. Marchment took the worst of the exchange and eventually fell to the ice.
Injury Updates: Blues, Vlasic, McKegg
Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen skated before practice today after missing Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, notes Lou Korac of The Hockey News. Head coach Drew Bannister labeled the 28-year-old as out day-to-day. Kapanen has a goal in eight games so far this season while averaging just under 12 minutes per game and has been the subject of speculation that he could be a waiver candidate when everyone up front is healthy.
Meanwhile, Korac added that winger Mathieu Joseph and defenseman Nick Leddy also skated before practice as they work their way back from lower-body injuries that cost them the last two and seven games respectively; they are also listed as out day-to-day. However, neither of them nor Kapanen is expected to play against Toronto on Saturday.
Other injury news from around the hockey world:
- Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic has resumed skating on his own as he works his way back from a back injury, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 37-year-old was only hoping to miss part of training camp with the issue but instead, he has yet to play this season. Vlasic has seen his role drop sharply in recent years as he’s no longer the high-end shutdown defender he was in his prime but is rather more of a depth piece now and is likely to be in a sixth or seventh role when he returns; head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t have a timeline for when Vlasic could start to skate with the team.
- After spending the last two seasons in the minors, veteran forward Greg McKegg decided to sign in the Czech Extraliga this summer. However, he won’t play for BK Mlada Boleslav after all as the team announced that he is dealing with a significant knee injury, one that appears to have been pre-existing before he came to the team before it flared up in practice early in training camp. The 32-year-old will now undergo surgery for the injury. McKegg has 233 NHL appearances over nine seasons and 454 career AHL games under his belt and might look to try to sign with a North American team again next summer.
Evening Notes: Chychrun, Kapanen, Bastian
The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Jakob Chychrun won’t return to tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. Chychrun suffered the injury in a game against the New York Rangers after he had played for just one minute and 50 seconds. Chychrun was +1 tonight in his limited appearance.
It’s a tough break for the 26-year-old, who is in his first season with Washington after a trade this past summer that saw Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick head back to Ottawa. Chychrun has been solid to start the year, posting two goals and two assists in seven games. Chychrun can ill afford to be out long term as his in the final year of his current contract with a cap hit of $4.6MM.
In other evening notes:
- The St. Louis Blues have announced that forward Kasperi Kapanen is dealing with an upper-body injury and will not return to tonight’s game. Kapanen took a high hit in a game against the Ottawa Senators and appeared to hit his face on the boards. Kapanen did get to the bench under his own power but did not return. The 28-year-old was dressing in his first game since playing just 8:57 on October 24th against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kapanen has struggled this season, with a single goal in seven games.
- Forward Nathan Bastian will return to the New Jersey Devils lineup tomorrow night when the team takes on the Vancouver Canucks (as per Devils reporter Amanda Stein). Bastian hasn’t played since October 24th, as he has been a healthy scratch for the last two games. New Jersey has opted to use Kurtis MacDermid in Bastian’s place the past few days, but now the 26-year-old will have an opportunity to draw back into the lineup and add to the two goals and two assists that he has posted so far this season in ten games.
West Notes: Blues Injuries, Kapanen, Celebrini, Hartman
The Blues announced (Twitter link) that winger Alexey Toropchenko is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old was a quality secondary scorer last season, notching 14 goals along with 165 hits while playing in all 82 games, predominantly in a bottom-six role for St. Louis. Toropchenko has been deployed similarly through the first five contests of 2024-25 where he has an assist and a dozen hits in a little under 11 minutes a night.
Meanwhile, defenseman Nick Leddy, who missed Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury, has been ruled out for tonight’s contest against Carolina and is questionable to return on Tuesday versus Winnipeg. The veteran has logged over 22 minutes a night in his first four appearances of the season, good for third among Blues blueliners.
More from out West:
- Still with the Blues, Lou Korac of The Hockey News wonders if winger Kasperi Kapanen could be the odd man out up front when St. Louis gets their full complement of forwards back. The 28-year-old did well after being claimed off waivers in 2023 but struggled in his only full season with them, collecting 22 points in 73 games last year. Kapanen has been held off the scoresheet in four games so far this season. Still, the Blues opted to give him a one-year, $1MM contract in the summer, one that could be appealing if he lands on the waiver wire in the coming weeks as other players return.
- The Sharks are likely to be without center Macklin Celebrini for at least a couple more weeks, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The first-overall pick back in June, Celebrini played in San Jose’s opener and fared well, picking up a goal and an assist. However, he hasn’t suited up since with what’s believed to be a nagging hip issue that the team is opting to try to let him fully recover from over having it flare up at times throughout the year. It appears that a full recovery is still at least a couple of weeks away.
