Afternoon Training Camp Injury Notes (Oct 2)

In last night's game between Toronto and Montreal, Canadiens forward Torrey Mitchell had to leave the game with an upper-body injury, not to return. He had only played in a few minutes worth of ice-time and already had an assist before leaving the game, no word yet on what the diagnosis is or timetable.


A vague injury update from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday morning, as defenseman Cody Goloubef will now be on the list as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.  A tweet this morning from one of the team's beat writers said that management suggested that the 26-year old defender will miss a few days to injury, not specifying where or what the injury was.

An injury on Long Island worth keeping an eye on belongs to forward Shane Prince, who was a quiet producer last season and could be a reasonable sleeper pick for the coming year, assuming he can stay healthy. Prince is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury and is currently missing some time, but it could be very precautionary at the beginning of the season.  If he can figure into a preseason game this week, give him the green light for a late round pick.

This week, Flyers defenseman Mark Alt suffered an upper-body injury in a fight against Devils forward Ben Thomson and is now listed as out indefinitely with the injury.  The Flyers are pretty deep on the blueline and it did seem unlikely that Alt would have a shot at a roster spot, but it's just one of those injuries worth keep an eye on.

Top Prospect Signing (Oct 2)

The Philadelphia Flyers have been impressed by their 2nd round pick from this past June's draft, goaltender Carter Hart, and they've officially locked him up to his 3-year entry-level deal on Sunday.  Hart is already back with the Everett Silvertips, as they are already set in goal for the coming season, with Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth, but this signing shows that they have some faith in the goaltending coming up the ranks and they will have some depth, when the expansion draft rolls around next Summer.

Last Night's Preseason Performers (Oct 2)

The Montreal Canadiens were not threatened by the Maple Leafs' big game the night before, probably because it wasn't the same team, and it was the Habs' depth that really showed their stuff, beating their long-time rivals, 3-1, on Saturday night.  Paul Byron led the way with a 3-point night, while checking forward Philip Danault also checked in with a couple of points.  Al Montoya got the start and played the entire game, he made 24 saves for the win.

The Rangers and Devils were involved in a good old fashioned shootout in the swamp and it was the home team that held on for a 5-4 victory in the end.  French defenseman Yohan Auvitu makes another appearance in the performers post, thanks to a 3-assist night in the win, leading the Devils to the victory.  Beau Bennett, Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri and Pavel Zacha were all 2-point players from the forward position, while tryout goalie Anders Lindback got the call for the whole game, making 30 saves for the win.  The Devils are flexing their new muscles and look pretty good doing it.

Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad and defenseman Adam Clendening were also back on the post, each picking up 2 points in the loss.

The Bruins and Flyers needed a shootout to decide their preseason tilt in Philadelphia on Saturday night and it was the visiting team from Boston that got the better of their hosts, 4-3. It appears to have been a single line that did most of the damage for Boston in regulation, with David Pastrnak and David Backes each coming away with 3 points in the win and in net, it was Malcolm Subban making 29 saves through overtime for the win.

The boxscore shows a pretty good game in Nashville, between the Lightning and the Predators, and it was the home side that took the victory in this one, Marek Mazanec doing his best to try and earn the back-up job with a 23-save win.  The Preds got help from James Neal, Mike Ribeiro and the big draw, P.K. Subban, all coming away with 2 points each.

Valtteri Filppula was decent in the loss, scoring a goal and adding an assist to his preseason totals and getting a quick nod on the blog.

It was a solid effort at both ends of the ice from the Chicago Blackhawks, as they shutout the St. Louis Blues, 4-0, for a preseason victory. Scott Darling only had to make 18 saves in his full night's work, earning the shutout, while prospect forward Tyler Motte was the big offensive force, picking up a pair of goals.


The Ducks sent a very shallow team to the desert to play the Coyotes and the dogs still needed overtime to pick up the win in the last of the preseason action on Saturday night. Shane Doan, Alex Goligoski and Mike Smith led the way for the home side, each taking 2 points away from this game, Doan scoring the winner in the extra frame.

The Ducks were able to stay in it, thanks to a goal and an assist from Michael Sgarbossa, but that was about it.

Evening Training Camp Injury Notes (Oct 1)

The Buffalo Sabres updated some injury notes on Saturday, noting four players in camp that are dealing with some knocks. There was no timetable with the update, but we'll assume that they are all day-to-day for right now. Dmitry Kulikov is dealing with a contusion of some sort, didn't say where in their tweet, while Zach Bogosian is dealing with a minor groin problem, Tyson Strachan has an ankle injury and prospect forward Nicholas Baptiste has a lower back issue.  We'll be keeping an eye on the Buffalo game rosters in the preseason, just to see if they get any more action before the season starts.

