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William Carrier

Vegas’ David Perron Out For Game Two

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When the Vegas Golden Knights released their routine lineup for Game Two this evening, there was a name (or emoji) conspicuously missing. Despite no official word from the team – including no evidence that he is injured – David Perron will not suit up for the Knights as they look to even the Western Conference Finals series on the road against the Winnipeg Jets. Already reeling from a convincing Game One loss and likely without William Carrier for the series, this is another blow for Vegas and not ideal for matching up with the Jets.

While Perron’s status remains a mystery, one has to believe that his absence is injury related after his performance this season. Perron notched 66 points in 70 games, including a team-best 50 assists, and has added another seven points through nine games thus far in the playoffs. It has easily been the best season of the veteran winger’s 11-year career and head coach Gerard Gallant is not about to bench him for any reasons related to his play at this point in the team’s Stanley Cup run. Perron has yet to score a goal in the playoffs and has really struggled to even get the puck on net, but he has made up for it with a strong possession game and his play-making ability. He doesn’t seem at risk to be scratched at all. One possible reason for Perron missing the game could be a lingering issue related to the undisclosed injury that cost him the final six regular season games and first two postseason games. Another potential answer could be an injury related to a collision with teammate James Neal in Game One that left Perron looking shaken up. For one reason or another, Perron is out and there are no clues as to how long he will be out, but the Golden Knights must make do.

A lot of that burden will fall on the shoulders of Tomas Tatar. Vegas paid an exorbitant price at the deadline to acquire the young forward from the Detroit Red Wings, but thus far he has been a disappointment. Tatar recorded only six points and was -11 in the final 20 games of the regular season with the Knights and has found himself as a regular scratch in the postseason. In the four playoff games he has skated in, Tatar has looked good, but like Perron has had trouble getting the puck on net. As a result, he has been held scoreless. A one-shot-per-game pace simply won’t do for Tatar if he is to replace Perron successfully; the four-time 20-goal scorer needs to return to form as soon as possible. If not, the Jets’ Game One domination is only likely to continue against the shorthanded Knights.

William Carrier’s Return For Vegas Is Uncertain

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When William Carrier was first ruled out of the final game of the second round for the Golden Knights, a Game Six win over the San Jose Sharks, head coach Gerard Gallant simply said that he was “day-to-day” and did not disclose the nature of the injury. Carrier had left Game Five with just four minutes of ice time to show for his participation, but there was no specific incident in the game to cite for his exit. Instead, it seemed that perhaps this was just a minor nagging injury. Carrier then traveled with Vegas to Winnipeg for the start of the Western Conference Finals only to be ruled out of Game One. Now, beat writer Steve Carp reports that Carrier did not skate today at Knights practice and feels that the energy forward is unlikely to suit up in the series at all. If the Jets’ Game One domination continues, Carrier’s season may already be over.

Although no details have emerged about Carrier’s condition this time around, the physical winger has dealt with upper-body issues all year long. Carrier spent two separate stints on the injured reserve this season and was sidelined for 43 regular season games total. Yet, prior to each stint his injuries were downplayed and never considered serious, much like his latest problem. It could be that this is one injury that has been nagging Carrier all year or it could be bad luck and Carrier has suffered multiple injuries, but is too tough of a player for Gallant and company to realized just how serious his condition is initially.

When healthy this year, Carrier has been a physical force on the Knights’ fourth line. While his offense has been meager at best – three points in 37 regular games and scoreless so far in nine playoff games – look no further than Vegas’ first round series against the Los Angeles Kings to see Carrier’s true impact. The young forward racked up 25 hits in a four-game sweep during which time he saw just over 36 minutes of total ice time. That is checking efficiency at it’s finest, as Carrier was noticeably bothersome against the frustrated Kings, especially early in the series. In a match-up against the Jets where the Knights are clearly outmatched defensively, Carrier is much more of a loss than it may seem on paper. His hard-nosed style will be missed if Carp is right and he really cannot return during the Western Conference Final.

