From injury updates to projected lineups and goaltenders, keep up with what’s notable around the league today with the latest edition of Around the NHL.
Taylor Hall may be back in the Blackhawks lineup quicker than originally anticipated.
After Hall left Wednesday’s loss with an upper-body injury, head coach Luke Richardson indicated the veteran winger’s recovery would be “week-to-week.”
However, Hall was a limited participant in practice on Friday and while Richardson said Hall won’t play Saturday against Montreal, the 31-year-old is now being considered day-to-day.
Defenceman Markus Niemelainen was placed on waivers by the Oilers Friday.
The 25-year-old appeared in three games with Edmonton in the pre-season and was scratched for their season opener against Vancouver on Wednesday.
Niemelainen split the 2022-23 season split between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) over 30 games with the Condors and zero points over 23 games with the Oilers.
Head coach Rick Tocchet provided injury updates on Teddy Blueger, Guillaume Brisebois and Carson Soucy ahead of the team’s travel to Edmonton.
Blueger is now listed as week to week, having suffered a leg injury after blocking a shot in the Canucks’ pre-season finale against the Calgary Flames.
Brisebois is dealing with an upper-body injury and according to Tocchet, has not skated in the last 10 days.
Although they are not joining the team ahead of their game against the Oilers, Tocchet believes the two will join the road trip at some point.
Soucy, who suffered a knee injury in the pre-season, did travel with the team. He skated Friday morning in a red non-contact jersey along with Ilya Mikheyev.
After dealing with an upper-body injury, Roope Hintz has returned back to practice with the Stars as a full participant.
As a result of his injury, Hintz was missing from Dallas’ season opener on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues. The 26-year-old centre also missed the entirety of the pre-season.
Hintz is coming off his best season yet in the NHL, recording 75 points (37 goals, 36 assists) over 73 games in 2022-23.
Montreal Canadiens
After starting veteran goaltender Jake Allen in their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens have opted to go with Sam Montembeault for their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
While the pair split their time in the crease last year almost equally, Montembeault finished with better numbers.
The Becancour, Que., native had a 16-19-3 record over 40 games (39 starts), along with a goals-against average of 3.42 and a save percentage of .901.
The Canadiens are currently carrying three goaltenders, with 24-year-old Cayden Primeau as the third.
After the news dropped that defenceman Zach Werenski will be out one to two weeks with a bruised quadriceps muscle, further insight was provided as to how the Blue Jackets’ lineup will look on Saturday against the New York Rangers.
According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Emil Bemstrom, Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic donned green jerseys which indicated they will be healthy scratches. Meanwhile, Kent Johnson and Liam Foudy donned white, a sign they should be playing.
Head coach Pascal Vincent confirmed afterwards that Johnson would be back in the lineup Saturday. The 20-year-old was scratched for Columbus’ season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Backup goaltender Charlie Lindgren is expected to start for the Capitals on Friday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in their season opener.
Darcy Kuempfer’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child Thursday and the netminder was not in attendance at morning skate Friday. As Kuemper is expected to be unavailable for the game as well, Washington called up Clay Stevenson from the AHL’s Hershey Bears to backup Lindgren.
In a corresponding move, the Capitals sent centre Aliaksei Protas down. According to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press, that means forwards Anthony Mantha and Matthew Phillips will both be in the lineup against the Penguins.
Head coach Derek Lalonde revealed Robby Fabbri was injured in the Red Wings’ season opener against the New Jersey Devils Thursday night.
According to Lalonde, Fabbri will likely miss their contest vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday but could be back Monday when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The nature of the 27-year-old’s injury was not disclosed.