Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Notes from the Only Game of the Night

The Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers were the only game on the NHL schedule on Tuesday night, which keeps the news fairly short this morning.  The Coyotes were the most shorthanded of the two teams going into action, going into the game without defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Ed Jovanovski and forward Kyle Turris.  Aucoin missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury, Jovanovski had a bout of the flu and Turris has now been placed on the injured reserve with his upper-body injury.  On the flip side, the Coyotes recalled Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the minors and he re-joined the line-up for the game against the Oilers.

Even the Coyotes being shorthanded was not enough for the Oilers to take advantage and get two points for the standings, as the dogs clobbered the oil, 5-0.

As for return dates for the injured players, I would imagine Jovanovski will be the first to return out of the three, since he's only dealing with an illness.  The Coyotes do not go again until Saturday, so that should be ample time for a full recovery for him.  Aucoin could very well be in the same boat, but we do not know the actual extent of his injury, so it is really hard to say.  He is considered day-to-day, since we do not have much for details, so Saturday could very well be a 50-50 proposition.  Finally, Turris was placed on the IR retroactive to the 19th, which would mean he's eligible to return on the 26th, but he is considered to be out week-to-week, so one week does seem a little far-fetched.

ImplicationsOf the three injured players, only Jovanovski has ties to the draft, taken by Neil in the 7th round, 125th overall.  Neil is very well in the mix for the money at this point in the season, only 6 points out in 7th place, so a quick return will suit him well.  Ekman-Larsson was also drafted and his return may or may not provide much help to the 19th place team of Clayton's, but if he is back for good, he may not be a target for the waiver draft proceedings.

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