NHL: Juraj Slafkovsky undergoes testing, Josh Norris out 2 weeks, Filip Chytil injured, and more
The Daily Goal Horn
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Montreal Canadiens rookie forward Juraj Slafkovsky is having tests Monday on the upper-body injury he sustained last week.
The team announced he won’t practice Monday.
“Juraj Slafkovsky won’t practice today,” the team tweeted. “He will be undergoing medical tests for his upper-body injury.”
Juraj Slafkovsky upper-body injury
Slafkovsky, 18, is day-to-day and missed Saturday’s game against Dallas with the injury.
The top overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, Slafkovsky scored his first career NHL goal in Montreal’s 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
Slafkovsky was named Most Valuable Player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics after scoring a tournament-high seven goals in seven games while representing Slovakia. He collected just 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 31 games with TPS Turku in SM Liiga, Finland’s top professional league.
Josh Norris out at least two weeks
Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris is out at least two weeks with an upper-body injury.
The team said Monday it’s waiting on MRI results to know more about the severity of the shoulder injury Norris sustained in Saturday’s night’s win over the Arizona Coyotes. Norris suffered the injury in the third period after taking a faceoff. He went down in a heap and headed straight for the locker room.
Norris also missed 15 games last season with a shoulder injury.
Norris, 23, has two points (one goal, one assist) in five games this season. The No. 19 overall pick in 2017 has 92 career points (53 goals, 39 assists) in 130 games.
“There’s just so much torque that goes into these face-offs, and guys are digging in,” coach D.J. Smith said. “It’s unfortunate. We were lucky that no one had gotten banged up so far, and then this takes a piece from us. But in saying that, it’s (Derick) Brassard’s turn and everyone’s got to give a little more.
NHL.com
Derick Brassard is expected to take Norris’ spot on the line and make his season debut Monday night against the Dallas Stars.
Filip Chytil out at least a week
New York Rangers center Filip Chytil will be sidelined at least a week per multiple reports.
Chytil, 23, left Sunday’s contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets just two minutes in after Cole Sillinger appeared to hit him up high. No penalty was called on the play.
The young center was playing well before this injury and will miss all four games the Rangers are set to play this week. He has 3 points in 6 games this season.
Teddy Blueger on IR
The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Teddy Blueger on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
He has missed the first five games of the season after getting hurt in practice in late September.
Blueger, 28, set a career high with 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 65 games last season.
The Latvia native has 82 points (31 goals, 51 assists) in 205 games in four seasons with the Penguins, who selected him in the second round of the NHL draft in 2012.
Petr Mrazek on IR
The Chicago Blackhawks placed goaltender Petr Mrazek on injured reserve Sunday with a groin strain.
The 30-year-old veteran left Friday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings after the second period.
“He knows his body well because he’s had some injuries before,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said after that game. “He’s an active goaltender. I think just cautiously, we wanted to make sure, early in the season, and the style of goalie that he is, we took that precaution.”
Mrazek is 1-1-0 with a 3.76 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage through three starts this season, his first with the Blackhawks and 11th in the NHL.
Alex Stalock relieved Mrazek and stopped all 10 shots he faced in the win over Detroit in Chicago’s home opener.
Stalock, 35, is 1-1-0 with a 0.75 GAA and .979 save percentage in two games (one start). It is also his first season in Chicago and his 11th in the league.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article.