Prout to IR, Blue Jackets in midst of injury plague

Originally published November 22, 2013

The Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday placed defenseman Dalton Prout on the Injured Reserved List retroactive to November 14th.

The first year blue liner started suffering back spasms and was scratched from the lineup just prior to the 'Jackets overtime loss to Boston on the 14th, and has missed five strait games due to affliction.  Prout will be eligible to return to the active roster no earlier than November 28th.

Prout was a healthy scratch for several games earlier in the season, but has managed to collect an assist and 12 penalty minutes in thirteen games thus far in the season, and has dropped gloves once.

The Blue Jackets are mired in somewhat of an injury plague, having to soldier on without the services of Prout, alternate captain Brandon Dubinsky (foot), right winger Marian Gaborik (knee), left winger Matt Calvert (abdominal strain) and right winger Nathan Horton (Shoulder).

Columbus is in the midst of what some would call the Tour de' Canada, playing six straight games in the territories.  After the overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, The Blue Jackets dropped another overtime loss at Montreal, then sandwiched an embarrassing 7-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers between impressive victories at Ottawa and Calgary.

The Canadian roadie winds down with contests at Vancouver on Friday night and then at Toronto on Monday.

Prout to IR, Blue Jackets in midst of injury plague

The Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday placed defenseman Dalton Prout on the Injured Reserved List retroactive to November 14th.

The first year blue liner started suffering back spasms and was scratched from the lineup just prior to the 'Jackets overtime loss to Boston on the 14th, and has missed five strait games due to affliction.  Prout will be eligible to return to the active roster no earlier than November 28th.

Prout was a healthy scratch for several games earlier in the season, but has managed to collect an assist and 12 penalty minutes in thirteen games thus far in the season, and has dropped gloves once.

The Blue Jackets are mired in somewhat of an injury plague, having to soldier on without the services of Prout, alternate captain Brandon Dubinsky (foot), right winger Marian Gaborik (knee), left winger Matt Calvert (abdominal strain) and right winger Nathan Horton (Shoulder).

Columbus is in the midst of what some would call the Tour de' Canada, playing six straight games in the territories.  After the overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, The Blue Jackets dropped another overtime loss at Montreal, then sandwiched an embarrassing 7-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers between impressive victories at Ottawa and Calgary.

The Canadian roadie winds down with contests at Vancouver on Friday night and then at Toronto on Monday.

Blackhawks' Hossa nets goal, helper in return from injury

Originally published November 22, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks' coach Joel Quenneville showed no surprise at star forward Marian Hossa's high level of play we he returned to the ice in Winnipeg on Thursday night after missing three games with the always ambiguous "Lower body injury".

“That is one thing about Hos, he plays the right way,” said a beaming Quenneville after the game. “He is very consistent, predictable and you expect him to play that way game-in, game-out, and he didn’t miss a beat.”

Hossa logged over 17 minutes of ice time and scored the eventual game-winning goal in the Blackhawks' rousing victory over the Jets at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg Manitoba, also assisting on Bandon Saad's seventh goal of the season in the second period.

The plan to ease Hossa back into the pace of the Blackhawks' up-tempo attack fell by the wayside as it appeared that the two-way player was already back at full strength and ready to contribute

“I just basically have to go back to the short shifts, get the feel of the game again and hopefully won’t be too bad,” the veteran right winger said before the game, “I’m expecting a lot of things from myself, so hopefully I’ll be back to normal.”

Yeah, he was.

Count goaltender Corey Crawford and team captain Johnathan Towes as players happy to have Hossa back in the fold.

“He plays at both ends of the ice, he’s willing to put the effort in to come back and help our D. That’s what we need,” Crawford said. “It rubs off on other guys, too.” - and, added Towes, "Hossa’s always in the right spot, be it in the slot or up on the other side. When Sharpie and I turn the puck over, Hossa’s all over it, getting the puck back for us. It’s definitely helpful.”

Hossa suffered a back injury during the Cup finals against the Boston Bruins last June and it took him a significant number of games to get back into the swing of things at the start of this season after rehabbing all summer - and some had speculated that this latest injury was related to that, but the way Hossa skated right out of the gates on Thursday put that rumor to rest.

Update: Blackhawks' Bickell out 2-3 weeks

Originally published November 22, 2013

As reported here on Thursday, Chicago Blackhawks' forward Brian Bickell will miss at least two week and possibly more with a severe ankle injury suffered in the Hawks' blowout loss at Colorado on Tuesday.

Many sources were speculating that the 5-year veteran had suffered a "significant" knee injury, but replays clearly show Bickell's left ankle traumatized by impacting the goal post.