- Wild center Ryan Hartman is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Columbus, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury sustained on Tuesday against St. Louis. Hartman has two goals through four games so far this season while logging 15:21 per night.
St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Kasperi Kapanen
TSN’s Chris Johnston reports the St. Louis Blues will be re-signing forward Kasperi Kapanen. The new contract will be for one year and it will pay the Finnish a total of $1MM, according to PuckPedia.
After the Blues claimed Kapanen on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2022-23 NHL season, he appeared to look like a promising middle-six option within the organization. Appearing in 23 games down the stretch, Kapanen put up eight goals and 14 points while averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time per night.
Unfortunately, Kapanen could not keep up that pace over a full regular season in St. Louis as he was only able to muster six goals and 22 points over 73 games this past year. Kapanen also saw his average ice time drop by nearly two minutes as he was primarily relegated to a bottom-six role with the organization. Despite his poor showing on the offensive side of the puck, there were some positive developments in his defensive game which may have led to this contract by the Blues.
Kapanen helped St. Louis with 37 takeaways over the 2023-24 season while only giving the puck away a total of 16 times. Furthermore, Kapanen held a 90.3% on-ice save percentage in all situations while making a majority of his starts in the team’s defensive zone. If the Blues can turn Kapanen into a defensive first forward that can generate 25-30 points a year, he will be a serviceable option towards the bottom of the team’s forward core.
Injury Notes: Tinordi, Kapanen, Smith
Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi has a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision against the Rangers on Friday, head coach Luke Richardson said Friday (via Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago). 22-year-old rookie Louis Crevier will make his first appearance since Chicago recalled him from AHL Rockford on Wednesday if Tinordi can’t play, Richardson said.
Tinordi, 31, last played with 6:53 remaining in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Wild. He did not take the ice for his defensive partner Isaak Phillips‘ final two shifts.
The physical depth blue-liner has played in 30 of Chicago’s 51 games this season, recording six assists and a -19 rating while averaging 15:44 per game. A first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2010, Tinordi has worked his way into a stable NHL job with the rebuilding Blackhawks after they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season.
His value to Chicago comes in the form of pro experience and leadership, however – not so much from his on-ice performance. Tinordi’s 38.7% Corsi share at even strength is the worst among qualified Blackhawks skaters, although that figure is no doubt exacerbated by his sparingly low usage in the offensive zone.
Crevier hasn’t been much of an upgrade in his first 15 NHL showings. The 2020 seventh-round pick has similar offensive and possession numbers to Tinordi in nearly the same usage.
The 6-foot-6, 229-pound Tinordi will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He signed a one-year, $1.25MM extension to remain with Chicago last April after playing a career-high 44 games that season.
Other minor injury updates from around the league to close out the week:
- Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen is ready to return from a lower-body injury ahead of Saturday’s game against the Sabres, interim head coach Drew Bannister said (via Lou Korac of NHL.com). Kapanen, 27, missed seven games with a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 15 against the Flyers. St. Louis has an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to take Kapanen off injured reserve. Despite scoring only four times in 42 games this season, he’s projected to return in a top-six role alongside Jake Neighbours and Brayden Schenn. Now in the second year of a two-year, $6.4MM contract ($3.2MM cap hit), the 2014 first-round pick has 12 goals and 27 points in 65 games with the Blues after they claimed him off waivers from the Penguins in February 2023.
- Devils defenseman Brendan Smith will remain out on Saturday against the Hurricanes with a knee sprain, head coach Lindy Ruff said (via Amanda Stein of the Devils’ official site). The 35-year-old has been upgraded to day-to-day after landing on injured reserve over three weeks ago, however, and could be an option as soon as Monday against the Kraken. A depth free-agent add in the summer of 2022, Smith has logged time on both defense and left wing this season while occupying a veteran enforcer role. Signed to a contract with a $1.1MM cap hit that expires this summer, he’s posted a goal and four assists in 34 games while averaging 14:25 per contest. AHL call-up Santeri Hatakka has been serviceable in Smith’s absence, posting an assist and a +6 rating while shouldering bottom-pairing minutes in five games.
Injury Notes: Kane, Perunovich, Kapanen
Heading into the team’s game tomorrow night against the Ottawa Senators, there was some hope from the Detroit Red Wings that forward Patrick Kane could be healthy enough to return, after missing the team’s last six games with a lower-body injury. Nevertheless, Ansar Khan of MLive reports that Kane will not be in the lineup tomorrow night for Detroit, and the team will allow him to rest and recover over the upcoming All-Star break.
