Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise underwent successful back surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks, the team announced.
Parise hasn't suited up this season, and will be forced to sit out significant time once again. The 33-year-old has dealt with multiple injuries in the past, including issues with his back, as he was diagnosed with a herniated disk during the 2015-16 season.
Since the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, Parise has only topped 70 games in a season once.
When healthy, however, Parise remains productive, netting 42 points in 69 games last season, before chipping in three more in the Wild's brief postseason run.
Frederik Andersen made 36 saves, and the Toronto Maple Leafs handed the Los Angeles Kings their first regulation loss of the season with a 3-2 victory on Monday night.
Matt Martin, Tyler Bozak and Patrick Marleau scored for the Maple Leafs (7-2-0). Mitch Marner added two assists.
Toronto has won at least seven of its first nine games for the first time since the 1993-94 season and just the seventh time overall in franchise history.
Adrian Kempe and Trevor Lewis scored for Los Angeles (6-1-1), which had won four in a row. Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots.
Toronto defenseman Roman Polak made his season debut after signing a $1.1 million, one-year deal on Sunday. He had one assist and played 12-plus minutes.
Marner helped the Maple Leafs jump in front 5:46 into the first. He entered the zone and curled behind the net before teeing up Polak for a one-timer from the blue line that Martin deflected past Quick from the top of the crease.
Bozak made it 2-0 when he jammed home a rebound on a power play with 5:16 to play in the second. But Kempe quickly responded for Los Angeles, beating Andersen with a wrist shot.
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty got cut on the nose by Marleau's skate midway through the second, but was OK to play on once the bleeding stopped.
The Kings held a 29-24 shot advantage through 40 minutes.
Marner scored early in the third, but it was waived off for incidental contact on Quick, who was taken out of the play by a sliding Martin. Leafs coach Mike Babcock challenged the call and lost.
Marleau scored 26 seconds later with a deflection that went to review for a high stick, but the call stood and it was 3-1 Leafs 2:46 into the third.
Lewis cut into Toronto's lead with a short-handed goal with 7:41 to go, getting alone on Andersen before sneaking the puck through his pads.
Any chance of a comeback was halted when Quick took a minor for interference with 2:05 to play.
It was one rough night for Quick, who took an errant elbow from teammate Derek Forbort with 2:59 remaining in the first period and clutched his head briefly, but continued on.
With 1:11 to go in the period, Quick was forced off the ice, possibly for concussion protocol by either the in-arena spotter or central league spotter. He returned at the next whistle without going to the locker room, visiting with the team trainer in the tunnel. He missed just 36 seconds of game action while replaced by Darcy Kuemper.
NOTES: Leafs F Eric Fehr was placed on waivers earlier in the day. ... Polak replaced Connor Carrick on defense.
He's won both the Art Ross and Hart trophies (2006), a World Junior Championship (1997), the World Cup of Hockey (2004, 2016), and an Olympic gold medal (2010).
He does not, however, have his name on the Stanley Cup.
All things considered, we ask if he's an automatic to be named to the Hockey Hall of Fame once he hangs up his skates.
Thornton has amassed 1,013 helpers to go along with 385 career goals, and now sits 59 points behind Teemu Selanne for 15th - a level he could hit by season's end.
Thornton won the 2006 Art Ross and Hart trophies with San Jose after being traded from the Boston Bruins earlier that season.
Anaheim Ducks winger Patrick Eaves has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, the team announced Monday.
From the team:
After feeling symptoms of weakness, Eaves visited specialists Dr. Robert Watkins Sr. and Dr. Danny Benmoshe last week, which later led to Eaves being diagnosed and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital. Eaves' condition stabilized over the weekend and he was transferred out of the ICU.
Eaves is expected to make a full recovery.
"I want to thank Dr. Robert Watkins Sr. and Dr. Danny Benmoshe for their early diagnosis of my condition, along with the proactive Ducks medical team," Eaves wrote in a statement. "Thanks to them and the incredible nurses at Hoag Hospital, I'm on the road to recovery.
"I've received tremendous amount of support over the last few days, most importantly from my family, friends, and teammates. I'm determined to fully overcome this and return to the ice as soon as possible."
Eaves, who signed a three-year contract with the Ducks this past summer, has been limited to only two games this season due to what was described as a lower-body injury.
He scored 32 goals last season with Anaheim and Dallas.
Fresh off a debut appearance in the Stanley Cup Final amid a truly special atmosphere, the Predators have been named the best franchise in professional sports by ESPN.
