NHL Hockey 3d Briefing
×Major Injuries and Returns
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby espn.com will miss at least four weeks after being placed on injured reserve. The injury setback comes as Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin espn.com has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and playoffs with an ACL injury. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights returned espn.com from the Olympic break without five players who participated in the final, including Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin from the United States, plus Canadian forwards Mark Stone and Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore.
Coaching and Management Updates
Lightning coach Jon Cooper espn.com will miss two games following the death of his father, Robert. The St. Louis Blues announced that forward Robert Thomas espn.com is taking a temporary leave of absence for a personal matter. On a positive note, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville espn.com joined Scotty Bowman as the only coaches to reach 1,000 career wins after his team rallied to defeat the Oilers.
Olympic Celebrations and Honors
The Panthers hosted a special celebration for their first post-Olympic game, featuring a ceremonial faceoff between Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews espn.com. The Devils honored U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes espn.com before their game against the Sabres. However, Brady Tkachuk espn.com expressed disappointment over an AI-doctored video released by the White House that appeared to show him disparaging Canadians.
The NHL returns from its Olympic break with a doubleheader on ABC featuring playoff implications, including the Penguins-Rangers and Bruins-Flyers matchups espn.com. As teams prepare for the stretch run, John Tavares credits espn.com a mental health focus for his renaissance season through his foundation's awareness efforts. The trade market is heating up with many teams seeking to bolster their rosters for a deep playoff run, according to recent trade tier rankings.