Latest on Carey Price, Nail Yakupov, Pavel Datsyuk, Mario Lemieux, Marc Bergevin and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.
Check out the video highlights below of Wednesday’s NHL action, including Carey Price exiting early during the Canadiens win over the Rangers, Sidney Crosby scoring twice against the Blues, the Predators breaking their goalless drought and Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov’s three-point night against the Jets.
NHL Injury Update.
A lower-body injury forced Canadiens goalie Carey Price from Wednesday’s game against the Rangers.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens goalie Carey Price apparently aggravated the lower-body injury that sidelined him for nine games. Backup Mike Condon will get the start on Friday against the New Jersey Devils. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien denied that Price was rushed back into the lineup, claiming the netminder wanted to play and he received medical clearance to do so.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It also sounds like the Canadiens are going to be more cautious with Price going forward this season. They’ve recalled Dustin Tokarski to be Condon’s backup on Friday. I wouldn’t be surprised if Condon or Tokarski get the call for Saturday’s return match against the Devils.
THE SPORTING NEWS: Edmonton Oilers winger Nail Yakupov suffered an leg injury during Wednesday’s game against Carolina when linesman Matt MacPherson, attempting to regain his balance, accidentally pulled Yakupov to the ice and fell on top of the Oilers forward. Yakupov left the game and didn’t return. No further word has been released yet as to his status.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS’ Mike Heika reports via Twitter that Stars goalie “Kari Lehtonen could be off the ice for a couple of days, according to coach Lindy Ruff. Expects Stars to call up a goalie for Friday’s game.”
Notable NHL Headlines.
TORONTO SUN: Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and team captain Sidney Crosby both denied a report claiming there was a rift between the two dating back to the 2014 playoffs. Lemieux dismissed the report as “silly,” while Crosby called it “ridiculous.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby’s unusually poor start and the Penguins anemic offensive play this season has given rise to considerable speculation behind his struggles and those of the team.
CBS SPORTS: Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk netted his 300th career NHL goal in his club’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins.
NJ.COM: Long-time New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias finally made his season debut in his club’s 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was sidelined by a right knee injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Enjoy watching Elias while you still can, hockey fans. This is likely the 39-year-old’s final NHL season.
CALGARY HERALD: The Flames have placed goaltender Joni Ortio on waivers with the intent of demoting him to their AHL affiliate.
TSN: The Montreal Canadiens re-signed general manager Marc Bergevin to a contract extension through the end of the 2021-22 season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Under Bergevin’s tenure, the Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2014 and finished second overall in the Eastern Conference last season. They’re currently the top club in the Conference and the league overall standings. While Bergevin inherited a team with many core pieces (notably Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty) already in place, he’s done a tremendous job re-signing those players and bolstering the roster around them. He’s also quickly garnered a reputation as one of the league’s savviest general managers. Granted, not every move he’s made has worked out (Michael Ryder, Thomas Vanek, Zack Kassian and Alex Semin), but even the busts didn’t hurt the Habs over the long term.
Now we’ll see just how “deep” the Habs are going forward without Gallagher on RW for up wards of 6 weeks and Price obviously experiencing a recurring injury. If it’s a groin issue that could drag on all season. They better hope Condon is up to the challenge.
I noticed a small blurb elsewhere that says Ladislav Smid had been sent to the minors by Calgary. I assume he had to clear waivers first. Has this former 2004 1st round pick (9th overall) lost that much in his game? He’s just 29!
He was not demoted, but rather sent down for a two-week conditioning stint. He’s still hampered by that neck injury he suffered last season.
Ahh. Thanks Lyle.
The Penguins are not struggling, they are however acclimating to eachother. This is what a lack of familiarity looks like. They have very little chemistry with eachother and that takes time to build. We always knew the first 20-25 games would be not pretty. But things have looked better almost every game and if last nights game against the Blues becomes the norm they will be just fine. Crosby is not putting up the same amount of points he has in the past but his commitment to team defense and playing a 200 foot game can not be denied. By the 45 game mark they should be very much better and right on track, barring injuries. The Kessel Malkin Perron line can carry them into the playoffs. Kessel has become quite the set up man.
My thoughts exactly. I find the team is starting to generally look better and play better as a unit. The flow is improved over the last week as well. Crosby seems more snake bitten, but is doing all the little things outside of scoring as you mentioned.
My one bit of proof to anyone who thinks otherwise on the results so far is to go back to the Neal/Goligoski trade and see how “awful” Neal was supposed to be playing down the stretch that year. So much so people were demanding he be traded in the off season. That all changed the following September and the rest is history – I really see that happening this season.