Saad served as a healthy scratch in Sunday's win over the Blues. Head coach Joel Quenneville called the scratch a "coach's decision". Saad has just one assist in his last nine games, so the Hawks were likely giving him the night off to recharge so he is ready to go come playoff time.
Saad hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury against the Detroit Red Wings on March 16. He is tied for second on the Blackhawks with a plus-29 rating and is sixth on the team with 44 points. He has 19 goals and 25 assists in 68 games this season.
Stone has one goal and one assist in seven games with the Senators this season. While with Binghamton he has 38 points (15G / 23A) in 35 games. He has been recalled with Bobby Ryan questionable for Monday's game in Tampa Bay.
Saad will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Sunday. With Patrick Kane out, Saad will likely see an expanded role when he returns to the lineup, but that will not be tonight. He remains day-to-day.
Saad will not play tonight vs. the Flyers, but the injury is not serious and he could be back in tomorrow.
Saad suffered an upper-body injury against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period on Sunday and missed the remainder of the game. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday he did not believe Saad's injury was serious. Saad was expected to be re-evaluated on Monday. Saad has not missed a game this season. He is tied for first on the Blackhawks with a plus-29 rating and is sixth on the team with 44 points. He has 19 goals and 25 assists in 68 games this season.
McNabb, 23, was selected in the third round (66th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6-foot-4, 205 lbs. defenseman who has seven goals and 22 assists (29 points) in 38 games with the Rochester Americans (AHL) this season. He has failed to record a point in 12 games with the Sabres.
With Hossa out 2-3 weeks, the Hawks will start by giving Saad the chance to play with Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. Saad has 18 goals and 23 assists (41 points) and a plus-27 rating already, but a spot on the top-line could help inflate those numbers even further.
Hertl is expected to practice on Thursday but at this point still is not expected to play again this season.
Stone has been out since January 20 after suffering an upper-body injury in practice. The Senators have been impressed with how Stephane Da Costa has played since being recalled, so they elected to stick with him and return Stone to the AHL.
McNabb played in seven games during his most recent call-up. He failed to record a points and was a plus-1 with seven shots and 14 hits. He returns to Rochester where he has 15 points (3G / 12A) in 20 games.
Stone crashed into the boards in practice and left favouring one of his arms. He was playing on a line with Jason Spezza so someone will get a chance to play with the talented playmaker while Stone is out. Stone is staying back home to he re-evaluated and may join the team later.
A former NHL team trainer familiar with Hertl's type of injury told CSNCalifornia.com the “best case” scenario for Hertl to return would be approximately 12 weeks. More likely, Hertl will be out of action from six to nine months, which would keep him out the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
Stone, 21, has recorded nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 19 AHL games with the B-Sens this season. He missed 10 games after being injured during the team’s season-opener on Oct. 5 against Syracuse. The 6-2, 203-pound forward played in four regular-season games with the Senators last season, while being held scoreless. He also appeared in two NHL post-season contests (one in 2011-12 and one in 2012-13) and registered an assist in his professional debut on April 21, 2012
There is no official timetable for Hertl's return but he is expected to miss at least a couple of months. After surgery we will have a better idea of how long he will be out.
Hertl left Thursday's game in the first period an did not return after a knee-on-knee collision with Kings forward Dustin Brown. Brown was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the incident. The play did not appear to have any intent, simply two players that were trying to avoid each other but were unable to do so. This is a tough break for the rookie who was enjoying a tremendous start to his NHL career potting 15 goals and adding 10 assists in his first 35 games. Hertl is having an MRI today, so a more accurate timetable should be available later.
McNabb shuffled in and out of the Sabres lineup playing in five of a possible 10 games during his call-up. He failed to record a point and had an EVEN rating while averaging 16:12 TOI.
McNabb appeared in three games with the Sabres, he failed to record a point while averaging 16:48 TOI. He returns to Rochester where he has two goals and 10 assists in 15 games. He will play one game in Rochester tonight and then likely head back to Buffalo.
McNabb, 22, was the 66th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-4, 205 lbw. defenseman has two goals and 12 points in 15 games with Rochester this season. He skated in 25 games with the Sabres in 2011-12 registering one goal and seven assists.
Saad had some success on the top line last season and is worth keeping an eye on.
