NHL Injury News: Connor Brown likely out for season, Jamie Drysdale and Ondrej Palat have surgery
The Daily Goal Horn
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Washington Capitals forward Connor Brown will be sidelined six to eight months after reconstructive knee surgery on his torn ACL.
Brown suffered the injury Oct. 17 against the Vancouver Canucks and was placed on injured reserve two days later. The team did not say when he had the surgery.
Brown, 28, was injured after taking a hit from Canucks defenseman Noah Juulsen along the boards. Brown headed straight to the dressing room limping and favoring his right leg.
NHL Injury News: Connor Brown out
Brown is in his first season with the Capitals, who acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in July for a second-round pick in the 2024 draft. Brown had 10 goals and 39 points in 64 games for Ottawa last season.
Brown played his first four NHL seasons for Toronto (2015-2019), where he had 43 goals and 99 points in 253 games. In the past three seasons with the Senators, he totaled 47 goals and 117 points in 191 games.
The Capitals also lost forward T.J. Oshie indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the team said Monday.
The Capitals are already playing without forwards Tom Wilson (knee) and Nicklas Backstrom (hip), who are also on IR. Forward Carl Hagelin (hip) is also out indefinitely.
Jamie Drysdale out 4-6 months
The Anaheim Ducks announced Monday that defenseman Jamie Drysdale is expected to miss the next four to six months after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder on Friday.
The injury occurred during a 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Ducks said Drysdale will undergo surgery “in the near future.”
Drysdale, 20, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. He had played eight games to begin his third year with the Ducks, picking up two penalty minutes without a goal or an assist.
He played 81 of a possible 82 games a year ago and scored 32 points (four goals, 28 assists). In 113 career games, Drysdale has tallied seven goals and 33 assists for Anaheim.
Drysdale’s projected timetable means he could return in March at the earliest. The Ducks’ regular season ends April 13.
The Ducks have the worst record in the NHL (2-6-1, 5 points) but are coming off a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night.
“For our team, that is a massive blow,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “That kid is a big part of our team, especially our back end. His last three or four games had really started to turn it up a notch. No. 1, it’s devastating for our team, and that’s where we’re going to have to have other people step up and take those extra minutes. For Jamie, individually, this is going to be a young man we’re going to have to keep a really close eye on.”
NHL.com
Ondrej Palat groin surgery
New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat underwent successful groin surgery Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The team said a timeline for his return would be provided at a later time, “as they become available.”
The Devils placed Palat on injured reserve Saturday. Palat had missed two games prior to the move with what the team called a lower-body injury.
Palat, 31, met with doctors Monday to make “a final determination” on next course of action.
Palat, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Devils in July.
Palat had three goals in six games this season.
The Lightning selected Palat in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft. In 628 regular-season games for Tampa Bay, the Czech Republic native tallied 143 goals and 280 assists.
He also appeared in 138 playoff games for the Lightning, registering 94 points (48 goals, 46 assists). He has 12 career game-winning goals in the playoffs.
–Field Level Media