Blake Lizotte’s opening week with the Penguins has already turned into another injury fight.
Pittsburgh said Thursday that Lizotte is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and did not take part in practice. That comes one day after he was back in the lineup, following his activation from injured reserve Wednesday.
Lizotte had opened the season out with an upper-body injury he suffered in the preseason, then returned in time for the Penguins’ season opener, a 7-0 win over the Flyers. His comeback lasted one game before this new issue popped up.
The team has not set a timetable. Lizotte, 28, is a hard-working bottom-six center in his third season with the Penguins after his first six years with the Kings, and the latest setback adds to a pattern of injuries that has followed him.
There was more encouraging movement in New Jersey. Defenseman Johnathon Kovacevic skated with his Devils teammates at the morning skate for the first time this season.
The 6-foot-5 right-shot defender has been rehabbing offseason knee surgery, part of a stretch of knee trouble that limited him to 34 games last season. He is still on injured reserve.
Kovacevic is in the early years of a five-year, $20MM extension signed in 2025, with four years still left on the deal. He is expected to be an important part of New Jersey’s blue line once the club creates the cap room needed to activate him.
In Calgary, the Wranglers added veteran defenseman Derek Forbort on a professional tryout. The Flames’ AHL affiliate is giving the 34-year-old a look after two seasons in Vancouver, where hip issues held him to just two games last year.
Forbort is a 552-game NHL veteran and the 15th overall pick in the 2010 draft. He also spent part of 2019-20 with the organization, and now he’ll try to turn this PTO into an NHL contract while competing for a spot on Calgary’s AHL back end.
In Other News...
Flames Opening Night Disaster Raises One Brutal Early Question
The Calgary Flames did not get the kind of start anyone around the Saddledome wanted to see, opening the 2026-27 regular season with a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on home ice. Seattle set the tone early and never really let go, while the Flames spent most of the night chasing the game after a rough first period put them in an immediate hole.
What made the performance harder to digest was how many of the problems were of Calgarys own making. Penalties and defensive mistakes kept feeding the Krakens momentum, and the lone Flames goal came only late in the third period after the outcome was long since tilted. For a team trying to establish a better early-season footing, the question now is how quickly this group can clean up the details before one bad opener starts feeling like a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Just Sent A Top Prospect Into A Situation Flames Fans Know Well
Braeden Cootes is heading into the kind of proving ground Flames fans know well, with the Vancouver Canucks assigning their 2025 first-round pick to Abbotsford to begin his pro season. The move sends the young forward into the AHL right away, just as the affiliate gets ready for its opener and finalizes an opening roster that will give a better look at how the club plans to handle one of its most closely watched prospects.
For Vancouver, the decision is clearly about patience and development, not a fast track to the NHL. Canucks GM Ryan Johnson has made it clear there is no set timeline for a promotion, which puts the emphasis on steady growth in Abbotsford rather than immediate pressure in Vancouver. How Cootes settles in there, and how quickly he can turn a strong start into momentum, will be one of the early stories to watch once the season opens. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Showed Exactly Why Flames Fans Still Cant Relax
Even with a battered lineup, the Oilers found enough firepower to remind Calgary why the battle for Alberta never really lets anyone breathe easy. Edmonton handled the opening two periods with authority in Vancouver, mixing in two shorthanded goals and two power-play goals as it built a commanding cushion and looked every bit like a team capable of taking over a game when its special teams are rolling.
Mike Babcock had reason to like the first 40 minutes, but he also made clear the performance came with warning signs attached. For Flames fans, the unsettling part is less the final score than the fact that Edmonton can still tilt a game this sharply even while missing important pieces, leaving Calgary with little room to assume the Oilers are about to fade on their own. [Read more 🡒]