Noon Preseason Notes (Sep 23)

A potential top line winger in Vegas is currently sitting out hurt, as Tomas Nosek missed out on Saturday's preseason contest, uncertain if he was scheduled to be there, with a lower-body injury. He's currently listed as out day-to-day, which doesn't sound overly daunting, but with their depth, he better hope that the injury is minor, because there could be someone waiting in the weeds to take his spot.

Nosek had 15 points in 67 games last season with the Golden Knights, but in this preseason, he has been lined up with guys like William Karlsson and/or Jonathan Marchessault, which can only mean good things on this team.  He's in a good position to be a sleeper, if he's starting the season healthy.

Word out of Lightning camp is that forward Tyler Johnson is currently dealing with an upper-body injury and didn't practice on Sunday morning with the team.  There was no immediate confirmation about the nature or the severity of the injury, it's just worth noting, given his stature in the team's lineup.  Johnson could be a 50-point player this season and he'll need to get off the mark right away, if he's going to make it to that scoring plateau.

The Carolina Hurricanes coaching staff have announced that they are going to hold out forward Micheal Ferland for the rest of the preseason, as he is currently dealing with an upper-body injury. The official word is that he is day-to-day, but they are going to be cautious with one of their roster players, as they move closer to the regular season.  Ferland joined the Canes in an off-season trade with the Flames and is a fringe player, according to some of the hockey pool projections, with the possibility of a little bit more.

The injuries are stacking up across the league and the Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that defenseman Ryan Murray will start the season on the shelf, as he's dealing with a groin injury and it will cost him a couple of weeks, give or take.  Murray was kicked in the groin area in a game last week and there was some confusion about what the injury that was keeping him out actually was, until Sunday, when the team announced it's a soft tissue injury around the pubic bone.  He'll be listed as out week-to-week right now.