Here we go.
The Sabres and Blue Jax will drop the puck on the 2014-15 season on Thursday night in Pegulaville. Ted Nolan and Tim Murray will be selecting their new team captain and trimming their roster down on Monday. The Sabres enter the season opener healthy and are devoid of nagging injuries. Pat Kaleta and Mark Pysyk have been nursing injuries and Nolan will update their respective statuses on Monday.
In Columbus, injuries and an ugly contract stalemate are causing high anxiety for the Jax and their fan base.
The Blue Jackets have placed forward Boone Jenner on Injured Reserve, as well as forwards Nathan Horton and Sonny Milano and defenseman Ryan Murray on the injured non-roster list.
Milano suffered facial fractures at the Traverse City Tournament in early September. The Blue Jackets prospects won the T-City tourney. Milano was a long shot to make the Jax opening night roster, however, he never made it to the tryouts and exhibition games.
Jenner recently had surgery on his broken hand and isn’t expected to return until November. Horton has a degenerative back condition that will keep him sidelined for an undetermined amount of time. Murray has been nursing a gimpy knee.
To make matters worse, their leading scorer Ryan Johansen is a training camp holdout right now. There is no immediate end in sight for the well-documented, public war of words between Jax President of Hockey Ops John Davidson and Johansen's agent. After weeks of acrimony and head-butting on the term and dollars of the new Johansen deal, the two side are still at odds. I don't expect an eleventh hour negotiation to occur, thus, its very unlikely that Johansen will play in Buffalo on Thursday night.
To plug a hole in their roster, Blue Jackets claimed forward Jack Skille off waivers from the New York Islanders, club General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.
Skille, 27, has registered 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points and 79 penalty minutes in 194 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and Blue Jackets. The 6-1, 215-pound winger recorded 4-0-4 and six penalty minutes in 16 contests with Columbus in the regular season and added an assist in six playoff games last season.
____________________________________________________________________________
Bill Peters hasn't even coached his first official game in the NHL and he's already feeling the tightening under his collar. His Hurricanes club has sustained some serious injuries to key veteran offensive players during the exhibition season. Peters is thanking the hockey gods right now that the NHL preseason has finally ended. The NHL season begins on Wednesday night.
Now Peters and Canes GM Ron Francis have to figure out how their team is going to score goals without the services of Jordan Staal. Jeff Skinner may also be lost to the Canes for a period of time as well.
Staal suffered a broken bone in his leg in an exhibition loss to the Buffalo Sabres on September 23. The veteran two-way center underwent successful surgery to his leg injury last week, however, he will be out of the Canes lineup indefinitely. Staal serves as second line center behind his big bro Eric, who is also recovering from an injury that he suffered while working out this summer.
On Sunday, the Canes were dealt another scare when another one of their go-to centers, Jeff Skinner, was forced to visit the "quiet room" after he was cracked in the head by Washington Capitals defenceman Matt Niskanen.
Niskanen hit Skinner in the head with a forearm shiver just after the Hurricanes centre completed a faceoff. Niskanen was not penalized on the play. Why?
After the game, Niskanen told CSN Washington that Skinner's face hit his elbow, not the other way around.
“He spun around right into my elbow,… Niskanen said. “I could feel his face hit me in the elbow.
“He has a history of head stuff, so you don’t want to see that. … He’s good for hockey. I hope he’s okay.…
Hmmm. Interesting that Niskanen is aware of Skinner's previous concussion injury issues.
Skinner struggled to get to his skates after the collision and was woozy and unstable as he left the ice. The Canes wisely shut down the slick center for the rest of the game.
Jeff Skinner has an upper-body injury and will not return.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes_Gameday) October 5, 2014
Skinner missed time in each of the last two seasons with concussion symptoms.
To add insult to injury, top prospect and centerman Elias Lindholm suffered a foot injury and was forced to stay in the trainer's room for the rest of the game.
Elias Lindholm has a lower-body injury and will not return.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes_Gameday) October 5, 2014To say that the Canes are concerned is an understatement.
Their top line center Eric Staal is slowly regaining his dominating form.
Jordan Staal is gone for an extended period of time and will be sorely missed on the score sheet as well as on the PK, PP, and in the faceoff circle.
When healthy, Skinner is a threat to score 30 goals. If he's shelved with another concussion, who will score for the Canes?
Ditto Lindholm. The kid scored a hat trick against Buffalo on Friday night and was expected to play the role of Jordan Staal while the former Pittsburgh Penguin recovers from his surgery.
_________________________________________________________________________