Schmaltz missed the Blackhawks last four games with an upper-body injury, but it looks like he might return Wednesday vs. the Blues. Schmaltz had two goals and one assist in the season opener before getting hurt in his first shift of game No.2. The 2014 second-round pick was back on a line with Patrick Kane at Monday’s practice.
Cole has missed the last three games with a mouth injury, but it looks like he could draw back into the lineup on Tuesday. Cole’s return will help the Penguins’ blueline, but he doesn’t have a lot of fantasy relevance.
Connauton recorded a goal on 16:20 TOI in the Coyotes’ loss in Vegas on Tuesday, but must have suffered an injury in the contest. With Connauton sidelined on Thursday, Adam Clendening will draw into the lineup for his season debut.
Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville col WGN Radio that Schmaltz is “unlikely” to play tonight vs. Minnesota, but is hopeful he’ll be back on Saturday. This is good news for those who picked Schmaltz up after a great season opener as he’s not expected to miss too much time.
Cole was smashed in the face by a Roman Josi slapshot on Saturday, resulting in some lost teeth and a mangled mouth. Cole obviously has some discomfort after the gruesome shot block, so look for Chad Ruhwedel to replace him on the blueline tomorrow.
Schmaltz collected two goals and one assist while playing on a line with Patrick Kane in the season opener, but lasted just one shift vs. the Blue Jackets on Saturday. With Schmaltz out, Artem Anisimov will re-claim his spot as the second-line centre and Tanner Kero will draw back into the lineup.
During the first few days of training camp, Schmaltz has taken Artem Anisimov’s spot on the Blackhawks’ second line next to Patrick Kane. Anisimov, who has been very successful in that spot in year’s past, is skating on the third line with Ryan Hartman and Patrick Sharp. Head coach Joel Quenneville likes the chemistry between Schmaltz and Kane, which bodes extremely well for Schmaltz’s potential heading into 2017-18. The 21-year-old is coming off of 28 points (6G / 22A) in 61 games during his rookie season.
Yamamoto is undersized (5-foot-8/153 lbs.) but makes up for it with exceptional speed and elusiveness. In his third season with the Spokane Chiefs (WHL), Yamamoto led the team in goals (42), assists (57) and points (99).
The Canadiens made Sergachev the No.9 overall pick last summer and gave him four games at the NHL level before sending him back to the Windsor Spitfires. In Windsor, Sergachev scored 10 goals with 33 assists (43 points) in 50 regular season games and had four points (1G / 3A) in four games to help the Spitfires win the Memorial Cup. Since Sergachev doesn’t have to be protected and Drouin did, this deal gives the Lightning an extra protection slot heading into next weeks expansion draft.
Keller, 18, was the seventh overall pick this summer and is coming off of a fantastic freshman season at Boston University. He led the team with 45 points (21G / 24A) in 31 games and will draw right into the Coyotes lineup on Monday. He is worth a stash in keeper leagues, because he should break camp next fall with the Coyotes.
Tanev, 25, has split his time between the AHL and NHL this season. He has two goals and two assists (four points) in 45 games with the Jets and nine points (3G / 6A) in 23 games with the Moose.
Schmaltz was not on the ice for the morning skate, which suggests he will not play tonight vs. the Islanders. With Schmaltz out, Ryan Hartman skated on the top line this morning and Jordin Tootoo is expected to play.
Connauton played just 9:17 before departing last night’s loss in Buffalo. He was injured on a hit from Sabres’ forward Marcus Foligno and is listed as day-to-day. Don’t expect him to be in the lineup in Carolina on Friday night.