The Blackhawks recalled forward Jeremy Morin from the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL to take Bickell's spot on the roster and he logged 7:12 of ice time and was even in the plus/minus department in Chicago's rousing 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Bickell has earned a reputation as a big-game standout, matching his entire regular season goal output of nine twine ticklers in just 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season as the Blackhawks eventually took the cup in six games over the Boston Bruins.

His career high for goals in a season is 17 during the 2010 -11 season, and though he was on pace to surpass that, the ankle injury could jeopardize that.

Chicago had re-signed Bickell to a four-year, $16 million contract in the off-season to avoid having to bid for his services in free agency.

Bickell out, Hossa in for Blackhawks tonight vs Jets

Originally published November 22, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks' forward Brian Bickell suffered what the team is calling a lower body injury on Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. and will be out for a couple of weeks.

Bickell  appeared to catch a rut in the ice in the low slot while sprinting toward the net as part of a three-on-two rush with nine minutes remaining in the first period, and slid into the goal post, knocking the goal off it's moorings - remaining prone on the ice before gingerly skating off the.

The five-year NHL veteran was taken immediately to the room for evaluation and did not return.

"Bick is likely out a couple weeks, hopefully we will now a little more as we progress but likely that is the time frame," coach Joel Quenneville said on Thursday morning.

Not all the news is bad for the defending champs, however, as team captain Marian Hossa will lace them up on Thursday night for the first time in three games after recovering from the ambiguous lower body injury himself, as they visit the Winnipeg Jets.

Bickell appeared to have injured his lower leg, possibly his ankle, as his right leg contacted the goal post hard enough to move the goal.  The team announced that they had recalled forward Jeremy Morin from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL and it is expected that he will replace Bickell on the Blackhawks' third line.

"He brings your team game, he solidifies your team game," Quenneville said of Bickell "he plays important minutes for us and the time when he is on the ice, his effectiveness of how we want to play and how we play is really enhanced."

Chaisson can't dodge puck, but Stars dodge bullet

Originally published November 21, 2013

The Dallas Stars are breathing a collective sigh of relief Thursday evening as rookie sensation Alex Chaisson laced up his skates and took the ice against the New York Rangers at American Airlines Center in Dallas, albeit looking more like an old-timey goalie than one of the leagues hottest young scorers.

Chaisson left Wednesday morning's practice after taking a puck to the face, members of the Stars' medical staff escorting the Calder Trophy hopeful to a Dallas hospital - the puck nailing him hard enough that coach Lindy Ruff feared for the worse.

“I know he got hit in the face and he’s going to be evaluated,” Ruff said after the practice. “He hit him pretty hard, so we are concerned there might be some damage.”

But it appears that the big Canadian scoring machine escaped serious injury as he played 16:00 of ice time, took two shots and scored midway through the final frame, but his Stars fell to the Rangers 3-2.

Chaisson was hit in the face by a puck that deflected off of Jordie Benn's stick but told the Dallas Morning News that he did not need surgery, but he was in pain and there was quite a bit of swelling.

“I’m feeling OK,” Chaisson said. “Yesterday for an hour or two, I was kind of scared. I didn’t know what was going on, but I am glad I am good. It will be sore a couple of days, but I’ll be OK.”

Stars' fans should expect Chaisson to make a full recovery.

Coyotes' Morris, Schlemko back at practice

Originally Published November 21, 2013

The Phoenix Coyotes are just two games removed from the best record in the National Hockey League, and have accomplished such despite having two of their top blue liners out of action.

But now, news that defensemen Derek Morris and David Schlemko practiced Tuesday and Wednesday suggests they’ve recovered from their lower-body injuries, and coupled with word that fellow blue liner Zbynek Michalek and forward Lauri Korpikoski could skate today is giving hope to Phoenix management and faithful that the team will field a healthy roster as soon as tonight.

The Dogs host the speedy Colorado Avalanche at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, a place where they haven't suffered a single regulation loss this season.

Morris reaggravated a leg injury on November 5th against Vancouver, while Schlemko had returned on Saturday from a lower body injury that kept him out of the previous four games, but left early in the 3rd period with an unidentified injury, though it was thought to be a reaggravation of the previous injury. 

All are considered day-to-day, though for Morris to return to the lineup, he must first be activated from the Injured reserve list, which means a corresponding roster move must take place to open a roster spot for the 15 year veteran.

There was initially hope that when Morris suffered the injury that it wouldn't be as serious as it turned out to be, but was placed on the IR, retroactive to the date of the injury.