In today’s News & Notes, Pavel Buchnevich is out for four to six weeks, the NHL has come to a tentative agreement on their concussion lawsuit and the NHL has announced the three stars of the week.
Related: NHL News & Notes: Plekanec, Carlson & More
Pavel Buchnevich Out 4-6 Weeks
The New York Rangers will be without Buchnevich for the next four to six weeks as the young forward is out due to a broken thumb. The injury occurred Saturday when the Rangers pulled out a shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Buchnevich recorded a goal and an assist in that contest.
Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers, Mar. 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Buchnevich has scored five goals and nine points in 14 games this season, including six points in his past six games. This injury is a big one for the Rangers and will now force them to get creative on their top-line. For now, the Rangers could use Ryan Spooner as a fill-in for Buchnevich with Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil also possible options for the team if Spooner doesn’t work out in the role.
NHL Concussion Lawsuit
The NHL has announced that they’ve reached a tentative settlement in their five-year-old concussion lawsuit that began five years ago this month. Involved in the case are 100 former NHL players, 318 plaintiffs overall, who alleged that the NHL Didn’t do enough to warn players of the dangers of repeated head trauma as well as failing to instruct them on how to handle the injuries during their careers.
In a statement, the NHL had the following to say:
The NHL does not acknowledge any liability for any of Plaintiffs’ claims in these cases. However, the parties agree that the settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution and that it is in the parties’ respective best interests to receive the benefits of the settlement and to avoid the burden, risk and expense of further litigation.
The court documents, as reported by Greg Wyshykski, show that the settlement is worth $16,9810,800. A full breakdown of the lawsuit and what’s next can be found here
NHL 3 Stars of the Week
Claude Giroux has been named the NHL’s third star of the week for the week ending on Nov. 11. Giroux broke out in a huge way last season with 34 goals and 102 points, both career-highs that were good enough for second in the NHL in scoring. This season, he hasn’t missed a step as he’s already scored seven goals and 22 points in 17 games to start the year.
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers, Mar. 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
In three games last week, Giroux led the NHL in scoring with three goals and eight points. He recorded multiple points in each contest and capped it off with his 50th three-point game in a 4-0 win against the Blackhawks on Nov. 10.
Blake Wheeler was the recipient of the NHL’s second star of the week honors when he recorded a goal and seven points in two games last week. His six assists were tied for the lead-league last week as well.
Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets, Mar. 10, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Wheeler also set a career-high five points when he scored one goal and four assists in a 5-2 Jets’ win over the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 9. Wheeler became the first player in the Jets/Thrashers’ franchise to record five points in a game since Ilya Kovalchuk did so on Feb. 28, 2009. Wheeler also recorded an assist on each of the Jets’ last nine goals scored before he himself scored a goal, making him only the second player in history alongside Wayne Gretzky (who accomplished this feat twice) to have such a streak.
The NHL’s first star of the week was Boston Bruins’ forward David Pastrnak who recorded an impressive five goals and seven points in four games, including a hat-trick against the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 11.
David Pastrnak (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Pastrnak now has 16 goals and 23 points in 17 games. His 16 goals rank first in the league with the second-highest scorer sitting at 12 goals; a sizeable leap to say the least. Pastrnak is also fourth in the league in points this season.
