Golden Knights expected to place goalie Malcolm Subban on IR
The Golden Knights can almost put together a full lineup of injured players.
Goaltender Malcolm Subban was the latest to go down, as the backup goaltender will be placed on the injured-reserve list with an upper-body injury, coach Gerard Gallant said Saturday at City National Arena.
Maxime Lagace was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League ahead of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers at T-Mobile Arena.
“We’ve got enough to play, and that’s good,” Gallant said. “Every team goes through it, but we’ve had quite a few lately.”
Gallant said Subban was hurt during “the morning skate” on the most recent road trip, presumably Thursday in San Jose. Subban dressed and was listed as the backup for the Knights’ 5-3 victory.
Emergency goaltender Alex Bjerk practiced with the Knights on Saturday.
Subban is 11-3-1 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 16 appearances.
He missed about a month early in the season because of a lower-body injury and has started twice since Jan. 5, with Marc-Andre Fleury shouldering most of the workload.
Lagace went 6-6-1 with a 3.79 goals against average in 14 games with the Knights while Fleury and Subban were hurt. He’s gone 11-4-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .907 save percentage in Chicago.
The Knights’ roster is at the minimum 20 players with forwards Tomas Nosek and William Carrier and defensemen Jon Merrill and Luca Sbisa already on IR.
Nosek practiced Saturday in a noncontact jersey, while Merrill and Sbisa worked out after the rest of the team left the ice.
“I think over the next little while we’re going to start to get players back here, Nosek being the first,” Gallant said. “Hopefully the other guys will be here in the near future, too. Hopefully the worst is over with. We’re surviving it.”
Hailey’s hand
Hailey Dawson of Henderson will drop the ceremonial first puck before Sunday’s game between the Knights and Flyers.
Dawson, who turns 8 next month, was born with Poland syndrome, a rare disorder that caused her right hand to never fully develop. She uses a 3-D printed prosthetic hand engineered at UNLV and gained national acclaim in the fall when she threw out the first pitch for Game 4 of the World Series.
The ceremony is part of the leaguewide “Hockey Is For Everyone Month.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Skinny: Despite a slow start that included a 10-game losing streak, the Flyers (27-19-9) are third in the Metropolitan Division with 63 points.
Top scorers: Right wing Jakub Voracek leads Philadelphia with 64 points (11 goals, 53 assists), followed by center Claude Giroux with 62 points (17 goals, 45 assists); center Sean Couturier has a team-high 27 goals.
Goaltenders: Brian Elliott, 21-11-7, 2.72 goals-against average, .908 save percentage; Michal Neuvirth 6-7-2, 2.61, .911.
Coach: Dave Hakstol, third season, 107-79-33
Founded: 1967
Last Stanley Cup: 1975
Did you know: The Flyers beat the Russian Red Army team 4-1 in an infamous exhibition in 1976. The game was delayed in the first period when the Red Army coach pulled his team off the ice in protest following a hard check from "Broad Street Bullies" defenseman Ed Van Impe.
David Schoen Review-Journal
