Keep updated on all the injury news and roster moves from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights announced that they have signed free-agent defenceman Zach Whitecloud to a three-year, entry-level deal.

He is expected to join the Golden Knights Friday in Buffalo ahead of their Saturday afternoon matchup with the Sabres. 

"He’s a very well-rounded player, a highly sought-after defenceman by a lot of clubs and we are delighted to acquire him as our first college signing," general manager George McPhee said. 

In 36 games for Bemidji State University, he had four goals and 14 assists. 

Whitecloud also suited up for Team Canada in the 2017 Karjala Cup, where he had one assist in two games.

Winnipeg Jets

Forward Mark Scheifele is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will not play Thursday against the New Jersey Devils. Head coach Paul Maurice said there is no structural damage. 

He was not on the ice for the Jets Thursday morning.

During the first period of Tuesday's win over the New York Rangers, Scheifele and teammate Blake Wheeler collided in the neutral zone. Both remained in the game but Scheifele appeared shaken up and eventually left in the second period following hits from Rob O’Gara and Marc Staal.

After the game, Maurice said the injury was not related to the upper-body injury that kept the 24-year-old out for 16 games earlier in the season. Since returning on Feb. 9, Scheifele has six goals and seven assists in 12 games.

In 50 games this season, he has 21 goals and 30 assists for a Jets team sitting second in the Central Division with 89 points. 

Meanwhile, goaltender Steve Mason is also considered day-to-day after sustaining a lower-body injury in practice. Michael Hutchinson is on his way to New Jersey as a backup according to TSN Radio 1290's Brian Munz. Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start.

Ottawa Senators 

Here were the Senators lines at Thursday's morning skate courtesy of TSN's Brent Wallace:

 

Dzingel-Duchene-Hoffman

Ryan-Pageau-Stone

Paarjarvi-Smith-Pyatt

Burrows-O’Brien-Gaborik

 

Claesson-Karlsson

Harpur-Ceci

Borowiecki-Chabot

New Jersey Devils

Left winger Brian Gibbons is set to make his return Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets following a thumb injury. He has not played since Jan. 20. 

In 45 games, he has 12 goals and 23 points. 

Meanwhile, Devils forward Pavel Zacha will not play Thursday night, according to NHL.com's Amanda Stein. 

Zacha did not skate Wednesday morning and is dealing with an upper-body injury, Stein reports.

The 20-year-old centre has six goals and 13 assists in 60 games for the Devils this season. 

St. Louis Blues

Injured forward Nikita Soshnikov skated Wednesday and could return from a neck injury Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks. He has not played since Feb. 28.  

The 24-year-old has zero points in six games so far this season. He was acquired by the Blues in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2019. 

TSN Game Notes

Longest Active Point Streaks in NHL (team games)

Player          Team       Streak  Points 

Taylor Hall   NJ           19        (13G, 13A)

Patrik Laine WPG      9           (13G, 6A)

Mark Stone  OTT        9          (2G, 12A)

 

Most Goals Since Start of 16-17

Player                          G         GP

Patrik Laine                 74        139

Nikita Kucherov         73        139

Alex Ovechkin            73        148

Evgeni Malkin             71        126

Auston Matthews       68        135

 

Longest Win Streaks in 17-18

GM      TEAM                         FROM             TO

10        COLORADO              DEC. 29         JAN. 22

9          NASHVILLE             FEB. 19          to Present

8          LOS ANGELES         NOV. 25         DEC.  9

8          VEGAS                      DEC. 14          JAN.  2

7          TAMPA BAY             DEC.  2          DEC. 16

7          CALGARY               DEC. 31          JAN. 14

 

Only players to score 600 career goals in under 1,000GP

Player                          GP

Wayne Gretzky           718

Mario Lemieux            719

Brett Hull                    900

(Ovechkin 598G in 987GP)

 

Avalanche (77P) at Jackets (73P) - 7PM

COL 1-0-0 vs CLS in 17-18, shutout win at home. COL has won 3 of past 4GP in CLS

CLS (34-28-5):

won 2 straight, 4GF in each game, PP 0/4

Panarin (3G, 2A) last 2GP

COL (35-24-7):

0-0-2 last 2GP, 4GF, PP 2/7

MacKinnon (7G, 6A) 6 game PT streak

Flyers (79P) at Bruins (90P) - 7PM

BOS 1-0-0 vs PHI in 17-18, shutout win in PHI. BOS 7-0-1 last 8GP at home vs PHI

BOS (41-15-8):

won 4 straight, all at home, 20GF, PP 6/17

Marchand (4G, 4A) last 3GP

PHI (34-22-11):

