Niederreiter left Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury, but he skated this morning which is a good sign that he will be available tonight vs. St. Louis. Niederreiter had one goal on one shot in 13:13 TOI before retiring to the dressing room.
Fleury, 19, was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and he held on until the end of trading camp, but will head back to Red Deer, where he had 28 points (6G / 22A) in 63 games a season ago.
Hellebuyck, 21, has gone 28-22-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .921 SV% in 58 games in his first season with St. John’s. He could make his NHL debut on Saturday to give Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec the day off, or he might just be here as the third goalie heading into the playoffs.
Niederreiter if fighting a nagging foot injury and will be held out of Thursday’s game in Nashville. He will be replaced by Sean Bergenheim and is listed as day-to-day.
Namestnikov, 22, has registered 35 points (14G / 21A) in 34 games with Syracuse this season. He will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Maple Leafs—the 2011 first-round pick has seven points (3G / 4A) in 26 games with the Lightning.
Namestnikov played 9:51 with one shot on goal last night vs. St. Louis. His return to the AHL suggests that Cedric Paquette should be ready to return on Sunday.
Namestnikov, 22, was with the Lightning earlier in the season, registering three goals and four assists (7 points) in 25 games. While in Syracuse he had 24 points (9G / 15A) in 26 games. There is no word whether he will be in the lineup on Thursday.
DeMelo, 21, has registered four goals and 11 assists (15 points) in 45 games with Worcester this season. With Marc-Edouard Vlasic on IR, DeMelo could make his NHL debut at some point this week.
With Lowry taking a seat, Patrice Cormier will enter the lineup vs. the Avalanche. Consider Lowry day-to-day.
DeMelo, 21, was a sixth-round pick (179th overall) of the Sharks in 2011. He has three goals and 10 assists (13 points) in 38 games with Worcester this season. He has been recalled because Justin Braun is out and Mirco Mueller has been sent down on a conditioning stint.
Namestnikov had one shot on goal in two games during his recall. With Tyler Johnson back from injury, he has been squeezed back to the minors.
The Lightning lost their leading scorer Tyler Johnson to a lower-body injury last night, so Namestnikov is being recalled to play for Johnson if he is unable to go. The 22-year-old forward had seven points (3G / 4A) in 24 games with the Lightning before being sent down. Since being sent down he has registered 17 points (7G / 10A) in 16 games with Syracuse.
Toews left Thursday’s game after being hit from behind by Dennis Seidenberg. Toews said he was fine after the hit and passed all concussion protocol that night, but was held out as a precaution. He will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Isles. Toews has 23 points (11G / 12A) in 29 games.
The Blackhawks return to action on Saturday vs. the Islanders. Toews is expected to be OK after a scary hit on Thursday night. Monitor his status during Saturday’s morning skate.
Toews was hit head-first into the end-board by Bruins' blueliner Dennis Seidenberg. Toews was shaken up and left the game late in the second period. Seidenberg was assessed a two-minute minor on the play, but is expected to avoid suspension. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Coach Joel Quenneville told reporters. “Looks like he’s going to be all right.”
Namestnikov, 22, has skated in 23 games with the Lightning this season, posting three goals and seven points to go along with four penalty minutes. He recorded his first career NHL goal and assist on October 13 against the Montreal Canadiens. Namestnikov has played in 27 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past two seasons.
