First the quality of ice; now the quality of practice.

NHL agent Allan Walsh directed his frustration at the New York Islanders on Saturday, voicing his displeasure on Twitter about the club carrying three netminders again this season.

Walsh suggested that the three goalies - two of which are his clients - are not receiving the appropriate amount of practice time to "stay sharp."

Without mentioning his name, Walsh added that Jaroslav Halak (again, his client), had one quality practice in the five days leading up to the team's loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

His other client, J-F Berube, hasn't made a start this year with Thomas Greiss serving as the club's main backup. However, he would make the same salary - and Walsh the same cut - on assignment in the minor leagues, according to CapFriendly.

It's important to note, however, that Berube has to clear waivers in order to be sent down.

Halak has a middling .916 save percentage in 41 starts across this season and last.

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No pressure, Tyler Graovac.

Speaking with reporters Saturday, Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau stated what he's looking for from the forward who was recalled from the AHL earlier in the day.

"He scored two goals last night (with Iowa, the Wild's AHL affiliate). He scored a goal and got in a fight the other night," Boudreau said. "We want to see his competitiveness that maybe we didn't see as much in training camp and how bad he wants to play in the NHL.

"Play a good game. We're not asking for him to go out and pull an Auston Matthews and get four goals in your first game or anything. We just want him to be a solid contributor and play like he belongs here."

Gravoac started the year in the AHL after failing to make the NHL out of training camp. The 23-year-old has four points in six games with Iowa this season.

Gravoac has appeared in five NHL games since 2014-15 but has yet to record a point.

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No pressure, Tyler Graovac.

Speaking with reporters Saturday, Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau stated what he's looking for from the forward who was recalled from the AHL earlier in the day.

"He scored two goals last night (with Iowa, the Wild's AHL affiliate). He scored a goal and got in a fight the other night," Boudreau said. "We want to see his competitiveness that maybe we didn't see as much in training camp and how bad he wants to play in the NHL.

"Play a good game. We're not asking for him to go out and pull an Auston Matthews and get four goals in your first game or anything. We just want him to be a solid contributor and play like he belongs here."

Gravoac started the year in the AHL after failing to make the NHL out of training camp. The 23-year-old has four points in six games with Iowa this season.

Gravoac has appeared in five NHL games since 2014-15 but has yet to record a point.

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The defensive core of the Minnesota Wild will see an upgrade Saturday, as coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup when the Wild face off against the Stars.

Spurgeon missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old has tallied two points in four games this season.

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The Arizona Coyotes still believe in Dylan Strome.

Speaking with Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports, general manager John Chayka was quick to dispel any notion that the Coyotes are not satisfied with the progress of Strome, the team's top prospect.

"The belief out there that we're not happy with Dylan's game, that's just not true," Chayka said. "We're very excited and happy about the progress he's made in the last three weeks to a month.

"He went from a player who has gotten by on talent for a while to becoming one of our hardest workers in practice and that's a prerequisite to being a top player in the NHL: your work ethic and your level of commitment every day in practice."

Strome has been a frequent healthy scratch in the early goings, appearing in just three of the team's seven games. The third overall pick in 2015 has not played in Arizona's last three games and is not slated to be in the lineup Saturday when the Coyotes take on the Colorado Avalanche.

Strome recorded an assist in his NHL debut versus the Ottawa Senators earlier this month, his lone point on the season.

Strome can play nine games before the Coyotes need to decide whether he sticks with the club or returns to junior with the OHL's Erie Otters, where he scored 111 points in 56 games last season. As a 19-year-old junior, Strome is ineligible to play in the AHL.

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The Dallas Stars have activated forward Jiri Hudler off injured reserve, the club announced prior to Saturday's game versus the Minnesota Wild.

With Hudler's return, the Stars reassigned forward Justin Dowling to the AHL.

Hudler's missed the past five games battling an illness, and hasn't recorded a point in two games with the club. However, Dallas will welcome any offensive boost, as they rank 22nd league-wide with only 18 goals for.

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Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson's wife, Nicholle, has been diagnosed with cancer, general manager Pierre Dorion told reporters Saturday.

Nicholle is in the early stages of her diagnosis and the family is now in a wait period, Dorion said.

The GM confirmed Anderson will return to the team, but a date wasn't announced.

The Senators announced Thursday that Anderson had left the team for personal reasons.

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The Boston Bruins are expected to welcome Tuukka Rask back to the crease Saturday night.

Rask has only appeared in three of Boston's games thus far, after being sidelined with "general soreness," but head coach Claude Julien said the 29-year-old should be ready when the Bruins take on the Detroit Red Wings.

Rask's absence sparked chaos in the Bruins' net, as they started four different goalies in four games.

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Connor McDavid isn't going to stop scoring goals and piling up points, but the Edmonton Oilers need Cam Talbot to keep playing at an elite level if they hope to sustain their scorching start.

Talbot and the Oilers won their fifth straight game and improved to 7-1-0 with a victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night, continuing the franchise's best opening run since 1985.

The Edmonton goaltender has two shutouts in his last three contests, leads the NHL with seven victories, has a 2.17 GAA and .934 save percentage, and has started each of the Oilers' five consecutive wins.

However, Edmonton has several reasons for concern that make Talbot's strong play critical to its hopes of remaining at or near the top of the Western Conference standings.

Firstly, Edmonton is allowing 32.5 shots on goal per game, the sixth-worst average in the NHL through seven games.

The Oilers are losing the possession game as well. They're the sixth-worst team in the league in terms of Corsi For percentage at even strength (47.22), according to Corsica.Hockey.

They also have the fifth-highest PDO (103.48) - a combination of shooting percentage and save percentage that typically regresses over time if it's more than 100.

McDavid is leading the league in points and is tied for second in goals, and he's not the only one fueling Edmonton's offense. His linemate, Milan Lucic, is second on the team with four goals and seven points, while Jordan Eberle and Leon Draisaitl have six points apiece. But the Oilers could be in for a reality check if they continue playing without the puck as much as they have, and if they don't give Talbot a rest.

Talbot's started every game for Edmonton so far, and was merely average last season when given the heaviest workload of his career. Prior to that 56-game campaign, the 29-year-old had played more than 36 games in a season only once at any level, posting similarly pedestrian figures with the AHL's Connecticut Whale in 55 contests.

The Oilers have won four of five at home and all three on the road so far, but their November schedule includes 10 road games, or twice as many as they'll play at Rogers Place next month.

All of these factors put additional pressure on Talbot to maintain his stellar early-season play, and the soaring Oilers might be headed back down to Earth if he's unable to keep it up.

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Matt O'Connor is NHL-bound again.

The Ottawa Senators have summoned the 24-year-old goaltender from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton, the club announced Saturday. He's expected to meet the team in Edmonton, where they're preparing to face the Oilers on Sunday.

O'Connor and Chris Driedger are now the options in goal for the Senators. Starter Craig Anderson left for personal reasons Thursday and backup Andrew Hammond was hurt in Friday night's loss to the Calgary Flames.

Driedger allowed four goals in the 5-2 defeat after replacing Hammond for the second period.

O'Connor has allowed seven goals in three AHL games this season. He appeared in one NHL game and 34 contests for Binghamton in 2015-16, posting a 3.31 GAA and .895 save percentage in the latter stint.

The Senators signed him out of Boston University in the spring of 2015.

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