0-3-1 last 4GP, 19GA, PK 8/11

Giroux (1G, 4A) 4 game PT streak

Jets (89P) at Devils (76P) - 7PM

WPG 1-0-0 vs NJ in 17-18, winning at home. WPG 4-0-2 last 6GP in NJ

NJ (34-25-8):

3-5-0 last 8GP at home, 23GF, PP 6/25

Hall (18G, 20A) 26GP point streak

WPG (40-17-9):

won 3 straight, 10GF, PP 1/5

Laine (13G, 6A) 9 game PT streak

Knights (89P) at Wings (63P) - 730PM

DET 1-0-0 vs VGS in 17-18, winning in VGS

DET (26-29-11):

0-3-1 last 4GP, all on road, 16GA, PK 8/11

Larkin (2A) last 2GP

VGS (42-19-5):

1-3-1 last 5GP, 11GF, PP 2/13

Perron (1G, 2A) last 2GP

Canadiens (61P) at Panthers (71P) - 730PM

Teams have split 2GP in 17-18, FLA 1-0-0 at home, shutout win. FLA 3-1-1 last 5GP at home vs MTL

FLA (32-25-7):

won 6 straight at home, 23GF, PP 3/21

Barkov (5G, 7A) 7 game PT streak

MTL (25-30-11):

3-1-4 last 8GP, 19GA, PK 23/32

Gallagher (3G, 2A) 4 game PT streak

Rangers (66P) at Lightning (96P) - 730PM

NYR 1-0-0 vs TB in 17-18, OTW in TB. NYR 3 straight wins in TB, twice in OT

TB (46-17-4):

7-0-1 last 8GP, 31GF, PP 4/19

Kucherov (6G, 14A) last 12GP

NYR (30-31-6):

won 3 straight on road, 12GF, PP 1/8

Zuccarello (1A) last 7GP

Sabres (53P) at Senators (56P) - 730PM

Teams have split 2GP in 17-18, OTT 1-0-0 at home, OTW. BUF 4-0-2 last 6GP in OTT

OTT (23-32-10):

coming off a 2-2-0 road trip, 11GF, PP 3/16

Stone (2G, 12A) 9 game PT streak

BUF (21-35-11):

2-2-1 last 5GP on road, 9GF, PP 2/14

Pominville (1G, 2A) last 2GP

Ducks (80P) at Predators (95P) - 8PM

NSH 2-0-0 vs ANA in 17-18, 1-0-0 at home, SOW. NSH 4 straight home wins vs ANA

NSH (43-14-9):

won 9 straight, 4.3GF/G, PP 6/25

Forsberg (1G, 3A) last 4GP

ANA (34-21-12):

won 3 straight, 14GF, PP 2/5

Rakell (6G, 2A) 4 game PT streak

Hurricanes (69P) at Blackhawks (66P) - 830PM

CHI 1-0-0 vs CAR in 17-18, OTW in CAR. CHI 5-1-0 last 6GP at home vs CAR

CHI (29-30-8):

won 3 straight at home, 4GA, PK 4/5

Kane (1G, 5A) last 5GP

CAR (29-27-11):

1-3-1 last 5GP on road, 19GA, PK 9/12

Skinner (3A) last 7GP

Islanders (67P) at Oilers (60P) - 9PM

EDM 1-0-0 vs NYI in 17-18, OTW at NYI. EDM 2 straight home wins vs NYI, both past regulation

EDM (28-34-4):

1-3-0 last 4GP, 15GA, PK 11/12

McDavid (3G, 6A) 5 game PT streak

NYI (29-29-9):

0-4-3 last 7GP, 16GF, PP 2/20

Barzal (2G, 5A) last 6GP

Blues (75P) at Sharks (79P) - 1030PM

SJ 1-0-0 vs STL in 17-18, winning in STL. STL 4 straight wins in SJ, 2 shutouts

SJ (35-22-9):

2-3-1 last 6GP, 21GA, PP 11/12

Pavelski (3G, 4A) last 3GP

STL (35-26-5):

1-6-2 last 9GP, 14GF, PP 4/34

Career GP 500 for Schenn, 2A last 6GP

Capitals (81P) at Kings (77P) - 1030PM

LAK 1-0-0 vs WSH in 17-18, winning in WSH. LAK 7 straight home wins vs WSH

LAK (36-25-5):

2-3-0 past 5GP at home, 14GF, PP 3/13

Kopitar (2G, 5A) last 5GP

WSH (37-22-7):

lost 3 straight on road, outscored 12-3, PP 2/9

Ovechkin (1G, 0A) last 3GP