NHL Injury: Cale Makar in concussion protocol, Mat Barzal hurt, and more
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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is back in the concussion protocol and will miss the team’s weekend’s slate of games, coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday.
Bednar gave the update on his weekly Altitude radio show. Bednar said Makar will miss at least Friday’s game at Winnipeg and Saturday’s home game vs. Calgary.
“He got hit in Pittsburgh, felt fine, came back in the game, passed all the tests, had a delayed response to his symptoms, so he went under the protocol and had to miss the allotted time,” Bednar said via NHL.com. “Everything was going great, and he comes back in St. Louis and then he gets hit again and has troubles with his nose… But he had a delayed response again on his symptoms, and that timetable automatically puts him out for this weekend.”
Cale Makar out
The reigning Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy recipient, Makar was injured in Saturday’s game against St. Louis after colliding with Blues forward Alexei Toropchenko.
Saturday marked Makar’s first game back after missing four contests with a head injury sustained against Pittsburgh on Feb. 7. Makar took a blindside hit from Pittsburgh’s Jeff Carter in that one. Makar left briefly but returned to the game.
Makar has 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) in 46 games this season.
He has 225 points (61 goals, 164 assists) in 224 career games since being selected by the Avalanche with the fourth overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft.
Mat Barzal out week to week
New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Islanders head coach Lane Lambert wouldn’t budge Monday when peppered with questions after morning skate about the anticipated duration of Barzal’s absence or the possibility he’s done for the rest of the season.
“It’s clearly a big hole for us in certain areas, but what it means is other guys have to step up to the plate and create some abilities to contribute and make up for what we’re missing with him,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said.
NHL.com
Barzal left Saturday’s 6-2 loss in the first period after a collision with Boston Bruins defenseman Craig Smith. He did not return.
Barzal, 25, has a team-leading 37 assists with 51 total points in 58 games this season.
The Islanders recalled Arnaud Durandeau on emergency basis for Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Barzal signed an eight-year contract in October worth $73.2 million, with an average annual value of $9.15 million.
Travis Konecny injured
Travis Konecny, who leads the Philadelphia Flyers in goals and points, left Monday afternoon’s game late in the second period after being on the receiving end of a hard check from Calgary Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
The Flyers said Konecny had an upper-body injury and was “unlikely” to return to the game.
Konecny had possession of the puck when Weegar hit him in the back, which sent him flying forward. Konecny left the ice under his own power and went straight to the dressing room. There was no penalty called on the play.
Konecny had already collected one goal and one assist in the game, which Philadelphia led 3-1 at the time. He has collected 27 goals — a career high — and 53 points.
Evander Kane day-to-day
The Edmonton Oilers announced Sunday that forward Evander Kane was day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Kane did not play in Sunday’s game at the Colorado Avalanche. He skated close to 18 minutes in Edmonton’s previous game, Friday against the New York Rangers. It wasn’t clear when or how he suffered the injury.
Kane, 31, missed more than two months of the season after an opposing player accidentally slashed his left wrist with a skate blade Nov. 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He required stitches and went on long-term injured reserve before being activated Jan. 17.
In his first full season with the Oilers after joining them midway through the 2021-22 season, Kane has nine goals, 10 assists and 33 penalty minutes in 24 games. He signed a four-year, $20.5 million deal to return to Edmonton on July 13 after appearing in 43 regular-season games for them last season.
Capitals activate Nic Dowd
The Washington Capitals activated forward Nic Dowd from injured reserve on Tuesday.
He has been out with a lower-body injury since Jan. 16.
Coach Peter Laviolette said Dowd is a game-time decision for Tuesday’s tilt with the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
Dowd, 32, has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 44 games this season.
He has 121 points (55 goals, 66 assists) in 415 career games with the Los Angeles Kings (2015-17), Vancouver Canucks (2017-18) and Capitals.
–Field Level Media