Matthews has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury but skated on the top line in Friday’s practice and his status for Saturday’s game will be determined after their morning skate.
Matthews practiced on Wednesday and took part in the optional morning skate today, but he will not play tonight vs. New Jersey. Despite missing his fourth consecutive game, Matthews appears to be on track to play Saturday in Montreal.
Nylander missed today’s practice, but the Maple Leafs are off until Thursday, so expect him to be fine and ready to go against New Jersey.
Tanev suffered a thumb injury in Calgary on Wednesday and is expected to miss at least 14 days as a result, but avoided surgery and a much longer timetable. Luckily for the Canucks they got Alex Edler back on the blueline last night.
Matthews will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury and it sounds like there is a good chance he won’t play tomorrow in Boston either. After Saturday the Maple Leafs are off until next Thursday, so it would be smart for them to get their franchise player back to 100 percent instead of rushing him.
Matthews was on the ice for the morning skate, but left after roughly seven minutes and his status for tonight’s game is in doubt. This is bad news for the Maple Leafs, who have lost five of their last six games coming into tonight. Matthews leads the Maple Leafs in goals (10) and points (18). If he is unavailable, William Nylander will shift to centre.
With Niklas Hjalmarsson hurt and Adam Clendening on waivers, Mermis comes up to make his NHL debut tonight vs. the Sabres. Mermis has registered one goal and two assists in seven games with Tucson (AHL) so far this season.
Ekman-Larsson left Saturday’s game in New Jersey early, but is fine and will play tonight in Philadelphia. O.E.L was hurt after absorbing a high-hit but there are no lingering effects. The 26-year-old has recorded six points (1G / 5A) in 11 games this season.
The Canucks did not have an update on Stecher post-game, but head coach Travis Green said “it was a knee-on-knee hit, so we’ll see what happens.” Consider Stecher as questionable for Tuesday's game in Minnesota.
Benning was a healthy scratch on Saturday but was expected to draw back into the lineup tonight vs. the Hurricanes. However, he is under the weather so Yohan Auvitu will remain in the lineup and Kris Russell will likely see power-play time on the second unit.
Ekman-Larsson was banged up during training camp, but he is ready to go for first game of the season. Ekman-Larsson is coming off of a rough season by his standards, but remains one of the top-15 fantasy defensemen around.
Ekman-Larsson missed time in training camp due to a knee injury, but was a full participant in Sunday’s practice and head coach Rick Tocchet said he’s hopeful that his star defenseman will be in the lineup on Thursday. Ekman-Larsson is coming off of the worst seasons of his career and that’s saying a lot considering he still managed to rack up 12 goals and 27 assists (39 points). O.E.L is one of the few locks for double-digit goals and 20-plus assists on the blueline.
McCabe is dealing with a sore shoulder and his status for the season opener is in doubt. The 23-year-old will likely be replaced by Matt Tennyson to start the season but will take his spot back as soon as he’s healthy. McCabe had 20 points (3G / 17A) in 76 games last season.
Ekman-Larsson exited Sunday’s preseason game with a knee injury, but head coach Rick Tocchet said his star defenseman could be back on the ice tomorrow. This is huge news for the Coyotes, who could ill-afford to lose Edman-Larson with Jakob Chychrun already out for an extended period of time. O.E.L. doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing the regular season opener.
