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Alex Pietrangelo

Pacific Injury Notes: Vlasic, Vegas, Vancouver

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William Carrier was spotted in a no-contact jersey at Vegas’ Monday practice, taking reps in his usual fourth-line role. He’s been announced as a game-time decision for the team’s next game. Of note, fellow Golden Knight Alex Pietrangelo was absent from the practice. Pietrangelo had a scary moment in the team’s Thursday night game against the San Jose Sharks when a high hit from Nicolas Hague left the defender bloodied.

Pietrangelo missed the team’s subsequent game and was announced as day-to-day, although the exact nature of the injury wasn’t disclosed. It appears he’s still grappling with this ailment as the team prepares for their October 17th game. Pietrangelo has recorded one point through two appearances so far this season. Kaedan Korczak stepped in for the injured Pietrangelo, playing in 14 minutes in the alternate captain’s absence.

Vegas has also sent Jonas Rondbjerg to the AHL, now that Brett Howden’s suspension has expired.

Other Pacific Division injury notes:

Morning Notes: Werenski, Johansson, Pietrangelo

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As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Columbus Blue Jackets franchise defenseman Zach Werenski exited last night’s game after suffering a quad contusion. Werenski was injured on an apparent knee-to-knee collision with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway, and Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent told reporters that Werenski’s injury is not believed to be one that will cause a long-term absence.

This development is extremely unfortunate, as Werenski, 26, was limited to just 13 games played last season due to injury. Although this injury may not keep Werenski out “long-term,” it is not clear exactly when he’ll be able to return to the ice for Columbus. That alone is a major blow for the club, as Werenski is the best player in an organization dripping with desperation to return to the playoffs after a nightmarish 2022-23 campaign. In what is expected to be a cutthroat Metropolitan Division playoff race, the Blue Jackets will have to hope Werenski can return to full health quickly so they can avoid falling behind.

  • Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson left last night’s season opener with an apparent injury after being “crumpled into the boards” by Florida Panthers rookie defenseman Uvis Balinskis. Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Wild head coach Dean Evason did not give any update on Johansson’s status postgame. Russo surmised that a Johansson absence might force the Wild to either run seven defensemen for their next game, swap Dakota Mermis off their roster for a cheap call-up from the AHL’s Iowa Wild, or play a man short.
  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a scary moment during last night’s season-opening victory against the San Jose Sharks, one where he took a Nic Hague shot up high. The result, as reported by The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, was that Pietrangelo was bleeding “a lot.” Granger adds that Pietrangelo was able to “skate off” the ice and “seemed fine” given the circumstances, so perhaps that painful moment from last night’s game won’t end up having any more lasting implications for Pietrangelo’s health.

Alex Pietrangelo Suspended One Game

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will be suspended for one game for his actions late in a Game 4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers according to a release from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

The incident happened late in Game 4, with the Golden Knights trailing 4-1 and their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker. Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl was skating into the Golden Knights zone with the puck and back-handed it toward the yawning cage. He barely missed, but a few seconds after releasing the puck, Pietrangelo continued toward him and slashed him on the forearm.

It was not just a small slash on the wrist. It was a blatantly obvious attempt to injure an opponent with a two-handed swing akin to a lumberjack trying to split a block of wood into two pieces with a rusted hatchet. The puck was long gone, the play around Draisaitl was over, and for all Pietrangelo knew, the puck could have already been in the Golden Knights’ net.

Pietrangelo was assessed a five-minute major penalty for slashing and a game misconduct. The Department of Player Safety took a closer look at the incident today and held a hearing this morning with the Golden Knights defenseman. It was determined that a one-game ban was necessary for such a reckless and needless slash of an unsuspecting opponent.

The Golden Knights will now be without their top defender as they look to take a series lead in Game 5. The two teams have traded blowout victories in this series, with the teams now locked up at two wins apiece. No one played more minutes on the Golden Knights than Pietrangelo in Game 4, as he led the way with 23:54 so he will be sorely missed.

The Oilers will be without a top defender of their own as Darnell Nurse was also handed a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the contest. Nurse ranks first among Oilers defensemen in ice time in the playoffs, averaging 23:24 per game in the playoffs so far.

Both teams will have their defensive depth tested on Friday night when they face off in Game 5 in Vegas.

Alex Pietrangelo To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has decided that some supplemental discipline is warranted after last night’s Vegas Golden Knights-Edmonton Oilers game. Alex Pietrangelo will have a hearing today regarding his slash on Leon Draisaitl.

