Morning Hits: Lindholm, Yakupov and Injury Updates
Justin Faulk
On the Anaheim Ducks …

Eric Stephens: Defenseman Hampus Lindholm said that he’d be okay to play, but it’s up to the coaches.

On the Florida Panthers and NY Rangers …

Harvey Fialkov: Dylan McIlrath will practice with Panthers today. Steve Kampfer will report to the Rangers AHL team.

Cap Friendly: McIlrath needs to play 34 games to avoid being a group 6 free agent.

On the St. Louis Blues …

Jeremy Rutherford: The Blues will make Nail Yakupov a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game.

On the Carolina Hurricanes …

Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said that defenseman Justin Faulk will be out “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury.

Faulk appeared to be injured during Sunday’s game when it looked like his right hand was pinned behind Taylor Hall when he tried to hit him in the third period.

On the Chicago Blackhawks …

Scott Powers: Coach Joel Quenneville said that Tyler Motte will likely be out for two to three weeks.

On the New York Rangers …

Darren Dreger: The concussion spotter pulled Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta from last night’s game.

On the Winnipeg Jets …

Ken Wiebe: Forwards Drew Stafford and Bryan Little should be able to start skating in the next few days, but they are not close to returning. Mathieu Perreault is still out day-to-day.

Ken Wiebe: Coach Paul Maurice said that Joel Armia and Shawn Matthias won’t be back anytime soon.

On the Florida Panthers …

Harvey Fialkov: Nick Bjugstad and Jussi Jokinen are getting closer to returning.

On the Buffalo Sabres …

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Winger Evander Kane is close to returning to the Sabres lineup according to coach Dan Bylsma. Kane has been out since October 13th with four cracked ribs. The Sabres play on Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday. He’s likely to return during that span.

Jack Eichel is still not close to skating.

“Hopefully we see him keep progressing. He’s done real well,” Bylsma said of Eichel, who is limited to heavy bike and cardio work. “We’re not looking at him in the near future right now. We’re still talking weeks, not immediately here.”