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West Notes: Oettinger, Jones, Emberson, Saville

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The Stars welcomed back a key player tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Jake Oettinger was getting the start against Nashville.  The 25-year-old missed the last four weeks with a lower-body injury, forcing Scott Wedgewood to take on the interim starting role in his absence, a role Wedgewood had some success in.  Oettinger had a career year last season with a 2.37 GAA and a .919 SV%, earning him a top-five spot in Vezina Trophy voting but hasn’t had quite the same success this season with those numbers checking in at 2.93 and .901 respectively heading into Friday’s action.  If he can get back to being a top netminder in the second half, that could give Dallas a big lift as they jockey for seeding in the Central Division.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Blackhawks blueliner Seth Jones was a full participant in practice today for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury just over a month ago, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. The original diagnosis was that he’d miss two weeks but further testing doubled that timeline.  Jones, who has 11 points – all assists – in 27 games this season, is hoping to be cleared to return to Chicago’s lineup tomorrow against Dallas.
  • Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson has returned to San Jose for further evaluation, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury that has caused him to miss last night’s victory over Montreal, joining Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald as blueliners currently out of the lineup.  Emberson is currently considered as out week-to-week so he’ll likely land on injured reserve shortly, opening up a spot for Logan Couture whose return is getting closer.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they returned goaltender Isaiah Saville to AHL Henderson. The 23-year-old was recalled recently after Adin Hill was unable to dress for Thursday’s game due to an undisclosed injury.  Saville has battled injuries himself this season and has been limited to seven games with the Silver Knights where he has a 2.52 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Golden Knights Make Several Roster Moves

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The Vegas Golden Knights have made a flurry of roster moves today as they try and shake up their roster after being shutout for the fifth time this season last night. Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that defenseman Lukas Cormier and forward Grigori Denisenko have been reassigned to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL, while forward Jonas Rondbjerg and defenseman Kaedan Korczak have been recalled to Vegas.

21-year-old Cormier had an assist during his NHL debut on January 6, was +1 and averaged almost 15 minutes of ice time in two games. He is in his second year in the AHL and has a goal and 11 assists in 27 games. The former third-round pick was a good offensive option for the Silver Knights last year as he had ten goals and 25 assists in 62 games.

Denisenko was held pointless in three games during his most recent recall. His AHL numbers on the other hand have been solid this year, in 31 games the former 15th overall pick has 12 goals and 18 assists. In four years as a professional, Denisenko has played 29 NHL games and has seven assists and no goals.

Rondbjerg is looking to get back into the Golden Knights lineup for the first time in almost two months, the 24-year-old had a recall earlier in the season and had a goal and two assists in six games. The 2017 third-round pick has had a decent offensive season in Henderson with four goals and 10 assists in 24 games this season.

Korczak showed promise during a two-month recall earlier in the season and will get another look with Vegas. The 22-year-old is typically known as a physical defensive defenseman but has shown some offensive upside in a limited sample size as he has a goal and six assists in 15 NHL games this season.

Vegas currently sits in second place in the Pacific Division with a 23-13-5 record. Despite the good start to the season, the Golden Knights have struggled as of late with a 3-7 record in their last ten games. They have also struggled on the road with a 9-9-3 record.

Vegas Recalls Isaiah Saville With Adin Hill, Michael Amadio Out

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Isaiah Saville ahead of their Wednesday night game, as expected starter Adin Hill is not yet ready to return. The Golden Knights also shared that forward Michael Amadio will miss Wednesday’s matchup with illness.

Saville will serve as the team’s backup against the Colorado Avalanche, with Jiri Patera set to make his fourth start of the season. It’s only the sixth start of Patera’s career, which kicked off with two NHL appearances last season. He’s set a 3-2-0 record and .908 save percentage in his limited NHL career, though he’s spent more of his time operating as the starter for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He’s appeared in 14 AHL games this year, setting a 6-6-2 record and .900 save percentage. He’s been backed up by a platoon of goalies, including Saville, who has managed a 4-3-0 record and .914 save percentages in seven games of his own. The sudden recall is only the second of Saville’s career, though the 23-year-old has yet to play in his first NHL game.

