- For the second straight game, Blues starting goaltender Jake Allen will be a healthy scratch. Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that backup Carter Hutton will get the start tomorrow night after third-stringer Pheonix Copley started last game; Copley will back up Hutton. Allen is scheduled to start on Thursday, after what coach Ken Hitchcock called a week of “tech workload.” Allen has really struggled this season, with his SV% dropping below 0.900 after posting a 0.920 in 47 games last season. Allen begins a four-year, $17.4MM contract extension next season.
- Staying in the Central Division, the Dallas Stars announced via Twitter that Radek Faksa will miss the next two games with a lower-body injury and superstar center Tyler Seguin is questionable for tomorrow’s game with an illness. Seguin has quietly had a good season so far, with 45 points in 48 games. Meanwhile, Faksa has improved his point totals in his sophomore season with 22 points in 48 games, after posting 12 points in 45 games in his rookie year.
- A day after clearing waivers, Drew Miller has been loaned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, as Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com writes, Miller could be back up with the big club quickly because of recent injuries to Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek. Miller has has five goals and an assist in 34 games with the Red Wings, after re-signing him to a one-year, $1.025MM contract in July.
- The San Jose Sharks will get rookie Timo Meier back after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The 2015 ninth-0verall pick will play with Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels on the Sharks’ fourth line, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Meier has two goals and four points in 15 games with the Sharks, and 15 points in 17 game with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL. Meanwhile Tomas Hertl is travelling with the team but will not play tomorrow night.
Radek Faksa
Snapshots: Faksa, Canucks, Oilers, Orlov
The Dallas Stars may not be big fans of the World Cup of Hockey at the moment. Tyler Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his foot in a pre-tournament game for Team Canada and now another center is banged up as Radek Faksa of the Czech Republic squad did not suit up for their game against Team Europe this afternoon due to an upper body issue. GM Jim Nill clarified the injury, calling it concussion-like symptoms, Mark Stepneski of the Stars team site reports.
Faksa suffered the injury in their 6-0 loss to Team Canada on Saturday. No timetable has been set for a possible return but he will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
The 22 year old projects to be a bigger contributor for the Stars this season after getting into 45 games with the team last year as well as 13 postseason contests. Last week, we profiled him as one of the more compelling pending RFA cases heading into the year.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Canucks are hoping to break camp with eight defensemen on their roster, GM Jim Benning noted on TSN 1040 in Vancouver. The team has five blueliners on one-way deals plus two others in Andrey Pedan plus Alex Biega on two-way pacts but must clear waivers. Nikita Tryamkin is waiver exempt but has a clause in his contract that allows him to return to Russia if he’s sent down. 2016 first round pick Olli Juolevi is expected to make a push for a roster spot as well, which should create an interesting battle to watch during the preseason. Benning also confirmed that Ryan Miller is entering camp as their #1 goalie despite a strong performance from Jacob Markstrom last season. Markstrom is currently at the World Cup with Team Sweden.
- The Oilers announced five tryouts heading into their training camp. Notably among the invites are LW Ryan Hamilton, who last played with Edmonton in 2014-15 and RW Ryan Vesce, who has played in the KHL since 2010 but has 19 games of NHL experience with San Jose.
- Speaking with Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, agent Mark Gandler noted that there is nothing new when it comes to discussions for Washington RFA defenseman Dmitry Orlov. He also wouldn’t rule out him signing in the KHL, saying that all options are open. Gandler, who also represents Dallas RFA Valeri Nichushkin, declined to comment on the report that he is nearing a two year deal in Russia.