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Bad night for defense injuries as Werenski, Dumoulin, Edler all exit games

By Adam GretzDec 1, 2019, 12:29 AM EST
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Saturday turned out to be a costly night for NHL defensemen as four defenders had to leave their teams respective games with injuries.

A quick rundown of the injuries.

Blue Jackets lose game and Werenski. The Blue Jackets were unable to beat the Islanders’ goaltending duo of Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov in a 2-0 loss (Greiss had to exit the game because he was not feeling well) on Saturday, but the biggest loss may have been the injury suffered by Zach Werenski, one of their top defensemen and top overall players.

He left the game with an upper-body injury after he was involved in a collision with Islanders forward Anders Lee early in the first period and was in immediate discomfort.

That came on just his third shift of the game. He did not return. Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella had no immediate update after the game, and with the Blue Jackets off on Sunday it may not be until Monday when we learn more about his status.

(UPDATE: Werenski is expected to miss the next four weeks.)

Another significant injury for the Penguins. This team can not keep its top players on the ice. Already playing without Sidney Crosby, Justin Schultz, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust (he was injured in the morning skate before Friday’s game in Columbus), they lost Brian Dumoulin on his very first shift during Saturday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues with an apparent leg injury. After hobbling to the bench he needed assistance in getting to the locker room and did not return.

Coach Mike Sullivan was unable to give an update only to say that Dumoulin is dealing with a lower-body injury. His injury comes just a couple of games after the Penguins’ top defenseman — and Dumoulin’s regular partner — Kris Letang returned to the lineup and perfectly sums up the team’s injury situation this season — when one top player returns, another one immediately exits. Between the current injured list, as well as previous injuries to Evgeni Malkin, Rust, Jared McCann, Alex Galchenyuk, and Patric Hornqvist the Penguins have been one of the most injured teams in the league this season.

(UPDATE: The Penguins announced on Sunday that Dumoulin will be out for at least eight weeks after surgery to repair lacerated tendons in his left ankle.)

Edler exits with upper-body injury. Entering the game having lost two in a row, including an incredible third period meltdown against Pittsburgh in their previous game, the Vancouver Canucks were able to rebound with a strong performance in Edmonton on Saturday.

That performance came with a big price, however.

Top defenseman Alexander Edler exited the game after two periods with an undisclosed upper-body injury and was immediately ruled out for the third period.

The 33-year-old veteran has been having a really strong season for the Canucks, entering Saturday’s game with 15 points in 26 games and helping to push the pace of games with positive possession numbers. He has spent most of the season skating next to Tyler Myers.

Canadiens also lost Victor Mete.

[Update: We initially forgot about this one]

The Canadiens not only lost their seventh game in a row on Saturday afternoon, but they also lost defenseman Victor Mete to a lower-body injury.

He will not travel with the team to Boston as it continues its current road trip and looks to snap its losing streak.

He recorded an assist in the loss before exiting the game. It is another significant injury to a Canadiens team that really can not afford one right now, already playing without Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron at forward.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Jets’ Hellebuyck continues November to remember with shutout

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By James O'BrienNov 29, 2019, 10:13 PM EST
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A more casual hockey fan might take a look at the standings, see the Winnipeg Jets placed comfortably in the Western Conference playoff picture, and assume that it’s business as usual.

Yet, after a bruising offseason that cost Winnipeg the likes of Dustin Byfuglien (barring a surprising turnaround), Jacob Trouba, and Tyler Myers, the Jets aren’t nearly the balanced contender they were even as things got a little wonky toward the latter half of 2018-19.

On paper, one could picture the Jets channeling the back-to-back Cup-winning Penguins, or maybe the Maple Leafs during their most run-and-gun nights, and just try to outscore their problems. While that might happen here and there in 2019-20, the truth is that they’ve leaned heavily on Connor Hellebuyck.

And so far, he’s more than withstood the challenge.

Consider how much the Jets were depending upon Hellebuyck by this metric even before Friday’s 24-save shutout in a 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks:

As of this writing, Hellebuyck is tied for the league lead in wins (13 on a 13-7-1 record) while sporting a strong overall save percentage of .933.

The numbers become even more impressive as you dig deeper. Goals Saved Against Average aims to measure how a goalie would perform compared to their peers, and Hellebuyck shines even brighter there, leading the category at both even-strength (12.71) and all strengths (16.31), according to Natural Stat Trick.

Suspect goal support kept Hellebuyck at a .500 record in October despite strong play, but he’s turned it up a notch in November, recording eight of the Jets’ 10 wins (with Laurent Brossoit getting the other two victories this month by way of 4-3 wins).

Considering the explosive months from Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, along with plenty of others including Brad Marchand, Hellebuyck’s play might get lost in the shuffle a bit, but it should not.

If nothing else, there’s some local buzz for Hellebuyck’s MVP-like performance, as Blake Wheeler pointed out to the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck.

Now, it’s fair to wonder how long Hellebuyck can maintain a pace anywhere close to that torrid November. Even so, it’s worth realizing that this strong work is coming at a key time. The Jets played six of their last seven games on the road, and will wrap things up with one more away game when they face the Kings in Los Angeles on Saturday. They’ve won all but one game during that swing so far, excelling where they could have crumbled, and Hellebuyck has easily been the main reason for those triumphs.

This isn’t exactly how everyone expected the Jets to succeed if they managed to do so this season (again, I figured they might just win a lot of goal-soaked slugfests), so credit Hellebuyck with quite the run.

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

PHT Morning Skate: Point close to return; When will Dach play?