Hill’s unexpected setback now makes nine consecutive games that he’s missed with an undisclosed injury. The 27-year-old has continued to look fantastic in the ice time he has managed, setting a league-leading .933 save percentage and 1.93 goals-against-average in the 15 games he’s played this season. His injury forces Vegas to turn to their AHL netminders, as the team is also missing Logan Thompson due to illness. Thompson has served as the de facto starter in Hill’s absence, setting a 12-8 record and .902 save percentage in 24 games.

Vegas Golden Knights Activate, Reassign Kaedan Korczak

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The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that defenseman Kaedan Korczak has been activated off of injured reserve and subsequently reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

The 22-year-old last played in a December 10th contest against the San Jose Sharks, skating nearly 19 minutes in a 5-4 shootout victory. He suffered a lower-body injury during that game and was placed on injured reserve shortly afterward. Although Korczak has played in 15 NHL games this season compared to just five in the AHL, it’s understandable that the Golden Knights would want to see Korczak build back to full strength after his injury at the AHL level before throwing him back into the NHL lineup.

The six-foot-three right-shot defenseman plays with a lot of physicality, so some time in the AHL is likely required before he’ll feel comfortable re-engaging in that aggressive playstyle against NHL competition. The Golden Knights’ defense has been dealing with quite a few injuries, so it may not take too long before Korczak finds himself back in the NHL, perhaps on the team’s second pairing next to Brayden McNabb.

In the meantime, that spot is occupied by two-time QMJHL defenseman of the year Lukas Cormier, who picked up an assist in his first career NHL game on Saturday.

Avalanche Notes: Manson, Wood, Lehkonen

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Ryan Boulding of NHL.com is reporting that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson will not dress tonight when the Avalanche take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Manson suffered an undisclosed injury at Avalanche practice on Monday and did not play against the Boston Bruins on Monday night. The 32-year-old has five goals and seven assists in 37 games this season, his second full year with Colorado.

Manson joins an ever-growing list of Avalanche players who are out of the lineup, although it is not known how long he will continue to miss games. Very little is known about Manson’s injury at the moment, and it is expected that there will be an update on his status in the coming days.

In other Avalanche notes:

  • Ryan Boulding is also reporting that Avalanche forward Miles Wood will not play tonight as he is dealing with an illness. Like Manson, Wood also missed Monday night’s game against Boston and tested positive for influenza according to Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. Wood is in his first season with the Avalanche after signing a six-year contract on July 1st. The 28-year-old has scored at a comparable rate to his career average this season with six goals and six assists in 39 games. He has been much more responsible with and without the puck this year with Colorado as Wood has reduced his turnover rate dramatically, while also increasing his takeaway numbers.
  • Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would love to see forward Artturi Lehkonen play on their upcoming road trip, but it is not a guarantee. Lehkonen will reportedly join the team when they begin their road trip on Friday starting in Toronto and could play for the first time since November 9th. Lehkonen was sidelined with a neck injury after a scary fall into the boards and was originally given a 10–12-week recovery timeline that he is eight weeks into. When he can return the 28-year-old will provide a big boost to Colorado’s top-6 particularly if he can get back to his level of play from last season. This year Lehkonen has three goals and five assists in 12 games.

Afternoon Notes: Golden Knights, Puljujarvi, Meyers

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Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy shared updates on the team’s long list of injuries, sharing that Daniil Miromanov is back on the ice, Keegan Kolesar is still out of the lineup with illness, and that starter Adin Hill has returned to skating on his own but isn’t quite ready to rejoin the team. Cassidy also shared that Shea Theodore is still a ways away from returning. The star defenseman is joined by Miromanov and Hill on injured reserve.

