Preseason decisions are starting to look like opening-night calls around the NHL, with Patrick Kane set for his Chicago return, injury watches in Toronto and Pittsburgh, and key availability tests for Philadelphia and Dallas.
Key takeaways
- Patrick Kane is expected to make his preseason debut Thursday when Chicago visits St. Louis.
- Toronto forward Nick Paul is day to day after leaving Wednesday’s win over Ottawa with an undisclosed injury.
- Pittsburgh’s Ben Kindel has been moved from day to day to a week-to-week timeline with a lower-body issue.
- Philadelphia’s Denver Barkey could still be in the mix for the Sept. 30 opener if he gets into Saturday’s exhibition game.
- Dallas held Jake Oettinger out after lower-body tightness, while Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene also missed Thursday’s skate.
Chicago eyes Kane’s return as opener approaches
Kane will pull on a Blackhawks sweater for a preseason game Thursday at Enterprise Center, where Chicago faces the Blues at 8 p.m. ET. It is likely to be his lone exhibition appearance before the regular season begins.
Coach Jeff Blashill indicated Chicago could sit Kane for Saturday’s rematch with St. Louis at United Center, potentially saving his first home appearance for the Oct. 6 regular-season meeting with the Blues. “There might be something like that,” Blashill said.
The 36-year-old winger returned to Chicago on July 23, signing a two-year deal worth $16 million with an $8 million annual cap hit. Chicago selected Kane first overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, and he was a central figure in three Stanley Cup runs during his first 16 seasons with the club, winning in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The Blackhawks begin their schedule Sept. 29 on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
Injury board and roster movement
Paul did not take part in Toronto’s Thursday practice after exiting a 6-1 preseason victory against the Ottawa Senators the previous night. He was hurt during the opening period, logged 4:42 of ice time and recorded one shot.
Coach Jim Hiller said the club was not highly alarmed but would monitor the forward daily. “It’s nothing we are overly concerned about, but we have to take it day by day,” Hiller said, adding that he could not guarantee Paul would be ready for Toronto’s Sept. 29 season opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto also plans to place forward Steven Lorentz on waivers. Lorentz was absent from Thursday’s practice.
In Pittsburgh, Kindel is awaiting additional testing after a lower-body injury forced him out following the first period of Monday’s 4-1 win against Buffalo. The forward had initially been labeled day to day, but director of minor league operations Amanda Kessel said Thursday that the outlook now appears to be week to week. Pittsburgh opens Sept. 30 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers have their own opening-night question in Barkey, who wore a noncontact jersey Thursday after suffering a lower-body injury against the Washington Capitals on Monday. He remains day to day, though coach Rick Tocchet left the door open for Barkey to play in Saturday’s final preseason game against Washington.
Tocchet said a Saturday appearance would be an encouraging sign for the Sept. 30 date with Pittsburgh. “If he plays Saturday, unless something else happens on the ice, you’d think he’d be ready to go for opening night,” Tocchet said.
Philadelphia will also get Nikita Grebenkin back into action Thursday against the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. ET. The forward had not played since March 21 because of an upper-body injury and missed the Flyers’ first two preseason contests.
Dallas took a cautious approach with Oettinger, who was scratched from his planned start against Minnesota on Wednesday because of lower-body tightness and then missed Thursday’s practice. Coach Glen Gulutzan said the decision was precautionary, explaining that the Stars did not want to risk aggravating the issue.
Seguin and Duchene were also unavailable for the Dallas skate. Seguin is continuing his recovery from Dec. 16 surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee and has missed both preseason games so far. Duchene’s absence was part of his maintenance plan during camp.
