The injury bug strikes the Golden Knights again.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, forward Paul Stastny will be inactive for the Golden Knights’ next three outings with a lower-body injury. Stastny will be reevaluated following the conclusion of Vegas’ five-game road trip.
The 32-year-old center suffered the injury against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. It appears the injury may have occurred late in the third period when Sabres captain Jack Eichel made a diving attempt to negate a high-danger scoring chance.
Here is where Paul Stastny likely got hurt last night, which has caused him to be questionable tomorrow. Final minutes of the game, got his legs taken out from under home. (See next tweet for reaction). #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/qTEE9KrqD1
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) October 9, 2018
Stastny, who signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Golden Knights in July, has had an impressive start to his tenure in Vegas. Though he has yet to record a point this season, Stastny has driven play very well (60.24 CF% at 5-on-5) and has been on the ice for 26 5-on-5 scoring chances, second on the Knights only to defenseman Colin Miller (30).
Luckily, there is some good news on the injury front. After missing Vegas’ first three games of the season, center Cody Eakin is expected to be back in the lineup against the Washington Capitals Wednesday night. Eakin, who served as a key contributor on Vegas’ penalty kill last season, will reclaim his role as third-line center, skating alongside Ryan Carpenter and Oscar Lindberg.
UPDATE: According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Stastny’s injury is more of a week-to-week issue. McKenzie believes the Golden Knights could potentially be without Stastny for as long as an entire month.
Insider @TSNBobMcKenzie reports on @NHLonNBCSports that Paul Stastny’s injury is more of a week-to-week thing and could miss a month of time.
— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) October 11, 2018