Near the end of the game, as Draisaitl tried to extend Edmonton’s lead with a backhand shot on an empty net, Pietrangelo skated toward him and delivered a hard slash after the puck had already been released.

The Vegas defenseman was penalized for slashing and given a game misconduct, as the officials tried (and failed) to keep order on the ice. He’ll now likely face a suspension, as hearings generally result in at least a one-game ban.

However, Edmonton could be without their own impact defenseman, as Darnell Nurse’s late instigator penalty does come with an automatic suspension. As Darren Dreger of TSN tweets, the league can decide to rescind the instigator or the automatic suspension. There has not yet been any indication from the DoPS on Nurse’s status.

Any discipline could have a significant effect in a heated series now tied at 2-2. The teams will battle again tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

Golden Knights Notes: Pietrangelo, Pachal, Cotter

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The Golden Knights will welcome Alex Pietrangelo back to the lineup tonight after missing the last three weeks due to an illness in the family.  Jesse Granger of The Athletic provides (Twitter link) some details on the situation, noting that his three-year-old daughter caught the flu which eventually became a brain lesion, leading to a loss in motor function.  Fortunately, her condition has improved considerably over the last couple of days, making the veteran comfortable enough to return to the lineup for Vegas.  Pietrangelo has 21 points in 23 games this season while logging over 23 minutes a night on the back end as their top defender so his return will certainly be a welcome one, especially with Zach Whitecloud being placed on LTIR earlier this week.

More from Vegas:

  • In a corresponding roster move, the team announced (Twitter link) that they re-assigned defenseman Brayden Pachal to Henderson of the AHL. The 23-year-old played in two games after being recalled on Monday when Jack Eichel was placed on injured reserve, picking up an assist while averaging a little under 16 minutes a night.  Pachal has spent the bulk of the year with the Silver Knights, collecting two goals and five assists in 25 contests.  He is in the final year of his entry-level contract.
  • Forward Paul Cotter is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury that was sustained on Thursday against Chicago, Granger notes in a separate tweet. The 22-year-old has acquitted himself well in his first season of full-time NHL duty, picking up six points in 22 games thus far while playing inside their bottom six.  Head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that the good news for Cotter is that while he might miss a few days, the injury isn’t as bad as they initially feared.

Vegas Golden Knights Recall Jonas Rondbjerg, Place Brett Howden On LTIR

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5:00 pm: Forward Brett Howden was also moved to long-term injured reserve to make the roster space for Rondbjerg, per CapFriendly. Pietrangelo will be away from the team indefinitely as he deals with an illness in the family and has been given a non-roster designation. Howden has missed six games with a lower-body injury.

12:31 pm: The Vegas Golden Knights have completed just their second recall of the season, adding Jonas Rondbjerg to the NHL roster. Alex Pietrangelo, who hasn’t played since November 26 as he continues to deal with a personal matter, is no longer listed on the official roster.

Vegas is also without Jack Eichel for the time being, after suffering a lower-body injury a few days ago. His absence could open up some playing time for the 23-year-old Rondbjerg, who suited up 30 times for the Golden Knights last season. A third-round pick from 2017, the Danish forward has seven goals and 14 points in 22 games with the Henderson Silver Knights this season.

The Golden Knights have continued to win despite these important subtractions, including a statement victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday. The club is now at home for three in a row, including a rematch with the Bruins on Sunday. Third in the league with 39 points, Vegas has allowed just 71 goals through 27 games and are getting offensive contributions from all over. Six different players have at least 20 points on the year, with Reilly Smith and William Karlsson about to join that group.

Rondbjerg will try to jump on that moving train and contribute, though it isn’t clear how much actual playing time he’ll receive on this recall. Last year, he averaged almost exactly 10 minutes a night in his 30 appearances, scoring six points.

Jack Eichel Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury

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Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to a tweet from the team’s communications department Monday night.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Eichel would be a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup against the Boston Bruins. Now, it’s confirmed he won’t be suiting up. Neither will defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who remains out of the Golden Knights lineup on personal leave.

Eichel played just 13:36 against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, leaving the game with about 15 minutes remaining and not returning. Tonight’s battle between two of the league’s top teams will be without Vegas’ two best skaters to start the year.

After a down year last year as he battled back from a severe disc injury, Eichel is back in a big way. He leads the best-in-the-West Golden Knights in every counting stat with 13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points, and a +17 rating.

