The Philadelphia Flyers may be without Noel Acciari after he left Wednesday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers with an upper-body injury.
Acciari was hurt when a trip from Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry sent him hard into the boards. Jarry received a minor penalty on the play. The Flyers have not released any further details on the injury.
Before exiting, Acciari logged six minutes of ice time and didn’t register any notable stat changes. He started the night on Philadelphia’s fourth line, but his absence at right wing opened the door for more minutes for Matvei Michkov. The Flyers youngster ended up playing more than 20 minutes and finished with one assist in the two-goal outing.
Philadelphia will be hoping the setback is short-lived. The 35-year-old has put up four points, 46 hits, and a 53.3 faceoff percentage in 21 games this season, and any missed time would be his first absence of the year.
Around the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning also took a hit when defenseman Erik Cernak went down with an upper-body injury in the second period. Beck Malenstyn’s hit sent Cernak into the bench and then into the corner of the glass, and the play was especially concerning given his concussion history.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters, including NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce, that Cernak will likely miss Thursday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. If that holds, Maxwell Crozier should slide back into the lineup.
Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault is expected to stay out as well. The 35-year-old has been sidelined since Halloween with a lower-body injury and remains day to day, according to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean.
Nashville will be looking at Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday as possible return dates after Marchessault missed Wednesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner has five points in 14 games this season.
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