7:00 pm: The Coyotes appear to have made a corresponding move, placing forward Nick Schmaltz on IR, according to CapFriendly. The Coyotes’ star center has only played one game this season and has been out since mid-October with an upper-body injury. Then, nearly three weeks ago, Schmaltz was considered out six-to-eight weeks. It’s unclear if that timetable has been changed at all.
3:57 pmA strong start in the minors has led to another NHL opportunity for Laurent Dauphin as the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled the center from Tucson of the AHL.
The 27-year-old was originally drafted by the Coyotes but a good chunk of his NHL action came elsewhere as he played in 38 games with Montreal last season, recording a dozen points. Overall, between the two organizations, he has 16 points in 73 NHL contests. Dauphin is averaging a point per game in the minors in the early going this season with five goals and three assists in eight contests while being named Player of the Week last month.
Dauphin’s recall was an expected one as Arizona has been carrying just 11 forwards on their active roster following the injury to Zack Kassian who has been ruled out for the five-game Eastern portion of their 14-game road trip due to a lower-body injury so it was only a matter of time before a replacement forward was brought up. He won’t be in the lineup tonight in Washington (the team is expected to dress seven defenders) but should be available to suit up on Tuesday in Buffalo to officially begin his second stint with the team.