Dadonov had not played since October 27th due to illness and had been struggling mightily in his first eight games with the Montreal Canadiens. He had yet to acquire a point this season and only had 10 SOG prior to the injury. The earliest he is eligible to return will be next Tuesday.
The Golden Knights are one of two teams left before the Christmas break but adding Pietrangelo and Dadonov to the COVID-19 protocol list muddies the chances of this game happening. If it does happen, the Golden Knights will be without Dadonov, who filled in on the top line with Mark Stone not available for their last game.
Dadonov missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness but will be available for Thursday’s game. Dadonov has gone cold recently, scoring just once with no assists in his last six games.
Dadonov underwent an MRI on Sunday but the Panthers have yet to release an official injury report on the first-year forward. Dadonov has had an excellent first 22 NHL games, collecting seven goals and 11 assists (18 points), but it sounds like he will miss a little bit of time.
Dadonov, 28, was a third round pick of the Panthers in 2007 but has been in Russia since 2012-13. Dadonov had 20 points (10G / 10A) in 55 NHL games in his first go-around in North America. In his last three seasons in the KHL, Dadonov averaged 24 goals and 29 assists and comes back to the NHL where he is expected to play a top-6 role. Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon has said he expects Dadonov to play with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, which makes him a huge fantasy sleeper heading into 2017-18.
Dadonov struggled to stick with the more-competitive Panthers this season, playing only 15 games. While in the AHL he scored five goals and nine points over 20 games. Expect him to get another look or two in Carolina.
Dadonov has no immediate fantasy hockey value in the minors.
Dadonov will dress for tonight's warmups but likely is a healthy scratch.
He scored two goals over 12 games in his first stint with the team. Look for him to get another crack at a scoring line.
Dadonov needs to play so expect him to get bigger minutes in San Antonio.
