Guentzel injured his shoulder while falling awkwardly into the boards after scoring his 20th goal of the season and will miss at least four months. The Penguins have battled injuries all season-long and have managed to go 24-11-4 (2nd in the Metro) but this is a huge blow to their top-6.
Brown played in the last 11 games but heads back to the AHL following the Christmas break. He has seven points (3G / 4A) in five AHL games this season.
Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 30 shots in the Lightning's 6-1 win over the Panthers on Monday. Vasilevskiy has won five of his last seven starts (5-1-1) while posting a 2.26 GAA and .922 SV% and gets set to face the Canadiens for the second time this season. He stopped 33 of 34 shots in a 3-1 win in Montreal in the first meeting back in mid-October.
Atkinson was hurt vs. the Kings on December 19th and missed the final two games before the Christmas break. This is a tough time for Atkinson to get hurt because he was finally heating up--scoring five goals with two assists in his previous nine games. With Atkinson, among others, sidelined newcomers like Kevin Stenlund and Eric Robinson have been tasked with playing top-6 roles for Columbus.
This is new territory for Seabrook, who has missed only 19 games since becoming a full-time NHLer in 2006-07. While his play has fallen off a bit in recent years, Seabrook is still an integral part of the Blackhawks blueline, playing 18:09 ATOI this season. IN addition to the right shoulder surgery, Seabrook is also scheduled to have surgery n his right hip in early-January and his left hip in early-February, paving a long road to recovery for the 34-year-old defenseman. The one bit of positive news is his move to LTIR frees up $6.875M in cap-space for Chicago to work with this season.
Bjorkstrand took a cross-check against the Devils on Saturday and will miss at least one month with a mid-body injury. Bjorkstrand was red-hot before getting hurt, scoring five goals with two assists in his previous four games. Nathan Gerbe was called up from Cleveland (AHL) to replace Bjorkstrand.
Atkinson suffered a lower-body injury on Thursday and will be out through the Christmas break. That means Atkinson will not play Saturday or Monday, which makes him questionable in Washington coming out of the break.
Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Lightning's overtime win over the Senators on Tuesday. Vasilevskiy has won four of his last five starts while posting a 2.18 GAA and .929 SV%. Vasilevskiy and the Lightning are turning things around and tonight they face a Stars team that has lost three of their last four road games while scoring just seven goals (1.75 GF/gm).
With Duncan Keith returning to the lineup after missing nine games with a groin injury, Seabrook will be scratched vs. the Avalanche. Seabrook has been held pointless with a minus-4 rating in his last 12 games.
Vasilevskiy gave up four goals one 33 shots in the Lightning's loss to the Capitals on Saturday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Vasilevskiy, who is 4-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .917 SV% in six starts in December. He is a must-start against a Senators team that played last night and could start back-up Marcus Hogberg in the opposite crease.
Kucherov was hurt Saturday and missed Monday's practice but head coach Jon Cooper listed him as a game-time decision for Tuesday's game vs. the Senators. “We got a little lucky," Cooper told reporters and Kucherov's fantasy owners feel the same way. He has four goals and 12 assists (16 points) in his last 12 games.
Kucherov was forced to leave Saturday's game vs. the Capitals and missed Monday's practice due to a lower-body injury. Head coach Jon Cooper listed Kucherov as "day-to-day" and could be back as soon as Tuesday vs. the Senators.
Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Lightning's win over the Bruins on Thursday. Vasilevskiy has won three in a row while posting a 1.33 GAA and .958 SV%. The 25-year-old is heating up but draws a tough matchup with the Capitals in town--Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 35 shots in a 4-3 OT loss in his first start against Washington.
Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 28 shots in Tampa Bay's win in Florida on Tuesday. Things are starting to turn for Vasilevskiy, who has won two in a row while stopping 64 of the 66 shots (.970 SV%) that he has faced. He stopped 34 of 37 shots in a 4-3 shootout win in his first start vs. the Bruins and this time he catches them in the second-half of a back-to-back.
