Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews was accidentally hit in the back of the head by the knee of a Carolina Hurricanes player on Monday night, head coach Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday. .
His condition will be reassessed on Wednesday.
Matthews left Monday night’s game after sustaining an injury and did not return to action.
Ovechkin back
Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin was removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Tuesday and is eligible to return to play.
Tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, the Capitals captain missed a game and was unable to participate in the All-Star Game weekend.
Caps coach Peter Laviolette said at the end of Tuesday’s practice that his star player should be able to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
In 46 games, Ovechkin has 29 goals and 29 assists this season, making him the team’s leading scorer.
Resting Tuukka Rask
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask will be sidelined for the rest of the week.
The 34-year-old was rested before the All-Star Game break with a lower-body injury.
Rask won’t be playing all week, nor will he be training on the rink.
In four games this season, the Finn is 2-2-0 with a 4.28 goals-against average and .844 save percentage.
Veleno recalled to Detroit
The Detroit Red Wings recalled Joe Veleno from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Quebec forward has 4 goals and 2 assists in 31 games with the Wings this season.
In two games with the Griffins last weekend, Veleno had 1 goal and 3 assists.
Czarnik claimed by the Kraken
The Seattle Kraken claimed Austin Czarnik on waivers.
The 29-year-old forward who belonged to the New York Islanders had two goals and three assists in 11 games this season with the New York team.
In addition, the Washington Capitals submitted the name of defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers.
The Islanders without Palmieri
The New York Islanders will be without forward Kyle Palmieri when they face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. The veteran will join the team later this week in Edmonton, his wife is about to give birth.