These injuries have underscored what’s been a battered Vegas lineup to start the year. The club currently has a top-six forward in William Karlsson, starter Adin Hill, and four different defensemen on IR. The only on the list to not yet make his season debut is NHL newcomer Miromanov, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury that’s held him out since the start of the year.

The amount of talent being held out of Vegas’ lineup is impressive. Karlsson ranks third on the team in scoring with 32 points in 38 games. Theodore still leads all Knights defenders in scoring, despite missing 18 games, with 18 points in 20 games. And Hill has returned to the impeccable goalie that made him an icon last postseason, boasting a .934 save percentage through 15 games this season. The Golden Knights will be in for a big boost when they’re able to get each of these players back, although how long that may take is still up in the air.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional try-out agreement, extending his time in the Penguins organization. Puljujarvi is working his way back from double hip surgery and has been skating with the Pittsburgh lineup at practices. And while his return still seems to be a ways out, this move helps set him up for an AHL conditioning stint once he’s ready to go.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. This is likely in an effort to maintain the young forward’s waiver exemption status. Meyers has played in a collective 58 NHL games since joining the Avalanche in 2021-22 and will lose his exemption once he hits 60 games. The 25-year-old centerman has totaled six goals and no assists through those 58 games, adding 37 points in 49 AHL games.

Vegas Golden Knights Claim Tobias Björnfot

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The Vegas Golden Knights have claimed blueliner Tobias Björnfot off of waivers, the team has announced. In addition, forward Grigori Denisenko and defenseman Lukas Cormier have been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

This claim of Björnfot ends the defenseman’s time in Los Angeles, at least for the time being. The Kings will have the chance to re-claim Björnfot should he find himself on waivers again this season (just as the Ottawa Senators claimed Lassi Thomson earlier this season after he was originally nabbed by the Anaheim Ducks) but for now he’s off to Nevada.

The 22-year-old was selected 22nd overall by the Kings in 2019, and although he made a name for himself in North America rather quickly, his development never quite took off. The six-foot-one Swedish blueliner plays a solid defensive game and is capable of logging heavy minutes at the AHL level. He’s been more of a bottom-pairing defenseman at the NHL level,

Since Vegas is currently dealing with quite a few injuries to their defense, Björnfot figures to slot into the team’s seventh defenseman role.

The recalls of Cormier and Denisenko place both players in a position to potentially make their Golden Knights debuts. Denisenko, 23, was a waiver claim by Vegas earlier this season and already has 26 games on his NHL resume, exclusively coming during his time with the Florida Panthers. He’s done really well in the AHL so far this season, leading Henderson in scoring with 30 points in 31 games.

As for Cormier, the 21-year-old 2020 third-round pick hasn’t yet played in the NHL. He had a solid start to his pro career last season when he registered 35 points in his rookie AHL campaign, and he’s followed that up with a healthy 12 points in 27 games this season.

Vegas Golden Knights Recall Dysin Mayo

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Just before the team takes the ice at the 2024 Winter Classic in Seattle, the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo from their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

Mayo fills the lone vacant spot on the Golden Knights roster, bringing the team up to eight blueliners on its 23-man unit. Mayo will obviously not skate in the team’s game against the Golden Knights, but this recall does introduce the possibility of him dressing for an NHL game a little bit later down the line.

Mayo, 27, was traded to Vegas in February 2023, but has not yet played in his first NHL game for the club. The team brought him in as part of the deal to clear Shea Weber’s contract off their books, and the hope was for him to play top-four minutes in Henderson and provide some size, physicality, and veteran leadership to their minor-league affiliate.

That’s exactly what Mayo has done, and now the Golden Knights have rewarded him with an NHL call-up. Mayo could very well find himself back in Henderson by the time the Silver Knights hit the ice Wednesday since Vegas already has seven defensemen on their roster, but there remains the chance now that he gets into his first game as a Golden Knight.

