Injury and player notes
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston: Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand left last night’s game in the third period with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. Couldn’t tell if the injury happened when he fell awkwardly when hitting Zach Werenski or when he changed directions quickly when on the penalty kill.
“He left ,” said Bruce Cassidy. “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but we’ll have a better idea obviously in the morning.”
The Bruins have an off day today so not much may be updated.
George Richards: Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said that Mackenzie Weegar practiced yesterday and is fine.
Leafs PR: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson was on the ice yesterday for the special teams part of the practice.
Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet: Loui Eriksson appears to have passed Jake Virtanen on the Vancouver Canucks depth chart as the 23-year old Virtanen didn’t crack their exhibition game roster.
GM Jim Benning said not to “read to much into it” but after the game coach Travis Green said “I just went with the lineup that I thought gave us the best chance to win. Plain and simple.”
Benning said yesterday that some players have passed Virtanen in the coaches eyes, but it doesn’t mean he may not be back in the lineup for game one.
One reason they may not play him on the fourth line is that he doesn’t kill penalties and that he can be a defensive liability at times.
Defenseman Jordie Benn is still in Dallas after the birth of his child. He could fly to Edmonton this weekend. He would need to go into quarantine and be tested daily for four days. After four negative tests, he would be able to skate with the team. It’s likely he’ll miss the first round as he gets back up to speed.
Sara Orlesky: Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice said the pulling of Nikolaj Ehlers partway through the third period was “100 percent precautionary.”
Ehlers is expected to practice with the team today.