Drew Doughty Suspended One Game For Illegal Check

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6:10pm: Doughty has been given a one-game suspension. That takes a huge part of the lineup out for the Kings, who are already down 1-0 in the series. As the accompanying video explains:

If Doughty wishes to deliver this check, he must take an angle of approach that hits through the core of Carrier, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact. 

The video even goes so far as to include the rule verbatim, recognizing the dispute that this suspension will create.

9:42am: Last night in their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty threw a check on William Carrier that appeared to catch him in the head. Though the hit wasn’t penalized, Carrier was taken off for concussion protocol. The league has now announced that Doughty will have a hearing today to determine if there will be supplementary discipline.

Carrier had been getting under the skin of Los Angeles players all night, landing several big hits on Doughty himself. He finished the game with 10 hits in just 8:49 of ice time, an impressive performance, especially if he ends up earning a suspension for Doughty.

The league usually tries to avoid suspensions for playoff games, counting them somewhere around doubly as important as a regular season contest. If it is determined that the head was the principal point of contact though, they may have no other choice.

Trade Deadline Notes: Flames, Plekanec, Neal

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“Will GM Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames ’pull a Hextall’?”, wonders the Calgary Sun’s Eric Francis with mere days left before the NHL Trade Deadline. Francis is referring to Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall, who recently acted quickly to acquire goaltender Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings when his top two goalies went down with long-term injuries. Treliving and the Flames are now in a similar position, with their one experienced keeper, Mike Smith, out with a groin injury and a return not imminent. Calgary is currently working with two rookie goalies, David Rittich and Jon Gillies, as they try to keep up in the Western Conference playoff race. If Treliving, like Hextall, feels that he owes his team a true starting-caliber goalie, he could hit the rental market for some help down the stretch. Options could include Buffalo’s Robin Lehner, an impending RFA and likely the top available target, Arizona’s Antti Raanta, if the Coyotes are willing to move him, a reunion with Chad Johnson, or even a lesser option albeit with more experience such as Michael Hutchinson or Andrew Hammond. However, as Francis points out after his conversation with Treliving, if the team continues to put forward lackluster performances in front of their young goalie tandem, perhaps paying the steep price to bring in an upgrade won’t be worth it. The situation is one worth monitoring as the deadline fast approaches.

  • One player expected to move before the deadline is career Canadien Tomas Plekanec. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that calls have been flooding in to Montreal GM Marc Bergevin, especially following the Derick Brassard news, inquiring into the cost of trading for the veteran center. Plekanec, 35, has seen his offense fall off dramatically over the past two seasons, but still plays a reliable two-way game and can still be an experienced asset for many teams. With the Canadiens far outside the playoff picture and Plekanec on an expiring contract, possibly headed for retirement, a deal will almost certainly be struck with an interested team. It seems the days are numbered on a relationship that began in 2003-04.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights placed James Neal on injured reserve today, per beat writer Steve Carp. While Neal is simply suffering from an illness right now, an undisclosed illness has also kept teammate Shea Theodore out of the lineup for more than a week. With forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and William Carrier also on IR and an unclear picture of when Neal will return to action, one has to wonder if the Knights will take a longer look at the forward market before the deadline passes them by.

Snapshots: Reaves, Reilly, Carrier

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The Penguins paid a notable price to acquire winger Ryan Reaves back at the draft, trading down from the end of the first round to the middle of the second plus losing forward Oskar Sundqvist to secure his services.  The hope was that Pittsburgh’s lineup would benefit from his toughness.  However, his ice time has steadily declined in recent weeks to the point where Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that it may be time to take Reaves out of the lineup in an effort to play someone who can have more of an impact overall in winger Josh Archibald, at least against teams that aren’t overly physical.  At any rate, GM Jim Rutherford can’t be too pleased with what Reaves has provided as of late, especially given the price they paid to get him.  If this continues, it will be interesting to see if Reaves finds himself on the trade block, especially since several teams look to add grit as the playoffs get closer.

