Deen’s Daily: Florida Wins in Finland; Nichushkin Skates Again; Will the Penguins Add to Their Roster?

The Avalanche are heading into yet another game without six of their top 10 forwards. They visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday hoping to end their two-game losing skid. This should be the last game without Artturi Lehkonen. But another one of their returning forwards, Valeri Nichushkin, continues to ramp things up on his own. While head coach Jared Bednar mentioned Thursday that Nichushkin should be joining the team soon, it was nice to catch a glimpse of his on-ice work following Friday’s practice. More on that here from Colleen Flynn.

Also, Cale Makar was named the NHL’s First Star for the month of October. Makar is riding an 11-game season-opening point streak and was tied for the league lead in points in October with 19.

Around The NHL

Florida Hockey Now: The long break heading into the NHL Global Series in Finland did well for the Florida Panthers. For the first time all season, they played with a fully healthy lineup. And as a result, the Panthers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-4 in the first of a back-to-back. Florida led 6-2 late before surrendering two goals.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kyle Dubas remains stuck in one of the hardest positions in hockey. He’ll either be the guy who has to rebuild the Pittsburgh Penguins out of its most successful era, or he has to be the guy who trades one or more of his core players. The recent play of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line has made things interesting. If the goal is still to win with these guys, will he make a move for added depth?

Montreal Hockey Now: Head coach Martin St. Louis sent a message to his club on Friday following another bad loss. Montreal has the worst goals against per game in the NHL, allowing 47 in just 11 games. What makes that stat even more mindblowing is the fact that they shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 on opening night.

San Jose Hockey Now: Defenseman Matt Benning, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal for Timothy Liljegren, was popular in the Sharks’ dressing room. Benning has one year after this season remaining on his contract, which pays him $1.25 million annually. The expectation is that the Leafs are looking to move him.