Nic Dowd is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, so Lapierre will draw back into the bottom-6 on Monday. Lapierre scored a goal in his NHL debut and has picked up two shots and two PIMS in two career games.
Clifton had a tough night in Philadelphia, posting a minus-2 rating in 18:39 TOI. Clifton will be replaced by John Moore on the Bruins' third pair.
Crosby has missed the first four games of the season and will miss Saturday's game vs. Toronto. The next opportunity for him to play would be Tuesday vs. the Lightning.
The Edmonton gets called up after Mike Smith (lower-body) landed on IR on Wednesday. The 22-year-old netminder has gong 2-0-0 while stopping 53 of 56 shots (.946 SV%) in his first two AHL starts of 2021-22. The Oilers have a back-to-back on Thursday/Friday, so Skinner could get the nod in one of those two games.
Rust was hurt in the second game of the season and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks. This is another huge blow for the Penguins, who are already without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin upfront. Luckily for the Penguins, they only have seven games over the next three weeks, so Rust may not miss too many games.
Crosby has been skating with the team lately but will remain sidelined for Tuesday's game vs. the Stars. This is probably a logical decision, considering after Tuesday they are off until Saturday. Monitor his status as the week progresses.
Rust was banged up in the Penguins loss in Florida on Thursday and will not play tonight vs. Chicago. The Penguins did not provide a timetable on Rust's return but he will be replaced by Drew O'Connor tonight.
Lapierre was selected No.22 overall in the 2020 draft and cracked the Capitals lineup out of training camp with Nicklas Backstrom (hip) sidelined. Lapierre had eight goals and 23 assists (31 points) in 21 QMJHL goals last season and picked up five assists in four preseason games. Lapierre will start his NHL career as the Capitals third-line centre, with T.J. Oshie and Conor Sheary on his wings.
Crosby was back on the ice on Monday and will travel to Florida on the Penguins' season-opening road trip but is not expected to play. The Penguins were pretty tight-lipped about Crosby's timeline, so the fact that he will travel and skate with the team is a good sign that he will not be sidelined for too long. Crosby has not yet been ruled out for the Penguins' home opener vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday.
After Wyatt Kalynuk went down with an injury, Jones seemed like a lock for the Blackhawks' third pair and second power-play unit. However, a left wrist strain will keep him out towards the end of November.
Acciari was hurt in a scrum during Tuesday's preseason game. He was talked to the ice by Pat Maroon and appeared to hurt his left arm in some capacity. Surgery is not required but head coach Joel Quenneville said he has a long rehab ahead of him. This under opens the door for someone like Anton Lundell to start the season in the NHL.
Malkin underwent surgery on his right knee and will miss at least the first two months of the 2021-22 season. Malkin will likely end up missing roughly 20-to-25 games. His draft stock will take a hit but he's still worth a mid-to-late round pick for his point-per-game production from December on.
We are three weeks away from the start of the 2021-22 season, so Hayes will miss at least the first three weeks of the new season. With Hayes out, Claude Giroux may have to shift back to the middle of the ice for a few weeks or Scott Laughton/Derick Brassard will play larger roles than originally expected.
