BREAKING: Long-Serving Veteran Scratched

After being sidelined for several months due to a knee injury sustained last season, long-serving defenseman Niklas Kronwall returned to game action at the beginning of the month. Through his first five games, the 35-year-old has shown signs of rust. He managed only a single assist and his minus-4 rating has been underwhelming. He took nine shots on goal, three of which came against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday evening in 15:36 of ice time. He finished that night with a minus-2 rating.

 

Despite having recovered from his knee injury, it is clear that Kronwall is slowly becoming a mere shadow of himself. He often misses practice in order to take “maintenance days,” and this morning was no exception.

 

Head coach Jeff Blashill announced that the veteran defenseman will sit out tomorrow night’s matchup versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in order to allow him to adequately rest. It appears as though rookie blue-liner Ryan Sproul will take his place against their Atlantic Division rivals, if this morning’s defensive pairings are any indication.