- Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider: LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty suffered an upper-body injury in the 1st period of last night’s game. He played almost 7 minutes in the 1st period, was on the last in the final minute, but didn’t return for the 2nd. Helene Elliott says that the upper-body injury could be a possible concussion from a hit by Hurricanes forward, Eric Cole. JP Hoornstra reports that Doughty won’t accompany the team to Phoenix for tonight’s game. The NHL could review the hit as it might have been from the blind-side, and a little late.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: The reports coming out of Russia that Wayne Gretzky could be the next coach of SKA are not true. Gretzky sent LeBrun a text saying he’s not going to Russia to coach.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Kevin Bieksa had been on the rumor trade block for most of the summer, and it’s still possible that he could be moved once Sami Salo comes back, but … “We went into last year with nine defensemen, and at the end of the season, we didn’t have enough,” Gillis told ESPN.com in late September. “There’s a lot of time, and a lot of things can happen between now and when Sami is able to return.” Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis are both out and have missed 6 games combined.
- Eric Stephen via twitter: Anaheim Ducks forward Joffrey Lupul has begun light skating. He still has a long ways to go before he can return to game action.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Owen Nolan had been skating in San Jose, but now he’s headed to Switzerland to join Zurich. Nolan is going to show people that he can still play, and hopes to get a call from the NHL.
- Tom Reed and Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Blue Jackets: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Ethan Moreau suffered a broken hand when he blocked a shot from Paul Mara in the 2nd period last night. Mike Commodore’s left thumb is sprained and not broken as the fracture revealed in last week’s x-ray was an old one. He has been placed on the IR retroactive to Oct. 16th. Winger Jared Boll is at least a week away as he slowly recovers from back spasms.