NHL Injuries: Devils, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and the Red Wings
Injured Devils: 

The New Jersey Devils held an optimal skate with head coach Lindy Ruff updating the media on the status of goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Ondrej Palat.

Amanda Stein: Lindy Ruff provides an update on New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood as he will miss 3 to 6 weeks with MCL Sprain in his knee.

  • All three goaltenders Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Jonathan Bernier were at the optional skate for the Devils.
  • James Nichols: The timeline for Bernier’s recovery is Thanksgiving as remains on LTIR. He continues to skate with the team. Doesn’t rule him out coming back earlier, but no confirmation on that.
  • Stein: Bernier continues to progress, but is not ready to play right per Ruff. Akira Schmid is the backup with Blackwood out.
  • Ryan Novozinsky: The reason Bernier can’t play for the Devils just yet is that he re-injured himself during training camp and has no idea what his timetable for recovery will be.

James Nichols: Ondrej Palat will be out for 8-10 weeks following groin surgery per Ruff.

Fabian Zetterlund continues to hold down his spot on the top line alongside Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar. Zetterlund also has seen his power play time increase. He will get a longer look with Palat out the time Elliotte Friedman stated on his 32 Thoughts Podcast.

Injured Panthers:

George Richards: Defenceman Aaron Ekblad was on the ice for their morning skate yesterday and he is out of his non-contact jersey.

Has served his time on LTIR by missing 10 games, but not the 24 days required.

Ekblad is eligible to return if the Panthers activate him Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.

Jordan McPherson: Patric Hornqvist skated before Panthers practice began. He was out there for about 10 minutes and left once practice got underway.

Injured Maple Leafs:

Mark Masters: Ilya Samsonov was on the ice for the Maple Leafs. Samsonov is dealing with an injured knee.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe called it a positive sign he was on the ice as Samsonov remains week-to-week.

Terry Koshan: Matt Murray participated in Leafs morning skate yesterday of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Keefe was told Murray is feeling good physically, but they will continue to monitor him. The first test for Murray is a full practice tomorrow.

Injured Red Wings:

The Detroit Red Wings issued an update regarding the following players:

Oskar Sundqvist: Day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Per Helene St. James, Sundqvist skated with the team but did not take line rushes.

Jake Walman is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. He is expected back in 7-10 Days.

Tyler Bertuzzi is also expected back in 7-10 days as he recovers from a hand injury. He took a puck off the right hand on October 16th and is on track for a mid-November return.

Filip Zadina will be out for 6-8 weeks as he deals with a lower-body injury.