Ad
Tampa Bay Lightning News
Vasilevskiy (blood clot) returned to practice on Monday.

Vasilevskiy has missed the first nine games of the season with a blood clot, but returned to practice on Monday. Vasilevskiy will take over as the Lightning’s backup goalie as soon as he is ready to go, but he will likely head to the AHL for conditioning before he fully takes over. Kristen Gudlevskis will serve as Ben Bishop’s backup until Vasilevskiy is 100 percent.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Elliott will start on Saturday vs. the Islanders.

Elliott gave up two goals on 29 shots in the Blues win in Winnipeg last Sunday. He was given Tuesday night off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. the Islanders. Elliott has won all four of his starts this season while limiting the opposition to just two goals per game and posting a .918 SV%.

Brian Elliott
Vasilevskiy (blood clot) is off of blood thinners; expected to practice early next week.

Vasilevskiy had been skating but he will start practicing next week, which is a huge step in his return from a blood clot. He was originally expected to miss 2-3 months. If he returns at the front-end of that timetable, he would be back in the second week of November.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Elliott gets the nod on Sunday vs. the Jets.

Elliott allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Blues win over the Oilers on Thursday. Elliott has won all three of his starts this season while posting a 2.00 GAA and .912 SV% this season. This afternoon he will face a Jets team that has averaged 3.60 goals per game in five games this season.

Brian Elliott
Hedman (upper-body) will not play on Saturday vs. Buffalo.

Hedman suffered an injury on Friday and it will keep him out of the Lightning lineup tonight vs. Buffalo. He went through concussion protocol following the hit that injured him, so he could be dealing with concussion symptoms, but he is not expected to miss an extended period of time. With Hedman out, Slater Koekkek has been recalled and will make his season debut.

Victor Hedman
Elliott will be back in goal on Thursday vs. the Oilers.

Elliott made 15 saves on 18 shots in the Blues win over the Flames on Tuesday. It wasn’t a great start for Elliott, but it still resulted in the road win. Elliott will break the Blues’ goalie rotation and start two in a row, after winning his first two starts with a 2.00 GAA and .905 SV%

Brian Elliott
Elliott will start the Blues' season opener on Thursday.

Elliott will get the first start of the year for the Blues, but this should be an even split throughout the year. Elliott was sensational in the preseason, going 2-0-0 with a 0.86 GAA and .965 SV% in three games. In four years with the Blues he has never had a GAA above 2.28 while posting a strong .923 SV%. His splits are always great, but he never starts enough game to be elite.

Brian Elliott
The Penguins have assigned Derrick Pouliot to Wikes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Pouliot was expected to make the Penguins opening roster after having a strong 2014-15 season at both levels. However, he had a bad preseason and the Penguins have elected to have him start 2015-16 in the AHL. He had 24 points (7G / 17A) in 31 games with WBS last season—if he plays like that this year, he will work his way back into the NHL.

Derrick Pouliot
Over the weekend the Blackhawks signed Brent Seabrook to an eight-year extension worth $55M ($6.875M AAV).

Seabrook, 30, was drafted 14th overall in 2003 and is now signed through the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-3, 218 lbs. defensemen is on of the steadiest blueliners in the NHL. He has only missed 10 games over the last nine seasons and has averaged eight goals and 27 assists (35 points) per 82 games throughout his career.

Brent Seabrook
On Monday, Vasilevskiy (blood clot) skated for the first time since vascular surgery.

Vasilevskiy underwent vascular surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone on September 3rd, but returned to the ice this afternoon. Vasilevskiy is expected to miss 2-3 months from the date of his surgery, which would put him on target to return in early-November at the earliest. Ray Emery was brought in on a professional tryout to potentially serve as Ben Bishop’s backup while Vasilevskiy is on the shelf.

Andrei Vasilevskiy