Nashville made the Stanley Cup Final while charging middle-of-the-pack ticket prices. Beyond that bang for the buck, the Preds deliver eye-popping customer service. In our most recent polls, Nashville topped all NHL clubs in engaging fans through social media, delivering information via mobile devices, making it easy to use the team website, and providing avenues for feedback.
"This doesn't happen without the support of the best fans in sports," team president Sean Henry said. "We need to make more of them, we need to continue to grow that base, but our fans have taken it on in a very serious fashion that they own this organization, they're part of the organization."
The Predators have started the season 4-3-1, but continue to sell out every night. Another long playoff run can only be a good thing for hockey.
Marc Bergevin's club has stumbled to a record of 1-6-1, scoring an NHL-low 12 goals. At Claude Julien's disposal is an offensively-talented 23-year-old with a 30-goal season to his credit, but the head coach refuses to deploy Galchenyuk in a role befitting his skill set.
Back in the preseason, the general manager made it clear Galchenyuk, who was drafted third overall in 2012, would be playing wing "until further notice," and on Monday, the head coach dropped the forward to the fourth line, saying "I don't think Alex has given us enough to continue to be on our top line for the time being," per John Lu of TSN.
This all makes little sense for at least three reasons:
Galchenyuk not in position to succeed
To be clear, Galchenyuk is no exception to the team's early struggles. He's scored one goal in eight games on only 14 shots, and all of these numbers are obviously well below his career numbers.
Despite the poor start, Galchenyuk is averaging 0.26 goals and 0.33 assists per game, which works out to 21 goals and 27 assists for every 82 games played.
Galchenyuk is simply less likely to find his form in limited, fourth-line ice time. Being buried on the left side behind Paul Byron, Max Pacioretty, and Charles Hudon is not where Galchenyuk belongs, as it's at center where's he's succeeded most in recent history.
#Habs Galchenyuk Since the start of 15-16: Center: 84pts in 112 games (0.75) Wing: 17pts in 39 games (0.43) Hard to argue against this tweet https://t.co/VCk8tJ7NfT
Galchenyuk is being sent out as part of the second power-play unit, a decidedly more appropriate assignment. But the opportunity to play top-six forward minutes is one that should also be afforded at even strength.
Trade value dropping
Let's assume for a moment the Canadiens resolve to trade Galchenyuk. They don't believe he can play center or even contribute at a level they expected out of him.
Why then lower his trade value by making it even harder to produce? In order to maximize a potential return, it'd be prudent to show potential suitors that Galchenyuk might be able to fill a need on their end, even if he's not seen as a fit in Montreal.
It's simple economics. If you're selling, create some demand.
Nothing to lose in light of brutal start
So whether it be to get the offense going or boost Galchenyuk's perceived attractiveness in trade talks, it behooves the Canadiens to play him with the team's other offensive talents.
There is literally nowhere else to go but up for both team and player, and now is not the time to treat Galchenyuk with kid gloves. Even if his defensive game is seen as needing work despite posting positive possession numbers at even strength over the past 295 games, trust that all the changes on the blue line and the failsafe of Carey Price can cover those deficiencies with a view to getting much-needed scoring.
Challenge the player to succeed rather than single him out for the team's overall failures, and, best case scenario, watch as the results follow or the phone starts ringing with increased regularity.
If none of the above comes to fruition, at least you put player and team in the best position to succeed.
Jeff Carter is out indefinitely after suffering a cut to his leg that required surgery, but a high-ranking member of the Los Angeles Kings got a little more specific about the star forward's timetable Monday.
Kings assistant general manager Mike Futa told Sportsnet 590 The FAN that Carter's recovery is going to be a lengthy one.
"It's not a minor injury. It was a freak (injury) and he was wearing everything you need to be wearing (to protect yourself) ... but (the protective socks are) cut-resistant, not cut-proof," Futa said on "HockeyCentral at Noon."
"It's unfortunate," the executive added. "It's going to be a long-term injury. It's not ... a four-to-six weeker. It's going to be measured more on a month-to-month basis."
Futa then took it one step further and implied Carter may not be back until February.
"He's in such great shape that he's going to come back stronger than ever, and I think he'll probably be back around ... more like a trade-deadline acquisition kind of thing, getting a guy back at that time, but what can you do?"
Futa added that he doesn't think it makes sense for the Kings and GM Rob Blake to trade picks for a rental player to fill the void in the short term.
