On the New York Rangers …
Pat Leonard: Defenseman Ryan McDonagh left last night’s game after blocking a shot with his right hand.
Dan Rosen: McDonagh still being evaluated, but coach Alain Vigneault said that a call-up is a real possibility.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: Steven Stamkos underwent surgery yesterday to remove his blood clot that was in his right collarbone area. Typically rest and recovery is for two to four weeks, and then a month or two of rehab.
“It’ll be symptom status, how the patient is feeling, and ultra sound,” Illig said. “One extreme is the patient feeling incredibly well and he has no problem whatsoever, and ultra sound is crystal clear. That would be something we’d lean for shorter time frame.”
Michele Gingras: Steven Stamkos will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Doctors will now more about his situation then.
Erik Erlendsson: Andrei Vasilevskiy said that he started skating three weeks after his surgery, six weeks before he could catch a puck.
On the St. Louis Blues …
Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Jake Allen and David Backes will be out for the remainder of the regular season with lower-body injuries. Both will be re-evaluated before the start of the playoffs next week.
“They’re hurt,” he said. “They’re not able to play. We’ll give you an update on the timeframe on both guys on Monday. But not able to play. Both were hurt yesterday. Can’t tell you time-frame wise because we don’t honestly know. Obviously the sense of urgency with playoffs around the corner is there, but believe me, if they were able to play, they’d be playing.”
On the Nashville Predators …
Thomas Willis and Brooks Bratten of Predators.NHL: Defensemen Ryan Ellis and Anthony Bitetto practiced yesterday. Ellis has been out the past two games with an upper-body injury. Bitetto has missed the past eight games with a lower-body injury. Ellis is not sure if he’ll play tonight, but feels he’s ready to go. Bitetto thinks the start of the playoffs is when he’ll be ready to.
On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Frank Seravalli: Andrew MacDonald is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He won’t play tomorrow.
On the Florida Panthers …
George Richards: Willie Mitchell hasn’t made any plans regarding his future. He has been travelling and practicing with the team.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Bill West: GM Jim Rutherford said there will be injury updates today or tomorrow. He didn’t say anything about Marc-Andre Fleury’s status.
On the Anaheim Ducks …
Eric Stephens: Coach Bruce Boudreau said that defenseman Simon Despres has been cleared for game action.
On the Arizona Coyotes …
Sarah McLellan: Martin Hanzal remained in Arizona with an injury as the team left on their season ending road trip.
Sarah McLellan: Eric Selleck (upper-body) skated in the later portion practice yesterday in a non-contact jersey. He’s not ready to go yet, but there is a chance he’s able to play during their road trip.
On the New Jersey Devils …
Tom Gulitti of the Record: Patrik Elias hopes he can return to the lineup tonight. A decision will be made this morning after he meets with coach John Hynes.
“I feel as good as I’m going to feel in this week coming up, so it’s up to me and John to make the decision together if I’m in for one, two or three games,” Elias said. “It’s just communicating, that’s all.”
If Elias doesn’t play tonight, he’d likely be ready for Thursday.
Defenseman John Merrill is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
On the Buffalo Sabres …
Buffalo Sabres: Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Eichel were given maintenance days yesterday. If they are not able to go today, they’ll need to make a call-up.
On the Vancouver Canucks …
Jon Abbott: Defenseman Alex Edler has been out since February 9th with a fractured fibula was on the ice yesterday doing some stick handling and mobility drills.