Michael Amadio will draw into tonight’s lineup, and the team hopes Eichel can return for its game Wednesday against the New York Rangers.

Snapshots: Voracek, Capitals Goalies, Vegas Injuries

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Just this Friday, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced injury updates on a number of players, including forward Jakub Voracek, who has been battling lingering effects of a concussion suffered early this season. With that announcement, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen clarified that Voracek did not necessarily have a timetable and that the team was going to give him time to see if his symptoms subsided before a return to the ice was considered. Today, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline published a more in-depth look at Voracek’s situation, speaking personally with Kekalainen on the expectations around the veteran winger, and things may look worse than they had seemed at first.

The executive acknowledged to Portzline that Voracek may very well be looking at an earlier retirement than expected. Kekalainen added “I’m more worried about him having a normal life.” Lingering concussion issues are always a serious concern for any player and team in whatever sport it may be, however the original news that the team was giving him time away appeared to be more of a long-term injury concern. With today’s report though, it seems a return to the ice might not even be a guarantee. Voracek, 33, is a veteran of 15 NHL seasons including this one, five as a Blue Jacket and 11 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

  • The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, announced this afternoon that they’ve signed goaltender Justin Kapelmaster to a PTO ahead of their game today. Normally, we’d put this news in a Minor Transactions piece, however NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti makes an interesting observation with impact on the Capitals. As Gulitti writes, the PTO could mean that one of Hershey’s goaltenders is headed to Edmonton to meet the Capitals after starting netminder Darcy Kuemper left last night’s game with an upper-body injury. Washington currently has Zachary Fucale and Hunter Shepard under contract and playing for the Bears, along with Charlie Lindgren already on the NHL roster.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced, via head coach Bruce Cassidy, that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will miss tomorrow night’s game in Boston against the Bruins, while forward Jack Eichel will be a game-time decision. Pietrangelo has missed the last three games for Vegas for undisclosed personal reasons, last playing November 26th. While the reason for the absence isn’t any clearer than that, Vegas does return home after Monday’s game, which may be a preferred time for the defenseman to rejoin the team, as opposed to meeting them on the opposite coast for the one game. As to Eichel, the nature of his absence is still unclear.

Vegas Golden Knights Recall Daniil Miromanov

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The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the quietest teams in the league when it comes to transactions this season, with hardly any changes made to their NHL roster from the start of the year. In fact, they hadn’t recalled a single player through the first two months, instead working with the group that broke camp to get them to a 17-6-1 record.

Today that changes, as Daniil Miromanov has been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights. The 25-year-old defenseman is off to a strong start in the minor leagues with six goals and 13 points in 17 games.

Undrafted, Miromanov has had a very interesting path to the NHL. The 6’4″ Russian was actually a forward when he played in the QMJHL, racking up points with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Moncton Wildcats, but made the transition to defense in the years since. He played in the KHL, Czech league, ECHL, and AHL before making his debut with Vegas, playing 11 games with the club last season.

Now, with size and offensive instincts, he is an interesting player to follow. The Golden Knights appreciated him enough to give him a two-year contract this summer, the second year of which is a one-way deal. With Alex Pietrangelo dealing with a personal reason and away from the team, they’ve added one of Henderson’s best players to the roster to fill in.

West Notes: Predators, Pietrangelo, Oettinger

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The Nashville Predators home game tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks will go on as scheduled after a water main break in the arena forced the team to postpone their Friday and Saturday night games. While team president Sean Henry said that “most fan-facing amenities will be functional,” he noted that the complete extent of repairs and restorations to Bridgestone will take months.

The league has yet to reschedule Nashville’s missed games against Colorado and Columbus, but Bridgestone will get a bit of a break on the hockey side soon. While there are occasional concerts there, Nashville’s home game against Anaheim is their last until December 9.

  • According to the team, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo didn’t suit up for tonight’s game against Columbus for personal reasons. Pietrangelo is having an electric start to his third season in Vegas with 21 points through 23 games. Hopefully, everything is well with Pietrangelo and his family.
  • Jake Oettinger was expected to start tonight for the Dallas Stars, but he’ll be relegated to a backup role as he deals with an illness, according to the team. He’s run into a bit of a cold streak his past few games, with his season totals dropping to a still very respectable .917 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average. He’ll likely start in Dallas’ next matchup against Anaheim on December 1.

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