The Panthers will be without goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for at least the next three games, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he’ll be able to return soon after that. Bobrovsky suffered a lower-body injury early in Thursday’s victory over Montreal which was particularly noteworthy with Spencer Knight currently on injured reserve. However, his conditioning stint is likely to be short-lived as he could rejoin Florida on Monday in advance of their back-to-back set. If the Panthers are going to claw their way back into the playoff picture, they’ll need both of their regular netminders healthy and it appears they won’t have to wait much longer for that to be the case.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Senators prospect Tyler Kleven is expected to turn pro after this season, mentions Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The defenseman was a second-round pick by Ottawa in 2020 (44th overall) and the team tried to get him to sign before this season but the 21-year-old wanted to stay for one more year at North Dakota. That year is going pretty well as Kleven has 11 points along with 52 penalty minutes in 21 games so far.
- Islanders winger Hudson Fasching is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 27-year-old missed Thursday’s game and did not take part in the morning skate today. Despite the setback, it has been a successful season thus far for Fasching who has played in a career-high 19 games so far, notching three goals and two assists while logging over a dozen minutes a night.
- While the Canadiens lost a key forward in Cole Caufield today, they’re closer to getting another one back as TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie relays (Twitter link) that center Sean Monahan took part in the morning skate in a non-contact jersey. The 28-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a foot injury but had gotten off to a good start before that with 17 points in 25 games. A pending unrestricted free agent, Monahan is expected to be one of Montreal’s top trade chips heading into the March 3rd trade deadline.