On the Blues …
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He could miss at least one game.
“Shatty probably will not play in Edmonton,” Blues coachKen Hitchcock said after Wednesday’s optional practice at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.
He left in the second period in their game against Calgary. He was taking a shot and appeared to be in discomfort afterwards. Hitchcock said that it’s not related to the abdominal injury he suffered last year. The Blues have recalled Chris Butler.
On the Capitals …
- Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid Atlantic: Nicklas Backstrom was cleared for contact by his hip surgeon yesterday. He could return at some point during their four game homestand. He likely won’t play tonight against the Blackhawks, but they are not completely ruling it out.
“It’s probably going to be day-to-day,” Trotz said. “He got bumped a little bit today and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We’ll just sort of take it day by day. Obviously, when a guy gets cleared it falls into a shorter time period. Also, how he feels once you bump him around a little bit and check him out.”
Backstrom hinted that it might take another practice or two before he’s game ready.
- Ben Raby: Barry Trotz said that Jason Chimera is expected to play tonight despite missing practice yesterday with a lower-body injury.
On the Kings
- Lisa Dillman of the LA Times: Defenseman Matt Greene missed practice yesterday, with hockey ops saying he was being evaluated.
“It is all related, but it’s maintenance,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said, indicating the issue could be linked to Greene’s upper-body preseason injury.
On the Stars …
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: The Stars have put forward Patrick Eaves on the IR with a lower-body injury. Curtis McKenzie was recalled.
On the Leafs …
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger on TSN: “The extent to how injured Robidas is is still unclear. What I heard last week was Robidas would take a few weeks, see how he feels and decide on his future. Will not retire, though”
On the Red Wings …
- Gregg Krupa: Red Wings Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm are possible for this weekend.
On the Blue Jackets …
- Rob Mixer: Blue Jackets Alexander Wennberg (concussion) skated on his own yesterday. There is still no timetable.
On the Flames …
- Pat Steinberg: Flames Lance Bouma is out for three months with a broken fibula.