Ice Chips: Oilers' Hyman out vs. Wild, Asakarov set for Sharks debut
Published
Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers will be without Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson for Thursday's game against the Minnesota Wild, head coach Kris Knoblauch announced.
Hyman was injured in Tuesday's win over the Ottawa Senators. He was not on the ice for morning skate Thursday and is expected to miss four-to-seven days, Knoblauch said.
Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse did skate Thursday, but will not dress against the Wild.
Earlier in the day, the Oilers recalled forward Drake Caggiula from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. Defenceman Josh Brown was also recalled after being sent down one day earlier.
The 30-year-old Caggiula has one assist in two games this season with the big club, and has five goals and nine points in 11 games at the AHL level.
This is his second stint with Edmonton, having played three seasons with the team from 2016 to 2018.
San Jose Sharks
Yaroslav Askarov is expected to be in net for his Sharks debut as his team takes on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Askarov, 22, was acquired along with centre Nolan Burke and a draft pick, from the Nashville Predators in August in exchange for forward David Edstrom, goaltender Magnus Chrona, and a first-round pick in 2025.
The 6-foot-3 netminder has a 6-3-2 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and .939 save percentage with the AHL's San Jose Barracuda this season and was recalled by the Sharks on Monday.
Askarov appeared in three games in his NHL career and went 1-1 with a 1.47 GAA and .943 save percentage with the Predators last season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Forward Matthew Knies is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury after taking a high hit from Zach Whitecloud in Toronto's win over the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday night.
"Not bad. I mean, still being evaluated and looked at, but actually feeling okay today, which is good news," head coach Craig Berube said via TSN's Mark Masters.
Knies departed the 3-0 victory in the second period after taking the hit skating in the neutral zone. Whitecloud's shoulder made contact with Knies' chin, knocking the Leafs' winger to the ice. Knies' teammates jumped to his defence with Simon Benoit wrestling Whitecloud to the ice. Benoit received four minutes in penalties for roughing while Whitecloud got two minutes for the same infraction. Officials reviewed the hit but did not penalize him.
"It’s a hockey hit. It’s been around forever… It’s a clean hit. It’s a tough play. He's in a vulnerable position a little bit. The guy was on him from behind and it's a tough play. It is, but it’s hockey. That’s part of the game," Berube said.
The 22-year-old has eight goals and four assists in 20 games played this season.
Uncertainty continues to surround the status of captain Auston Matthews, who was in Germany earlier this week for treatment on his upper-body injury.
Berube said Matthews, who last played on Nov. 3, is on the mend and could perhaps skate this weekend.
"He’s actually improving and in a real good spot right now going forward," Berube said of the star centre. "So, we’re very happy with that."
Calgary Flames
Defenceman Mackenzie Weegar missed Calgary's two most recent skates but head coach Ryan Huska said he's expected to play Thursday against the New York Rangers.
Here were the Flames' line combinations according to TSN's Salim Valji:
Huberdeau-Zary-Coleman
Pospisil-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato
Lomberg-Kirkland-Rooney
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Bean-Pachal
Wolf
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have sent forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks and brought up forward Max Sasson, it was announced Thursday.
Lekkerimaki made his NHL debut last week and has played in all five games since. He has one assist while averaging 14:48 per game.
Sasson, 24, has yet to make his NHL debut and has four goals and nine points in 16 games so far this season.
Ottawa Senators
Senators head coach Travis Green told reporters that defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker is in Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Travis Hamonic will come out of the lineup, while Linus Ullmark gets the start in net.
“It’s hard. In the long run maybe it’s something good for me," Bernard-Docker said of his long stretch in the press box. "It’s made me sit down and… it’s good to face adversity every once in a while and be able to develop a strong mindset. It’s been hard but I’m pumped to get back in.”
“I just felt like it was time," head coach Travis Green said of the change. "It has nothing to do with Hammer’s play. I think Hammer had a great start to the season but also JBD has been out a little bit.
"There comes a point when you don’t get a guy in for a little bit you start to worry about, will it be too long? I thought he played a good game in Vegas which played into the decision.”
Bernard-Docker last played on Nov. 5 and has two points in nine games this season.
Ullmark is coming off a 5-2 loss to the Oilers Tuesday night. He has a .884 save percentage and 2.99 goals-against average in 11 games this season.
Carolina Hurricanes
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom will have a procedure on his knee which will knock him out of action for about eight weeks or so, according to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
LeBrun adds it's not major surgery, just a clean-up, but it will still take him out of action for some time.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said last week Andersen will be out "way longer" than the week-to-week timeline he initially gave on Oct. 31.
The injury ended a strong start to the season for Andersen, who is 3-1-0 with a .941 save percentage and a 1.49 goals-against average.
The 35-year-old netminder was limited to just 16 games last season due to blood clots, going 13-2-0 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.84 GAA. He is in the last year of his current contract, signed at a cap hit of $3.4 million.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forward Nick Paul will not play Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets because of an undisclosed injury.
Head coach Jon Cooper said via Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun that Paul would be re-evaluated when the team returns home on Friday.
Paul suffered the injury Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing 10:38 with three shots on goal in a 3-2 overtime win.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets have activated forward Kent Johnson off the injured reserve list, it was announced Thursday morning. He will be available to play this evening against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson has not played since Oct. 17 because of a shoulder injury. He practised with the team for the first time during the recovery process last week.
The 22-year-old has two goals and three assists in four games prior to going on the shelf. He had six goals and 16 points in 42 games last season.