If Shipachyov isn't traded "as early as (Monday)," contract termination and a return to Russia could happen in short order, Engels adds.
The 30-year-old forward reported to the Wolves on Friday upon being assigned there, but apparently skipped Saturday's game and returned to Vegas to be with family.
Earlier this week, Engels reported that Shipachyov was willing to accept the demotion while his agent sought a trade. That came after the Golden Knights gave his representative permission to pursue a deal.
It's the second time this month Shipachyov has refused to play for the AHL club. He was first demoted shortly after the NHL season began, after which Golden Knights GM George McPhee said the player's agent was reassured that the move wasn't performance-related.
We're nearly a month into the NHL season and while there remains a large chunk of hockey to be played, a handful of stars are struggling off the hop.
A number of the game's upper echelon players are struggling to put the puck in the net. Whether it be due to bad luck or bad performance, some players have simply been snake-bitten.
Here are eight players still searching for their first goal of the season:
Brent Burns
Last season, Burns paced the league with 320 shots on goal, setting career-highs with 29 goals and 76 points.
To begin this campaign, however, Burns has been limited to just six assists in 10 games. That being said, he has still thrown 43 shots at the opposition - good enough for a share of 11th in the NHL so far. It should be just a matter of time before he gets into the goal column.
Erik Karlsson
The fact Karlsson has yet to collect his first goal of the season is not a slight, but simply an observation.
The Ottawa Senators captain has played just six games - missing the beginning of the season as he nursed a foot injury - and while he has picked up nine assists, he is still searching for his first goal.
Karlsson's averaging just under three shots per contest and already has three multi-point games. Goal No.1 is coming sooner than later.
Dustin Byfuglien
Byfuglien continues to log insane minutes for the Winnipeg Jets, but doesn't have a goal to show for his time on ice.
The 32-year-old has five assists in seven games, but no goals to his credit. What's more surprising is that Byfuglien has taken just 18 shots so far, an average of 2.57 per game. Last season, he finished 22nd in the league with 241 shots on goal, an average of over three per contest.
To begin the 2017-18 campaign, the 34-year-old is logging an average of just 13:07 minutes of ice time per game, nearly three minutes fewer than last season. He's also been moved to the wing from his native center, tallying just five assists in 11 games.
He might need to score more goals to earn the ice time, but might need more ice time to score goals. It's a tricky situation.
Henrik Sedin
Henrik has never been known as a goal scorer and the Vancouver Canucks are transitioning into a younger squad, but still, the fact he's gone goalless is a bit surprising.
Sedin has just three assists through 10 games, but what's more shocking is he's logging the eighth-most ice time among the team's forwards - even Derek Dorsett is seeing the ice more.
The Sedins are getting older and their careers are surely winding down, but no one expected their production to drop so drastically.
Sebastian Aho
The Carolina Hurricanes are struggling to find offense to begin the season and subsequently Sebastian Aho is without his first goal.
After tallying 24 in his rookie campaign, Aho could be falling victim to the infamous sophomore slump. That being said, he is still playing on the team's top line and is logging the third most ice time on the club among forwards. He should break the goose egg in time.
Kyle Okposo
Behind a struggling club, you're sure to find struggling players.
Look no further than the Buffalo Sabres and Kyle Okposo. The team has gone 3-7-2 to begin the year and Okposo has just two assists in 10 games to boot. He's averaged just over 23 goals per 82 games over the last three seasons so it's unlikely he goes too long without a goal. Both he and the Sabres could really use some.
Ryan Johansen
Johansen's knack for scoring goals has really dropped off over the last two seasons. He's posted back-to-back 14-goal campaigns, yet, has still topped the 60-point plateau each time.
Despite being goalless, he still centers the Predators' top line and his linemate, Filip Forsberg, has already tallied eight goals through 11 games. Johansen's glaring issue appears to be the fact he has mustered just 16 shots through 11 games.
He mans the top line and the team's top power-play unit, the theme here seems clear: shoot the puck and good things might happen.
The Montreal Canadiens held on to top the New York Rangers 5-4 on Saturday night, giving the lowly club two victories in their last three games. After it strung together a seven-game losing streak, it was certainly a step in the right direction.
There were a lot of takeaways from the victory. First and foremost, the Canadiens once again proved they can produce offense. For the second time in three games, the team punched five goals past the opposing netminder, after crushing the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Tuesday night.
On the other end, however, Carey Price continued to struggle to keep pucks out of the net. While he picked up his third victory, he still conceded four goals on 26 shots.
It was the sixth time in 10 games and the fifth time in his last six outings that he has given up at least four goals. Early on, Price is rocking a 3.64 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.
His poor play is even more surprising given that October has historically been the month he's played his best hockey, especially over the past four seasons.
