The Ducks welcomed Brendan Morrison back into the line-up on Thursday night, which meant someone had to come out and that lucky Duck was Rob Niedermayer. Niedermayer, a Box 6 forward, hasn't found the score sheet much, having only 16 points this season. Niedermayer will likely figure back into the line-up this weekend, but he'll have to be a bit more productive to not be in the press box again.
The Bruins played against Ottawa on Thursday night and they played without Milan Lucic, who suffered a foot injury while blocking a shot in the team's last game against the Flyers. X-rays showed that there was no bone damage to the foot, but it was the swelling that kept the Box 24 forward out of the line-up. He is likely questionable for the team's next game on Saturday. During the game, Michael Ryder suffered some facial lacerations and some dizziness after being hit in the face with a teammate's stick. There is no word if the dizziness is concussion related and if it is not, I would imagine he would be okay to go on Saturday. Stay tuned.
The Hurricanes managed to sneak a game out of San Jose on Thursday night, but they were not able to do it without cost. Eric Staal left the game in the third period with a lower body injury, not to return to the game before it ended. The team will re-evaluate him before their next game on Saturday night. The Clayton Draft pick hasn't been his usual scoring self this season and an injury certainly isn't going to help that at all.
The Blue Jackets activated Nikita Filatov from the IR on Thursday, after he was cleared of an illness that had him off the ice. Filatov was then immediately sent down to the AHL and it seems unlikely that Columbus will call him up again this season, as he nears the 10-game cut-off for rookies and their entry level contracts. Filatov should be a high ranking prospect for next season, someone you should keep your eye on. In other Blue Jackets news, Steve Mason won't be making the trip with the team tonight to Pittsburgh, as he gets some much needed rest to help battle a case of mono, which apparently he has been suffering with for quite some time. He is expected to start in a game on Saturday though.
The Oilers beat the Blues last night, but like the Hurricanes, the game came with a severe cost. The Oilers managed to lose two players in the game, Shawn Horcoff and Tom Gilbert, both suffered lower body injuries and did not return to action. Horcoff, a Draft pick of Chris', and Gilbert, a Draft pick of Don's, are both key components to the Oilers and may need to hurry to be ready for two games on Saturday and Sunday.
The Islanders were not expecting to have Mark Streit in the line-up last night against the Panthers, as he's been suffering from a hip injury of late. Streit, a Draft pick of Benson's, doesn't have a timetable for a return, mostly because the extent of the injury has not been disclosed at the moment. The Islanders don't seem to want to give away anything about their top defenseman (if not top player), but with the team in the league's basement, there is a good chance that they won't rush him back either.
It looks like leaving a game last night with a lower body injury seemed to be in fashion, as Patrik Berglund, a John P. Waiver Draft pick, left the game for St. Louis against the Oilers. The Blues just can't catch a break and should be pretty close to writing the season off as a whole. Berglund's status will be updated if the injury is far more severe, but otherwise, he should be considered day-to-day.
Word came down in Washington that their back-up goalie, Brent Johnson, will have to undergo hip surgery and will now miss the next 6-to-8 weeks in order for it to heal. This is likely the reason as to why he has missed time throughout the season and is likely quite hopeful that it will fully correct the problem.Click here to see an updated injury page.
No comments:
Post a Comment