Pacific black and blues: Division foes feel pains
Defenseman Bischoff recalled from AHL Chicago
The Golden Knights aren’t going to find any sympathy around the Pacific Division for their recent spate of injuries.
Defenseman Deryk Engelland left Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Philadelphia aboutfive minutes into the second period and joins forwards Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch on the latest list of injured Knights.
The Knights were off Sundayanddidnotprovide an update on Engelland, but they recalled defenseman Jake Bischoff from the American Hockey League.
They aren’t the only team in the division that’s banged up.
Vancouver’s rookie sensation Elias Pettersson suffered a head injury when he was body-slammed to the ice by Florida defenseman Mike Matheson on Saturday.
First-place Anaheim is without notable forwards Ryan Getzlaf, Ondrej Kase and Corey Perry.
Calgary defenseman
Travis Hamonic suffered a facial fracture in a fight on opening night. Los Angeles is missing forward Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick, while San Jose’s Joe Thornton is on injured reserve.
Engelland was still listed on the active roster Sunday. Bischoff, who played for Chicago on Sunday afternoon against Milwaukee, puts the Knights at the 23-man roster limit. If Engelland can’t play Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres, coach Gerard Gallant could insert Brad Hunt or opt for Bischoff to make his NHL debut.
“We’ve had good depth ontheteamfromthestart of camp,” center PierreEdouard Bellemare said. “The guys who are here are here to make the job. We’re not waiting for anybody to save our (butts).”
Young and victorious
The Knights’ victory Saturday in Philadelphia was the franchise’s 53rd in 88 games, which surpassed the Maple Leafs (52-48-0) and tied the Canadiens (53-47-0) for the second-most wins within a team’s first 100 regular-seasongames.
The original Ottawa Senators (63-37-0) hold the record for most wins within the first 100 games.
The Knights play their 100th game Nov. 11 at Boston and would have to go 11-1 to break Ottawa’s mark.
On the farm
Top prospect Erik Brannstrom hasn’t skated since he was injured Oct. 6. The 19-year-old defenseman was sandwiched behind his net by Colorado’s Sergei Boikov, who received a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct.
Chicago’s Brooks Macek recorded the American Hockeyleague’sfirsthat trick of the season Saturday in a 5-1 win over Grand Rapids. He’s the sixth rookie all time to have a hat trick with the Wolves.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal. com or 702-387-5203. Follow @Davidschoenlvrj on Twitter.