An NHL Early-Season Injury Bug
With puck drop for the NHL season happening just a week ago, a few teams have already had to deal with the injury bug. Some of the players who have gone down are key players towards their team's system and will be a big loss with their absence.
Detroit Red Wings - Tyler Bertuzzi
Tyler Bertuzzi will be out 4-6 weeks for the Detroit Red Wings after sustaining an upper-body injury.
The injury occured in a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils. The 27-year-old forward blocked a shot at 4:15 of the second period from Devils defenseman Ryan Graves.
In two games this season Bertuzzi just had one assist and four shots on goal, while averaging 13:38 of ice time. Last season Bertuzzi had a career year being second on the Red Wings with 30 goals and 62 points.
Detroit’s first year head coach Derek Lalonde shared his thoughts on the injury: "Obviously, it's a tough loss with Fabbri also out, two top-six guys, arguably two first-line guys," Lalonde said. "But that is why you have the depth. [General manager] Steve [Yzerman] had a very good offseason and he wanted to have some depth. I like our lineup despite who is out, and that is a credit to having some more depth than Detroit has had the luxury of in the past."
Toronto Maple Leafs - Matt Murray
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed goaltender Matt Murray on long-term injured reserve Saturday with an adductor injury. He’s expected to miss four weeks.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said Murray left the team’s morning skate earlier Saturday with “groin discomfort.” The goaltender was expected to start on Saturday against his former team the Ottawa Senators, but left the morning skate following the first series of drills after talking with goalie coach Curtis Sanford.
Ilya Samsonov, who came over during free agency from the Washington Capitals, will now get the starting nod in net for the team. Rookie Erik Källgren has been recalled from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies as an emergency back up.
Toronto traded for Murray from the Senators in July, taking on the final two seasons of Murray's four-year, $25 million contract. Ottawa retained 25% of his salary in exchange.
Philadelphia Flyers - Rasmus Ristolainen
The Philadelphia Flyers moved defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to the injured reserve after suffereing an undisclosed lower-body injury.
Ristolainen has already missed opening night along with the second game of the season. Ristolainen has been dealing with an undisclosed injury throughout camp and has yet to suit up for the team so far, but was used rarely in some of the preseason games.
Before the season started the Flyers injury problems at defense was primarily Ryan Ellis, now throw Ristolainen in the mix. Philadelphia was forced to call up Zach MacEwen who was a last minute training camp cut, along with Louie Belpedio who only has four NHL games under his belt.
There is no set time for Ristolainen’s return and it is unclear when he will be back in the starting lineup. The IR move is retroactive to last Wednesday, he will join the team for their three game road trip.
Though if it is a significant time, Cam York could definitely be recalled if he shines in Lehigh Valley.
Matt Cabram is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email
mwc5817@psu.edu