More from around the league:

  • Mike Reilly’s inclusion in the lineup tonight for the Wild is notable as Michael Russo of The Athletic points out (Twitter link) that he is now waiver-eligible. Minnesota had sent him down on three separate occasions this season for short-term salary cap savings and roster reasons.  Obviously, that will no longer be an option for the cap-strapped Wild as they won’t want to risk losing him on waivers moving forward.  Center Joel Eriksson Ek is now the lone regular that they can shuttle back and forth without going through the waiver wire.
  • Golden Knights winger William Carrier has resumed practicing, albeit with a non-contact jersey, notes Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 22-year-old has been out of the lineup since sustaining an upper-body injury back on November 25th.  Head coach Gerard Gallant wouldn’t commit to a timeline for when Carrier might be given the green light to return to the lineup.

Injury Notes: Blues, Coburn, Spurgeon, Carrier, Franson, Rutta, Jagr

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Injury news seems to be a daily affair in St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues are dealing multiple injuries at once, especially after the team learned that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is expected to miss the weekend after he was put on injured reserve Friday with an unspecified injury, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Now, Chris Pinkert of NHL.com writes that the team has a new injury to worry about as the team’s fourth-line center, Kyle Brodziak, is likely to miss Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with an unknown injury.

“He’s a little dinged up, that’s why he didn’t practice yesterday. We were hoping he could come in and feel better today, but that wasn’t the case,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Timmerman adds in a tweet that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is making progress, but his status for Sunday’s game (the first game he is eligible for against the Winnipeg Jets is unknown. The scribe points out, however, that since it’s the second game of a home-and-home against the Jets, it’s unlikely the team would carry just six defensemen for two straight games, which suggests the team is confident that Pietrangelo will likely play on Sunday. Another factor on defense was the status of veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose status was questionable Friday after taking a shot off his right leg, which forced him to leave practice yesterday. Pinkert adds that he’s OK and is expected to play Saturday.

Other injury notes in the NHL:

  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith tweets that defenseman Braydon Coburn is likely to return tonight against the Avalanche. Coburn has missed seven games and hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old veteran has seven assists in 25 games this season.
  • With Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon not playing in today’s matchup against the Oilers, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that it’s likely that Spurgeon will return to the Wild for tomorrow’s matchup with the Blackhawks. He has missed nine games for Minnesota with a groin injury. The 28-year-old has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this season.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that winger William Carrier, who has missed nine straight games with an upper-body injury, continues to practice in a non-contact jersey, but a return could be coming soon. Carrier’s presence and toughness has been missed. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine tweets that Cody Franson and Jan Rutta could be back on the ice soon, possibly even tomorrow, according to coach Joel Quenneville. Franson has missed three games with an upper-body injury, while Rutta missed Thursday’s game against Winnipeg with an apparent head injury.
  • Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets that Jaromir Jagr is expected back into the lineup today after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to play on the team’s fourth line tonight.

Vegas Golden Knights Activate Luca Sbisa, Place Two Others On IR

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The Vegas Golden Knights are getting an important defender back, activating Luca Sbisa from injured reserve. Unfortunately in his place the team has placed both David Perron and William Carrier to IR, and neither are with the club on their current road trip.

Sbisa hasn’t played since November 10th, when he was knocked out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. The 27-year old defenseman had been logging more than 20 minutes a night for the Golden Knights, and was on a career-high pace in the early season. Having only recorded more than 20 points in a season once before, eight in his first 16 games was certainly impressive. His speed and experience will come in handy for the Golden Knights as they continue to lead the Pacific Division a quarter of the way through the season.

For Perron and Carrier, Sunday is the earliest either can return since both will have their IR stints dated retroactive to their previous game. The pair both missed Tuesday’s 3-0 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars, a team chasing them in the standings. Sbisa is expected to jump back into the lineup alongside Colin Miller.

East Notes: Crouse, Lappin, Addison

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When the Florida Panthers shipped Lawson Crouse off to Arizona in exchange for a pair of draft picks and the Coyotes taking on Dave Bolland’s cap hit, many people were shocked. Bolland was (and remains) on long-term injured reserve, without a clear picture on whether he’ll ever play hockey again. Crouse on the other hand was a 19-year old blue-chip prospect who looked like he had a long NHL career ahead of him as a prototypical power forward. Speaking to George Richards of the Miami Herald, Panthers GM Tom Rowe admitted it was tough to lose him:

We got criticized for giving up on a great young prospect but we had to. That contract was strangling us, cap-wise. When we traded him, our scouts were furious. I’m not going to lie. But we had to do something and that was trade Lawson.