On Friday night, Dustin Byfuglien didn't make it out of the 2nd period against the Oilers with a lower-body injury.  He was pulled from the game after blocking a shot with his foot and the team was cautious with their stud defenseman, but it doesn't sound very serious at all and he should get some more action before the season starts.  It's just one more thing to watch, as we move towards the draft in one week's time.

Handing Out Camp Invites (Oct 1)

The World Cup has done some good for a few of those unrestricted free agents and on Friday, Christian Ehrhoff was added to that list of fortunate players, after he had a good tournament with Team Europe, getting a tryout with the Boston Bruins.  Last season, he split time between Los Angeles and Chicago, playing in 48 games and picked up 12 points, actually good enough for 139th among all defensemen, more of a fringe number than anything else.

At the World Cup, he picked up 3 assists in six games and was a big part of the appearance in the finals at the preseason tournament, which obviously earned him this look.  At 34 years old, he should still have some time left to produce and he could be an interesting add to a pool team, if he can get an NHL deal.

Last Night's Preseason Performers (Oct 1)

The Toronto Maple Leafs probably ramped up the excitement levels even more on Friday night with an 8-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres.  Defenseman Frank Corrado put a good word for a roster spot with a 3-point night to lead the way for the young Leafs and then it was quite the cast of characters with 2 points on the night.  Mitch Marner, Peter Holland, Kasperi Kapanen, Matt Hunwick and Jake Gardiner all had great nights well.

It was a positive sign for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for a shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0.  Fleury is the number one for the Penguins, as they are waiting for Matt Murray to heal up from a broken hand.  Fleury's value will certainly increase, but with all signs pointing to Murray being the team's number one, when healthy, his annual value won't nearly be as high.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are still without one of their key restricted free agents, but Ondrej Palat did well enough on Friday to ease the team's concerns. Palat scored the overtime winner and added an assist in a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes.  Palat was a 40-point player last season and he should improve on those numbers with a healthy season, which will make him a very attractive pick in the pool next weekend.

It was another solid goaltending performance in Detroit, as the Bruins will likely be going with Friday night's winner, Anton Khudobin, as their back-up goalie for the year. Khudobin made 34 saves in an overtime victory, playing the entire game.  Last season, the 30-year old Kazakh played in Anaheim as the back-up and third goalie and moved back to Boston for more work.  He could be a good late round goalie, if needed.

The St. Louis Blues got the best of their division rivals from Dallas on Friday night, 4-1, but there wasn't much in the way of notable scorers or point-getters in this one, except for defenseman Petteri Lindbohm, who had a goal and an assist in the win.  Last season, he played in 10 games for the Blues, but didn't register any points.  After the top four defensemen on their roster, the Blues could have some competition for one of the last three spots and Lindbohm has given some notice for it.

The Edmonton Oilers finally got Jesse Puljujarvi into their preseason lineup for the first time on Friday night, but it wasn't enough, as the hosts, the Winnipeg Jets, were excellent, beating the Oilers, 5-1.

Mark Scheifele had a 4-point night and Blake Wheeler chipped in with 3 points, while Adam Lowry had a goal and an assist in the victory.  Michael Hutchinson is keeping the goaltending conversation interesting in Winnipeg, after making 33 saves in the win.

The Flames have been getting rave reviews for their pairing of Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer, who each walked out of their victory against the Canucks on Friday night with a couple of points each.  This combination will be a big look for the Flames and it is expected to start the season, at the very least, and this offensive showing should give a lot of hope to Flames fans and poolies alike.

It was a good night for Mikhail Grigorenko, scoring a pair of goals for the Colorado Avalanche in their 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Also getting in on the scoring act was tryout Rene Bourque, who added another pair of assists in the victory, as his name has been popping up in these blog posts early on.  Grigorenko is a lock for a job and a good hockey pool prospect, but Bourque could be making a great case for an NHL deal this Fall.

For the Kings, Jeff Carter returned from his lower-body injury, which kept him out of Canada's lineup at the World Cup, playing 18 minutes on the ice in the loss.

The San Jose Sharks picked up a preseason overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, 3-2, and in that one, defenseman Justin Braun picked up a couple of regulation time assists in the victory.  Goaltender Aaron Dell is also trying to make a case for the back-up job, making 20 saves in the victory, getting the call for the whole game.

Tomas Hertl was another high profiled player making his first appearance in the preseason, as he had off-season knee surgery and was obviously given the green light.  He should be good to go for opening night now.