Morning Player Notes (Oct 19)

Ahead of the game between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders, the Kings announced that Anze Kopitar would be a late scratch, as he was suffering with an illness of one form or another, listing him as out day-to-day.  The veteran forward must have been trying to give it a go, but in the end, called it all off, as it was a really late scratch on the evening.

I don't think there is anything too serious for Dale C. to worry about here, it is just a shame that the flu bug (or whatever it was) forced him to miss a key skater game on Thursday night.  Kopitar hasn't been off to the best of starts to follow up a massive 2018, having only 2 goals in six games to start.  He'll quietly right that ship though, I'm sure.

The New York Islanders gave the Los Angeles Kings a sound beating, a team without their captain for the night.  The Kings, however, did get their licks in and they forced Islanders starter Robin Lehner from the game, rifling a puck off of his mask and forcing him the big Swede out of action in the 3rd period.  The Islanders coaching staff didn't confirm whether or not their big free agent signing in the off-season went through the concussion protocol, but it is fair to assume that he did.  That should all come out in the wash, I'm sure.

Chelsea still got 2 points out of Lehner, as he was the goalie of record when the Islanders' 3rd goal went in, giving him the the win and Chelsea a much-needed boost in the standings.  Lehner has been good, once he finally made it to the crease, but an injury now and splitting time with Thomas Greiss may limit his overall value this season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are working with a fair bit of forward depth on their current roster and the trick there is to make sure everyone is playing enough to contribute on a regular basis.  Andreas Johnsson was a victim of that thinking, as he was pulled out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, to make way for Tyler Ennis, who the coaching staff wanted to re-insert into the lineup.  The Leafs coaching staff said wasn't a sleight against Johnsson's play, it was just that Ennis needed to get back into the lineup.

That's not exactly what you want to hear from a coach of a player you have on your hockey pool team.  You've invested a spot for that player and he can't get a regular spot?  I guess you have gambled and lost a bit with that pick then, eh?  Wilton was jumping on the Toronto bandwagon with this bottom six pick and with only 1 assist in five games, he could be a candidate for that Waiver Draft drop in November.