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Bergeron Out for Bruins’ Opener

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report – Special to Digital Sports Desk) – The Boston Bruins will be without forward Patrice Bergeron and defensemen Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller for Thursday night’s season opener. General manager Don Sweeney announced Wednesday the three veterans will not travel to Columbus for the Bruins’ game against the Blue Jackets.

Patrice Bergeron

Bergeron sustained a lower-body injury and McQuaid an upper-body injury. Both are being evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Miller underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand on Tuesday. His expected recovery time is six weeks. Bergeron played in 80 games last season, recording scoring 32 goals and 36 assists. McQuaid played in 64 contests, with one goal and eight assists. Miller skated in 71 games, with five goals and 13 assists.

Meanwhile, the Bruins recalled forward Tim Schaller from Providence of the American Hockey League. Schaller joined the team for Wednesday’s practice and will travel to Columbus.

Sabres Eichel Hurt in Practice

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BUFFALO – (Wire Service Report) – Buffalo Sabres star center Jack Eichel suffered an injury to his left leg during practice Wednesday and needed help getting off the ice. Eichel was injured in front of the net when he got tangled up with teammate Zemgus Girgensons and yelled in pain as he crumpled to the ice, according to the Buffalo News. Eichel grabbed his leg in pain as the team circled around him. The 19-year-old Eichel was helped up but was unable to put weight on his left leg.

“I was just trying to get the puck, and we got tangled,” Girgensons told reporters of the play. “He just fell awkward. It’s always tough to see someone go down, especially a guy like Eichs.”

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma told reporters that Eichel suffered an ankle injury and was being examined by the team’s medical staff.

Eichel, selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL draft out of Boston University, had 24 goals and 32 assists in 81 games in his rookie season in 2015-16.

The Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Newly acquired forward Kyle Okposo will miss the opener with a knee injury.

2016-17 NHL Season Preview

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BOSTON – (From Wire Service and Staff Reporting) – Even though the buzz surrounding the World Cup of Hockey fizzled away before the final buzzer, it truly was an excellent whistle-wetter for the coming 2016-17 National Hockey League season. Now, a couple of weeks after Sidney Crosby led Canada to that championship — and exactly fourth months since he guided the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup — the puck drops on Wednesday for the 2016-17 campaign.

How long before the currently concussed Crosby is in action and whether he and the Penguins can repeat as champs remains to be seen, but we can guarantee there will be all kinds of wild happenings between now and the next time the Cup is hoisted.

As the curtain raises, here’s how we see the 30 teams stacking up, from best to worst.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Reasons for Optimism: A loaded team which reached the conference final last season is essentially the same — despite all the hope in Toronto that Steven Stamkos would bolt for the Maple Leafs. This club has knocked on the door the past two years and is still getting better.
Causes for Concern: Starting goaltender Ben Bishop’s status is a pending unrestricted free-agent, and it’s hard to believe the Lightning will expose backup Andrei Vasilevskiy in the coming expansion draft, making for a possible distraction.

2. Washington Capitals
Reasons for Optimism: The defending runaway Presidents’ Trophy-winning team appears even stronger, with better forward depth to go with a potent attack led by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, along with a strong defense and top-shelf goalie in Braden Holtby.
Causes for Concern: If Kuznetsov takes a step back after his breakout season or backup goalie Philipp Grubbauer can’t take enough of a load off Holtby for him to be in top form come playoffs, the Caps could stumble.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins
Reasons for Optimism: Other than the fact they are essentially the same team which won the Cup? This is a deep team up front with a better-than-advertised blueline brigade and strong goaltending.
Causes for Concern: Crosby’s concussion comes with uncertainty, even if he returns right away. Last spring’s surprise in goal, Matt Murray, is nursing a hand injury from the World Cup, defensemen Kris Letang and Olli Matta have unsettling injury histories and that Stanley Cup hangover may come into play.

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NHL Issues New Concussion Protocol

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NEW YORK – One day after one of the NHL’s biggest stars, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, was diagnosed with a concussion, the league, in partnership with the NHL Players’ Association, announced Tuesday the implementation of new policies and procedures to enhance its concussion protocol.

There will be a new staff of central league spotters who will monitor all games from the player-safety room in New York to help identify players who require evaluation. They will be authorized to require a player’s removal from a game if he “exhibits certain visible signs under the protocol following a direct or indirect blow to the head,” according to a league release.

In-arena league spotters and on-ice officials will work in coordination with the New York-based spotters.

Also, clubs that do not remove a potentially concussed player will be subject to a mandatory minimum fine for a first offense, with increased fine amounts for any subsequent offense.

The central league spotters will be certified athletic trainers who have clinical experience working in elite level hockey and have received training on the visible signs of concussion in the protocol. They will observe every NHL game via television broadcast, and the in-arena spotters will observe games live in the arenas. All spotters will be able to communicate freely with one another during games, but only the New York-based spotters will communicate with the club’s medical staff.

On-ice officials are also authorized to require a player’s removal for evaluation while now having the authority to mandate the removal of a player from the game if a mandatory evaluation is required.

Crosby Out with Concussion

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PITTSBURGH – (Wire Service Report) – Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with a concussion, the team announced Monday.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said there is no timetable for Crosby’s return after coach Mike Sullivan said the star player was injured during practice Friday.

Sidney Crosby with President Obama

Crosby sat out a preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday because he was not feeling well and missed practice Monday to have concussion testing.

“He came to the rink on Saturday not feeling well and we went from there,” Sullivan said. “We always have our players’ best interest (in mind). … This one will be no different.”

Crosby, a two-time Hart Trophy winner and runner-up last season, won the Stanley Cup for the second time with the Penguins and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Crosby has a history with concussions after a collision in the 2011 Winter Classic set off a long recovery that shortened two seasons for him. The 29-year-old Crosby also was named MVP of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 after leading all scorers with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) to help Team Canada win the tournament last month.

The Penguins will raise their Stanley Cup banner before opening the regular season against the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.

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