Strome who was dealing with an upper-body injury practiced on Sunday and returned to the Coyotes lineup on Monday. This is good news for the Coyotes, who were missing three of their top-4 centres over the weekend with Strome, Alex Galchenyuk and Christian Dvorak all on the mend. The 21-year-old had 53 points (22G / 31A) in 50 AHL games last season and could take on a bigger role to start the season if Galchenyuk is forced to miss any time.
Carlson had a season to remember, leading all defensemen in points (68) and winning the Stanley Cup in a contract year. Re-signing Carlson looked like it might be difficult for the Capitals, but they traded Philipp Grubauer and Brooks Orpik to the Avalanche on Friday, clearing some cap-space to sign their No.1 blueliner. Carlson ties Brent Burns with the second-highest cap-hit among NHL defensemen at $8.0 million.
Ovechkin was questionable for tonight’s game vs. the Predators after missing Wednesday’s practice, but he says he is ready-to-go. Ovechkin has had another outstanding season, leading the NHL in goals (46) and t-12th in points (84).
