image: TSN

This is a bad season for Lucic.  A fractured finger kept him off the ice for 14 games and he ended up having surgery in October and now this.  He has played 10 games and posted just two goals and three assists.

In the meantime, Andy Wozniewski and Adam McQuaid have been called up from the AHL.

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: TSN

This comes after an MRI revealed that Daniel Sedin had fractured his foot and Pavel Demitra‘s recovery from a shoulder injury ended up being longer than originally anticipated.  The team is still waiting for Mathieu Schneider, who they acquired during the off-season, to be ready to join the lineup.  Overall, it’s a nightmare.

Of course, it’s still really early in the season so these injuries might not affect them too much but it’s definitely going to make capturing the division title a little tougher.

Post from: Hockey Beat

He was injured after his foot was struck by a puck during Detroit’s 3-2 OT win on Tuesday night.

To be honest, despite the fact that Datsyuk is normally really essential in the lineup, he hasn’t been spectacular in the postseason (just one goal and two assists in the 13 playoff games).  It’s been a stark contrast to his stellar, 97-point season.

After tomorrow’s morning skate, Datsyuk will be evaluated and, I’m guessing, the team doctors will make a decision about whether he can play.  I hope to see him back in the lineup.  It sucks to get sidelined during the playoffs.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Goaltender, Ryan Miller, suffered an ankle sprain on Saturday in a game against the New York Rangers.  The severity of the injury is not known yet but I’m sure the Buffalo Sabres are hoping their netminder will be back in action sooner than later.

Miller was injured when Scott Gomez took him down behind the net.  He wobbled over to the bench without putting pressure on the leg.  "It’s stiff and it’s tender," Miller said after the game. "These are things you have to kind of feel out. There’s no timetable, really. It’s your comfort level. Right now I just want to get through the night till the morning and see how my body reacts. I’ve had a few ankle sprains in my time, and each one’s been different.  We’ll see how this one plays out."

I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that Buffalo coach, Lindy Ruff, was not happy with Gomez: "I don’t think there’s any secret it was deliberate," Ruff told reporters. "He knew what he was doing."

I haven’t heard whether the NHL is looking into this but I doubt it.  The incident is on this highlight reel.  Check it out and tell me if you think Gomez deliberately took out Miller.  I’m sorry, I think Gomez did that on purpose.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres suffered a fractured jaw and will need surgery to repair it.  The red-hot player is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks.  He was injured when he was hit in the face by Anton Volchenkov’s (Ottawa Senators) slapshot.

"He was in a lot of pain," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "The teeth got pushed up a little bit."

This comes at a particularly bad time with Vanek having an incredible year – he’s third in the league for goals scored (32) and his team needs him to help secure a spot in the playoffs.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

"We’ll see how big it is when they open me up," Holmstrom said. "Hopefully it’s a small tear. Last time they said it was a small tear and it turned out to be bigger than I thought. But if I do this, I can start skating in two to three weeks and get at least 10 games in before the playoffs."

The Washington Capitals will have to do without goaltender, Brent Johnson, for the next 6-8 weeks. 

The netminder will need to have surgery sometime next week.  In the meantime, the Caps, who currently sit in fourth place in the League overall, are going to have to find a good replacement as a backup to goaltender, Jose Theodore, to make sure they can continue their great push towards making the playoffs.

As back-ups go, Johnson was doing pretty well with a record of 12-6-2 , a GAA of 2.81 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

Defenceman, Lubomir Visnovsky, has been placed on the injured list by the Edmonton Oilers.  During his team’s 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, Visnovsky injured his right should and didn’t travel with the team for their three-game road trip.  It’s a bit of a blow to the struggling Oilers since he has eight goals and 23 points in 50 games this season and ranks 13th in scoring among NHL defencemen.  Hopefully, it’s nothing serious.

images: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Pascal Leclaire

The netminder has only appeared in 12 games so far this season and has posted a paltry 4-6-1 record with a 3.83 goals-against average and .867 save percentage.

Hopefully, the surgery will help bring Leclaire back to the playing level that we know he’s capable of. 

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Now, the New York Islanders have announced that the netminder will be sidelined for the remainder of the season to to post-surgical knee “issues.”  Wow… remember a couple years ago when this guy sat out of some crucial pre-playoff games with “general all over body achiness”?  Yeah….

Dude is in his third year of a $67.5 million, 15-year deal and, so far, he’s been on the couch A LOT.  Honestly, I’m not a fan of those huge deals and this is an example of why.  Well, hopefully, after all that rest, he’ll be able to come back next season and play for most of it.  That’d be a miracle at this point.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Numminen was injured after Carolina Hurricanes d-man, Tom Gleason, hit him in the face during a game on Saturday.  Remarkably, he continued playing for another eight shifts but didn’t come back for the third period.

Numminen will be out of the lineup indefinitely.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

Last night, the Washington Capitals visited the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins and delivered quite the spanking.  Ovechkin picked up three points with two goals and an assist in the victory.  Crosby also made an effort and picked up two assists before leaving the game after colliding with David Steckel along the boards.

Even though Crosby later told reporters that he didn’t think the injury was serious, it hurt him enough that he limped off the ice and never returned to the game.  Let’s hope Sid is right.  The Pens can’t afford to lose him at this point.

image: Newscom

Post from: Hockey Beat