Crouse has just 11 points this season for the Coyotes, but he’s gaining valuable experience as a teenager and still has a bright future ahead of him. Meanwhile the Panthers have already essentially used that cap space, as extensions for Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau and Derek MacKenzie kick in next year.

Atlantic Notes: Cassidy, Radulov, Plekanec, Carrier, Kulikov

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The Bruins have played their way right back into the thick of the postseason chase under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy, going 8-2 in his first ten games behind the bench heading into play on Monday night.  Accordingly, CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that the time is right for GM Don Sweeney to lift the interim title and make him the full-time head coach.

Shortly after the trade deadline, Sweeney told reporters that he’s open to lifting the tag at the end of the season although he left the window open to do so later this season if he feels the time is right.  Haggerty argues that if the GM is already content with the idea of making the change more of a permanent one, it should be done sooner than later so there’s no opportunity for a distraction during the stretch run.

This is Cassidy’s second stint as a head coach after holding the job for parts of two seasons with Washington more than a decade ago.

More from the Atlantic:

  • The Canadiens announced via their Twitter account that Alexander Radulov is likely to miss his second straight game against the Canucks tomorrow with a lower body injury sustained after blocking a shot last week. The Russian right winger has returned to the NHL with a bang this season and sits second on Montreal in scoring with 46 points in 63 games; his 31 assists lead the team.  Additionally, the team noted that center Tomas Plekanec is listed as day-to-day although the nature of his injury is undisclosed.
  • Sabres left winger William Carrier is set to miss his 17th straight game tomorrow against the Flyers, notes John Vogl of The Buffalo News. It doesn’t appear a return is imminent either as he has yet to start skating as the bruise on his knee is not hearing anywhere near the rate the team was hoping for.  Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is also expected to sit that game out with a concussion.

David Backes Leaves Game With Head Injury

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Boston Bruins forward David Backes was the victim of boarding in tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, as William Carrier hit the veteran with a hard, high shot up against the boards in front of the Bruins bench. The team announced shortly afterward that Backes would not return to the game with an “upper body injury”. Carrier will likely face a suspension or fine for the dirty hit.

Backes has been somewhat of an iron man in his NHL career, playing in 72 games or more in all nine of his seasons as a starter with the St. Louis Blues. However, Backes has also had his fair share of concussions as well, with at least two reported in his NHL tenure. Neither kept Backes out of the St. Louis lineup for very long, but now in Boston and on the wrong side of 30, the concussion symptoms can start to pile up, and the Bruins have to worry about long-term repercussions. While it will be some time before we know the full extent of this concussion, expect the team to be cautious with it’s approach. The Bruins face the Sabres again on Saturday, and then New Jersey, Edmonton, Florida, and Carolina to begin the new year. Although no game has been easy for the underachieving team, this is as good a time as any to give Backes some time off. The return of Frank Vatrano has had an instant impact and he can help to make up for a short-term absence of Backes while he rests and recovers. The last thing that Boston wants is to rush Backes back to action only to end up losing him again later on in the season to post-concussion syndrome. With one of the league’s worst scoring offenses and already missing Matt Beleskey until February, the Bruins cannot afford another long-term absence up front.

On a separate note, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid tried to return the favor later in the game by jumping Carrier late in the first period. For the second time in as many games, McQuaid was restrained before he could even throw a real punch. If the NHL wants to ban fighting, they should, but instructing the refs to instead instantly break up fights is not the way to go. McQuaid expressed a similar opinion arguing with the linesman that pulled him away from Carrier. In tying up McQuaid, the refs allowed Carrier to get several punches off that were direct hits to the Bruins defenseman and to which he had no chance to respond. McQuaid required stitches as a result. To add insult to injury, McQuaid was also given an instigator penalty and a ten-minute misconduct. The entire ordeal was handled incorrectly and the NHL needs to look into alternative methods of handling fighting.

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