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By Joey AlfieriOct 9, 2019, 8:33 AM EDT
Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger is the most interesting man in hockey. (Montreal Gazette)

• What changes should the Devils consider after two games? (All About the Jersey)

• Travis Sanheim and Matt Niskanen have been leading the way for the Flyers on defense. (Broadstreet Hockey)

• Trevor van Riemsdyk is close to returning from injury, but who will he replace on the Carolina blue line once he comes back. (Cardiac Cane)

• Brayden Point is close to making his regular season debut for the Bolts. (Raw Charge)

• Check out the list of four Maple Leafs who have impressed through four games. (Leafs Nation)

• Who benefits most from the Vladislav Namestnikov trade in New York? (New York Post)

• Tyson Jost has been good in the first couple of games this season, but he’s also been unlucky. (Mile High Hockey)

• Blackhawks top prospect Kirby Dach is dealing with a concussion. When is he going to make his NHL debut? (NBC Sports Chicago)

• Sammy Blais has become a secret weapon for the defending Stanley Cup Champions. (St. Louis Game-Time)

• Can Quinn Hughes unlock Tyler Myers‘ power-play potential? (Canucks Army)

• Matt Duchene has lived up to the hype so far in Nashville. (Predlines)

• Travis Yost has four takeaways from the first week of the hockey season. (TSN)

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Jets shut down Penguins despite makeshift defense

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By Adam GretzOct 8, 2019, 10:47 PM EDT
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PITTSBURGH — Thanks to trades, free agency departures, an injury, and some recent personal matters, the Winnipeg Jets’ defense has been completely decimated over the past six months, leaving them with a makeshift unit for their game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night against the Penguins.

None of their top-eight defenders in ice-time from a year ago were available on Tuesday, and the unit as a whole had just 350 total games of NHL experience. You would be forgiven if you did not give them much of a chance to win with that lineup, especially after giving up a goal to Sidney Crosby just 32 seconds into the first period.

They not only won, they completely shut down the Penguins and received three goals from their makeshift blue line on their way to an impressive 4-1 win to wrap up their season-opening four-game road trip.

“Those guys have worked really hard back there, they are learning every shift,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “I think the forwards did a nice job too, and what our forwards do well is cause enough concern deep in the offensive zone that they draw people off our back end, and that’s what happened on a number of those goals.”

The defense started making an impact just five minutes after Crosby’s goal when 18-year-old rookie Ville Heinola blasted a slap shot between Matt Murray‘s arm and body that trickled into the back of the net for his first NHL goal. Maurice was asked if a first career goal from a young player can help lift a bench send some positive energy around the lineup.

“It depends if they like the kid or not,” he said. “And they really like this guy. He has a big smile on his face, he works really hard, and the players always respect talent. He does so many good little things that the guys on the ice appreciate.”

Heinola played 17:24 in the win, finishing as a plus-three along with the goal. With Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot gone and Dustin Byfuglien‘s future unsettled, the Jets are going to have to lean on young defenders like Heinola and Neal Pionk to take on significant roles right from the start.

Pionk also scored a goal in the win, already his second with the team after coming over from the New York Rangers in the Trouba trade.

“It feels good,” said Pionk. “We have a younger D corps, but they are all here for a reason. We are all here for a reason. We have proved it at other levels. If play our system we are going to be alright.”

Given all of the issues and questions the Jets have had on their blue line, they still managed to wrap up their four-game road trip to open the season with two wins, and that is just fine with Maurice.

“I’m happy with it, missing the guys we have. Then they feel good, like the defense have done something to make that happen. They have played a big part in that. You play .500 on the road and win your home games you are a good team.”

The Jets open their home schedule on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.

MORE:
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Jets’ defense takes yet another blow ahead of game vs. Penguins

By Adam GretzOct 8, 2019, 1:02 PM EDT
1 Comment

When the Winnipeg Jets had their 2018-19 season end this past April, their defense was made up of the following players: Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot, and Dmitry Kulikov. Not a great group by any means, but a formidable one that was good enough to help make the Jets a playoff team.

How many of those players will be in the lineup for them on Tuesday night when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Zero.

None of them.

Due to a series of roster moves and unfortunate circumstances the entire defense the team used a year ago is not available as the team prepares to open its current four-game road trip.

Trouba, Myers, and Chiarot all left the team over the summer (Trouba was traded to the Rangers; Myers and Chiarot departed in free agency), while Byfuglien stepped away just before the start of training camp to reportedly consider his future in the NHL.

All of that alone was enough to decimate their blue line.

The departures continued on Tuesday when the Jets announced that Kulikov has been given a personal leave from the team.

Morrissey, meanwhile, suffered an injury during warmups before the team’s most recent game against the New York Islanders and was held out of Sunday’s game. After practicing on Monday, coach Paul Maurice announced on Tuesday that the team is going to hold Morrissey out for at least another game (Tuesday in Pittsburgh) as a precaution.

This all means the Jets’ defense on Tuesday is going to include Sami Niku, Carl Dahlstrom, Neal Pionk, Ville Heinola, Anthony Bitetto and Tucker Poolman.

Combined NHL games for those six players: 350.

Heinola, 18, was the team’s first-round draft pick this past season and has played just three games so far, while Dahlstrom was claimed on waivers a week ago from the Chicago Blackhawks. Pionk is the “experienced” member of that group and was acquired over the summer from the Rangers in the Trouba trade. Calling that group a “makeshift defense” would be a monumental understatement.

Even though they are facing a Penguins team that is without two of its top three centers (Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad) it is still a dangerous team offensively with the Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel occupying the top line.

The Jets’ defense was always going to be a massive question mark this season, and it just seems to keep finding ways to get even more shorthanded. Starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck is going to need to play the best hockey of his career to keep this thing together.

MORE:
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.