Year
Record
Goals-against average
Save percentage
2016-17
5-0-0
1.40
.954
2015-16
7-2-0
2.01
.936
2014-15
7-1-1
2.48
.920
2013-14
6-5-0
2.02
.939
Sure, the players in front of him certainly deserve some of the blame, but the Canadiens have also - through their 3-7-1 start - allowed the fourth-fewest shots per game (28.8) and have been among the league's best possession teams, ranking third in Corsi For with a 54.4 mark.
Further to that, Price has the 32nd-ranked low-danger save percentage and high-danger save percentage (at all strengths) among all 33 goalies who have played at least five games this season.
Going forward, the Canadiens will need to prove they can still score at a more consistent clip. Though they scored five goals on both Tuesday and Saturday, they were shut out 4-0 by the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. And prior to their five-goal outing against Florida, they only scored 13 goals in their previous eight games.
Price is unlikely to remain as poor as he has been to kick off the year. There's a reason he's a Hart and Vezina Trophy winner. But if he doesn't get things sorted out soon, it might not matter how much the offense improves.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) John Tavares scored a natural hat trick in the third period, leading the New York Islanders to a 6-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
Jordan Eberle scored twice and Ryan Pulock had a goal for New York. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier each had two assists to help the Islanders win for the fourth time in five games. Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves.
Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith scored for the Predators, who have lost three of four.
With the Islanders on a power play in the first period, Eberle's shot from the left faceoff circle beat goalie Juuse Saros between the pads for his first goal of the season.
Forsberg tied it at 3:55 of the second. Kevin Fiala drove the right side and his shot from in tight was stopped by Halak. Skating through the slot, Forsberg grabbed the rebound and drifted to the right before lifting a wrist shot under the crossbar for his eighth of the season.
The Islanders regained the lead at 9:55 of the second on a power-play goal from Pulock.
From above the right circle, Beauvillier sent a pass to Pulock in the center of the blue line, where he beat Saros with a one-timer low to the stick side.
Eberle struck again at 19:30 of the second with a wrist shot from the low slot.
Tavares scored his seventh of the season just 12 seconds into the third. Behind the Nashville net, Tavares disrupted a clearing attempt by Saros, with the puck going to Lee in the low slot. Lee threw the puck toward the net, where Tavares tipped it by Saros.
Tavares scored 2:40 later when he redirected Eberle's shot from the left circle. He completed the hat trick and scored New York's third power-play goal of the night at 7:26.
Smith concluded the scoring with a power-play goal at 13:57.
Making his third start of the season, Saros finished with 17 saves.
NOTES: Forsberg's eighth goal set a franchise record for the season's first month. ... All three of Saros' starts this season have come against Eastern Conference opponents. ... Lee has points in four straight games. ... New York RW Josh Bailey had an assist to extend his point streak to six games.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Jesper Bratt's tiebreaking goal on a power play with 4:13 left sent the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 victory Saturday night over the winless Arizona Coyotes, who became the second NHL team to start a season with 11 consecutive losses.
Taylor Hall scored twice and Bratt also had an assist as New Jersey improved to 8-2-0 with its fifth win in six games. Brian Gibbons added a goal on a short-handed penalty shot for the Devils.
Cory Schneider made 33 saves after missing two games due to a lower-body injury and the birth of his daughter.
Arizona fell to 0-10-1 and joined the 1943-44 New York Rangers (0-11) as the only clubs in NHL history to open a season with 11 straight defeats.
Christian Fischer, Brendan Perlini and Clayton Keller scored for Arizona. Louis Domingue finished with 21 saves.
The Coyotes scored the first goal for the eighth time this season when Fischer connected on the power play 10:37 into the game. Fischer drove down the left wing and whipped Christian Dvorak's rebound past Schneider before colliding with the New Jersey goalie in the crease, which sparked a mini wrestling match between Coyotes and Devils players.
The Coyotes had a lead. And it lasted a full 1:18 before Gibbons tied it with the Devils down a man at 11:55. Gibbons drew a hooking call on Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a breakaway, leading to the penalty shot. New Jersey's leading goal scorer broke in on Domingue and faked a shot before using a forehand-backhand move to slide the puck under Domingue.
As they did in the first period, the teams traded goals in the second.
Hall broke the deadlock with his second of the season at 11:09 with a wrist shot from the slot set up by Bratt's forecheck, but Perlini pulled Arizona even 48 seconds after Hall's goal.
New Jersey nearly went ahead with 5:37 left in the period, but Domingue stopped Drew Stafford's stuff-in attempt. Keller stripped top draft pick Nick Hischier in the offensive zone before snapping in his team-leading eighth goal of the season 50 seconds later to give the Coyotes a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
New Jersey tied it 3-all on Hall's second power-play goal from the left faceoff circle 4:30 into the third to set the stage for Bratt. With the Devils on a power play following Fischer's roughing penalty, Bratt slammed in Hall's feed from the right circle.