Marc-Andre Fleury Becomes Fourth Goalie With 1,000 Games Played

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With his appearance in Minnesota’s 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, Marc-Andre Fleury has officially joined one of the most exclusive clubs in all of hockey, playing in his 1,000th NHL game. While hundreds of skaters have managed the feat, only three other goaltenders have had careers long enough and performances strong enough to reach the mark – Martin Brodeur (1,266 Games), Roberto Luongo (1,044), and Patrick Roy (1,029). The trio is arguably three of the best goaltenders of all time and will now be joined by Fleury, whose 55 percent win-percentage is the highest of any of the four goalies.

Fleury’s path to this milestone came largely thanks to his 13 years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where the French Canadian was able to become the winningest goalie in club history with 375 wings through a team-high 691 games played. But it was Fleury’s postseason performances that turned him into a legend for one of the league’s most prolific clubs. Fleury established himself as the team’s long-term starter in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, carrying the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals thanks to a dazzling .933 save percentage in 20 starts. He immediately became the guy in the 2008-09 season, ranking eighth in the league with 62 games played. The major uptick in ice time didn’t faze Fleury, who held it together enough to record a .908 save percentage in 24 games during the 2009 Playoffs, helping lift the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.

But as much as it built up his early career, postseason performances were also the downfall of Fleury’s time in Pittsburgh, who ultimately lost his starting role to the hot hand of rookie Matt Murray during the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Murray would go on to lead the Penguins to another Stanley Cup win, on the back of a .923 save percentage in 21 games. Fleury would continue in Pittsburgh for one more season, platooning with Murray during the 2017 postseason, but the writing was on the wall – and after Murray won over the starting role en route to a second Cup, it was time for Fleury to move on. The Penguins traded the Vegas Golden Knights a second-round draft pick to incentivize them to take Fleury int he 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

The Golden Knights were quickly rewarded for taking the veteran, with Fleury bouncing immediately back to his postseason form – leading Vegas to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year with a .927 save percentage in 20 games. He continued to thrive in the postseason with Vegas, setting a combined .914 save percentage over his next three seasons with the team, which saw 27 playoff games.

Fleury moved away from the Golden Knights in 2021, briefly joining the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the Minnesota Wild for a conditional second-round pick. Now 39 years old, Fleury is relishing on a successful .905 save percentage and 39-23-6 record in three years with the Wild. He’s lost the everyday starter role to Filip Gustavsson but still boasts an .893 in 14 games this year.

It’s been a prolific career for Fleury, emphasized by a Gold Medal win at the 2010 Winter Olympics and a Vezina Trophy and William Jennings Trophy win in the 2020-21 season. Fleury is set to become a free agent at the end of this season. If he decides to call it a career, he will be retiring as one of the winningest goaltenders of all time – one of only 21 goaltenders to win three-or-more Stanley Cups and ranked in the top 10 of all-time wins. The question now becomes whether his 1,000th game can combine with all of his other accolades to earn Fleury a Hall of Fame induction.

Golden Knights Sign Matthew Cataford

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2023 is ending on a high note for Golden Knights prospect Matthew Cataford.  The team announced today that they’ve signed the forward to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 18-year-old was a third-round pick by Vegas back in June, going 77th overall.  The early returns on that selection are certainly promising as Cataford has 22 goals and 31 assists in just 35 games with QMJHL Halifax so far.  Not only does that lead the Mooseheads in scoring, but his 53 points lead the entire league on that front.  He’s also the league leader in plus/minus, checking in at a +35 rating.

While Cataford’s contract technically starts this season, that won’t wind up actually being the case as he will remain in Halifax.  Accordingly, his contract will slide for 2023-24 and will still have three seasons left on it heading into the 2024-25 campaign.  He’ll be eligible for a second slide as well that year as his options will be either junior hockey or Vegas; Cataford won’t be eligible to be assigned to the minors until 2025-26.

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