Calgary Flames
Jakob Pelletier will have surgery on his left shoulder next week and is out indefinitely.
The 22-year-old forward was injured during the first period of a 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken in a preseason game at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday.
Pelletier was hit into the boards by Kraken forward Marián Studenič at 19:53. Studenic was assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct on the play.
"You feel bad for him," Flames forward Mikael Backlund said Monday. "We'll see how it goes. Hopefully he comes back here soon. I feel bad for him. Such a positive energy guy, great teammate, so it's really hard to see him leave the game early on."
Pelletier had one assist and two blocked shots in 7:17 of ice time in his preseason debut. -- Aaron Vickers
Ottawa Senators
Josh Norris wore a regular practice jersey Wednesday for the first time since training camp began.
Despite being a full participant in practice, coach D.J. Smith said the forward is still “not officially cleared for contact.”
Norris, who hasn’t played a regular-season game since re-injuring his shoulder Jan. 21, “tweaked something” in his shoulder two weeks ago. He is expected to play multiple preseason games, but the Senators still don't know which ones.
"Today's practice will have a lot to do with that,” Smith said. “We'll see how he feels. We're not going to put him in a situation if he isn't 100 percent mentally there and the doctors haven't cleared him to play in that game. He's really close. So, he's going to play in a couple exhibition games for sure. Is it Friday? I don't know. Is it out east? (Sunday) We'll see. I think today's practice and tomorrow's practice will dictate a lot of that."
The 24-year-old has missed 90 games the past two seasons due to shoulder injuries. -- Callum Fraser
St. Louis Blues
Justin Faulk, Jordan Kyrou and Kasperi Kapanen each returned to the ice on Thursday for a full practice.
Faulk, a defenseman, sustained a lower-body injury late in the second period of a 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday and missed practice Wednesday.
Kapanen, a forward, was supposed to play against the Blue Jackets but was a late scratch with an upper-body injury; he also missed practice Wednesday.
Kyrou, a forward, missed practice Wednesday with a lower-body injury.
"They seemed good," Blues coach Craig Berube said after practice Thursday. "I didn't hear anything yet, but they all finished practice." -- Lou Korac
Washington Capitals
Ivan Miroshnichenko will play in his first NHL preseason game on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom when the Capitals host the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET: NHLN, MNMT).
“We ultimately want to give him an opportunity to play with some veteran players that can help him through a game, that are very, very intelligent, that have been through this thousands of times and set him up for success,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “That’s what we’re trying to do as coaches and make him feel as comfortable as possible and, hopefully, he can show what he’s capable of tomorrow night.”
The No. 20 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Miroshnichenko is attending his first NHL training camp. The 19-year-old is cancer free after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February 2022.
A right-handed shot who normally plays left wing, Miroshnichenko will play right wing with Ovechkin on the left side and Backstrom at center.
“When we looked at that, it wasn’t ideal because he’s played a ton of left wing, but I feel like the overbearing of playing him with ‘O’ [Ovechkin] and giving him that comfortability, a countryman, someone that can help him through a game, I felt like that overrided putting him on the left side,” Carbery said.
Andrew Cristall, an 18-year-old forward who was selected in the second round (No. 40) of the 2023 NHL Draft, also will play in his first NHL preseason game. -- Tom Gulitti