New Jersey was 2 for 2 on the power play, while Arizona went 1 for 5.
NOTES: Before the game, Arizona and New Jersey announced a trade in which the Devils received a 2018 fifth-round draft pick from the Coyotes for goalie Scott Wedgewood, who dressed for Arizona and wore No. 40 as he served as the backup to Domingue. After acquiring the pick, New Jersey has eight selections in next June's draft. . During his pregame media availability, New Jersey coach John Hynes announced defenseman Andy Greene would miss the game after his wife, Rachel, gave birth to the couple's second child, Maddox David. . Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. According to Hynes, Palmieri's status is day to day. ... New Jersey dressed right wing Stefan Noesen in place of left wing Marcus Johansson. On its Twitter feed, the team announced Johansson sustained a lower-body injury during warmups. . Arizona scratched defenseman Adam Clendening and center Nick Cousins. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury, and goalie Adin Hill was sent down to Tucson of the AHL. . The first of two regular-season meetings between the Coyotes and Devils also was the second of two professional hockey games Saturday at Prudential Center. Earlier in the day, the Metropolitan Riveters beat the Boston Pride 4-1 in a National Women's Hockey League matchup. The Devils have a partnership with the Riveters.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Continue their five-game road trip Monday at Philadelphia.
Devils: Begin a three-game road trip to Western Canada on Wednesday in Vancouver.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Rickard Rakell and Brandon Montour had rare power-play goals, John Gibson made 31 saves and the Anaheim Ducks rebounded from a one-sided loss by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Saturday night.
Anaheim entered with the NHL's second-worst power play, going 2 for 31 over their first nine games. The Ducks went 2 for 2 with the man advantage, while Tampa Bay's second-best unit in the NHL failed to score on four chances.
Rakell got his second goal midway through the third and Hampus Lindholm also scored for the Ducks, who were beat 8-3 Thursday night at Florida. Ryan Getzlaf had three assists
Tampa Bay, which lost for just the second time in regulation (9-2-1), got a goal from Chris Kunitz. Backup goalie Peter Budaj stopped 17 shots in his second game of the season.
Lightning stars Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov both snapped franchise record-tying 11-game point streaks to start the season. Martin St. Louis also accomplished the feat in 2009-10.
Rakell opened the scoring at 10:13 of the second on the Ducks' first power play.
After Montour, on the power play, and Kunitz traded goals 57 seconds apart late in the second, Lindholm made it 3-1 from the high slot with 0.1 second left in the period.
Gibson made a lunging stop on Yanni Gourde's wraparound and Stamkos' left circle power-play shot in the second.
NOTES: Both Anaheim D Sami Vatanen (shoulder surgery) and backup G Ryan Miller (upper body) were in the lineup for the first time this season. ... Anaheim RW Patrick Eaves (Guillain-Barre syndrome) has been released from the hospital. ... Ducks D Cam Fowler, who hurt his knee Oct. 20, will be out another three to seven weeks. ... Anaheim D Kevin Bieksa (left hand) should get timetable for his return after being re-evaluated Monday. ... Lightning D Dan Girardi played in his 800th NHL game. ... The Ducks reassigned D Steve Oleksy and LW Kalie Kossila to San Diego of the AHL.
UP NEXT
Ducks: Complete a four-game trip Sunday at Carolina.
The Stanley Cup hasn't been north of the border since 1993, but a monument resembling the iconic trophy was unveiled in Ottawa on Saturday.
The Lord Stanley Gift Monument, situated next to a series of posters detailing how the trophy was gifted to the NHL, was revealed before a series of dignitaries, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"(The Stanley Cup) has a weight of symbolism and strength of binding our country together that very few material symbols do," Trudeau said at the unveiling, according to The Canadian Press.
In 1892, Canadian governor general Frederick Arthur Stanley, also known as the Lord Stanley of Preston, donated the Cup with the intention that it be rewarded to Canada's top amateur hockey team.
The Montreal Hockey Club of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada became the first team to win the Stanley Cup in 1893.
In 1947, the NHL was granted control of the Stanley Cup.
The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner is a believer in the Vegas Golden Knights.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is apparently a bit of a stickler when it comes to analytics, and after breaking down their performances, believes the Golden Knights' 8-1-0 record is not a fluke, he told The Athletic's Josh Yohe.
The club is enjoying the best start ever for an expansion team and currently leads the league in point percentage (.889).
Vegas currently boasts a PDO (five-on-five save percentage plus shooting percentage) of 106.55, according to Corsica, the highest mark in the league, suggesting regression is likely to follow. The club has also played just two of its opening nine games on the road, but will now embark on a six-game road trip, which should provide a stern test of its mettle.
The outcome of the road trip could go a long way in assessing the accuracy of Crosby's hypothesis.