With Kane making a strong comeback after offseason hip resurfacing surgery, the saving grace to this injury is that all signs are pointing to it being unrelated to his hip. However, with Kane making such an unexpectedly impressive return from resurfacing surgery, having to deal with a separate issue could likely lead to some frustration for the veteran forward.
Even though he has become one of the better forwards in the lineup, the Red Wings have faired well in his absence, producing a 4-2-0 record and picking up important victories against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Once he does return after the All-Star break, Kane will look to improve on his 16-point total and reinforce Detroit’s current momentum.
Other injury notes:
- Suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s most recent game against the Los Angeles Kings, Lou Korac of The Hockey News reports that St.Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich was seen wearing a boot on his left foot this morning, and would be out through the All-Star break. Thankfully, the injury does not sound as serious as expected, meaning that Perunovich should be able to return shortly thereafter. On the season, Perunovich has suited up in 31 games for the Blues, tallying 12 assists while averaging about 14 and a half minutes a night.
- Sticking in St.Louis, although it has already been confirmed that forward Kasperi Kapanen will be out through the All-Star break, Lou Korac reports that he was back at practice this morning for the team. Residing on the team’s injured reserve for the last two weeks, Kapanen was on a much slower pace compared to last season before the injury, only scoring four goals and 13 points through 42 games.
Injury Notes: Karlsson, Kapanen, Faulk, Fleury
Having played their last game before the NHL All-Star break on Saturday night, the Vegas Golden Knights will get a reinforcement as soon as they return, as forward William Karlsson has been officially activated from the long-term injured reserve (X Link). Out with a lower-body injury since the team’s Winter Class game against the Seattle Kraken, Karlsson has missed a total of 12 games for the Golden Knight with this injury.
Although Karlsson has largely been one of the more productive scorers on Vegas’ roster this season, the team has produced a 7-4-1 record in his absence, garnering more appreciation as a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference. Before his lower-body injury took him out of the lineup, Karlsson scored 15 goals and 32 points in 38 games for the Golden Knights which still places him fourth on the team in scoring.
As Vegas continues to the Vancouver Canucks as the top team in the Pacific Division, Karlsson will be an important addition back in the lineup. After the All-Star break, to finish off the month of February, the Golden Knights have challenging games against the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins.
Other injury notes:
- After being placed on the injured reserve on January 16th with a lower-body injury, the St.Louis Blues will be expecting forward Kasperi Kapanen back after the All-Star break (X Link). As one of the more prominent depth offensive pieces on the Blues’ roster, Kapanen has struggled a bit over the course of the season, scoring four goals and 13 points in 42 games on the year.
- Sticking in St.Louis, Justin Faulk suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s most recent game against the Calgary Flames and will be kept out until after the All-Star break (X Link). Sitting second on the team in scoring amongst defensemen, Faulk has scored two goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, with only two of those points coming on the team’s powerplay.
- In another activation from the long-term injured reserve, the Tampa Bay Lightning have done just that with defenseman Haydn Fleury, according to CapFriendly. Having been placed on the team’s LTIR since January 1st with an upper-body injury, Fleury has filled a similar role to which he has played in the past this season, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time in 12 games for the team this year in a depth role.
Blues Place Kasperi Kapanen On IR, Out 4 Weeks
Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen will be out a minimum of four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Wednesday. He has been placed on injured reserve.
In a corresponding transaction, the team brought up veteran forward Adam Gaudette from AHL Springfield. The 27-year-old leads all AHLers with 24 goals in 37 games.
The speedy winger has struggled heavily in his first full season with the Blues. Things were looking up for Kapanen after St. Louis claimed him off waivers from the Penguins partway through the 2022-23 campaign, closing out the year with 8-6–14 in 23 games. This season, despite a minimal reduction in usage, he’s notched just 4-9–13 in 42 games, his worst points per game pace since his rookie campaign with the Maple Leafs in 2017-18.
A long-term injury now complicates things further. Kapanen will miss at least ten games and potentially more if his four-week evaluation doesn’t clear him to return.
Blues interim head coach Drew Bannister confirmed today that Gaudette will directly replace Kapanen in the lineup against the Capitals tomorrow, meaning another recent AHL call-up, Nathan Walker, likely sits as a healthy scratch. The Blues are carrying a full 23-player roster, including defenseman Tyler Tucker, who’s suiting up for Springfield on a conditioning loan.
Gaudette didn’t see any NHL action last season, limited exclusively to minor-league play for the first time in his pro career. After notching 34 points in 40 games for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies while under contract with the Maple Leafs, Gaudette found himself in Springfield after his contract was included in the trade return for Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly last season. Tomorrow will be his first NHL game since April 29, 2022, with the Ottawa Senators.