Head coach Jon Cooper said postgame that he doesn't believe Hedman will be out long term and that his injury isn't a concussion, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.
Entering Friday, the reigning Norris Trophy winner recorded four points in eight games while logging over 22 minutes per contest.
Pacioretty joined the Golden Knights via trade from the Montreal Canadiens over the offseason and signed a four-year, $28-million extension as part of the deal.
Pacioretty has recorded two goals in his first nine games with Vegas.
Taylor Hall is one of the NHL's most prolific producers. The New Jersey Devils winger is coming off a 93-point, MVP season and spent his summer perfecting his game to cement his status among the league's best.
What's brought Hall so much success, despite injury issues early in his career, has been his determination to improve upon his most valuable skills.
"There was never a moment that I thought about quitting through all those injuries ... I knew this is the career I wanted and I was willing to do what it took to get better so that nothing stood in my way," Hall told Under Armour at a recent photo shoot.
High-end year-to-year production is what separates the true superstars from the statistical outliers; as a player, Hall has the toolbox to be the guy season after season. Below, we analyze and grade three traits that make the Hart Trophy recipient one of the NHL's most dynamic talents.
Scoring
Hall's 19-goal scoring increase from the 2016-17 campaign played a major factor in his MVP season. He notched a career-best 39 tallies last year, including 27 in 40 games as the calendar flipped to 2018 - the second-highest total across the NHL.
The 26-year-old's offensive arsenal doesn't feature the booming one-timer like some of his goal-scoring peers. Instead, he uses a deadly wrist shot to burn opposing netminders with pinpoint precision. Hall creates offensive opportunities for himself with blazing speed to help push defenders back, then takes advantage of the extra space by capitalizing on his scoring chances.
Off the rush, at even strength, or with the man advantage, Hall's a threat to score at all times. He's also clutch, bagging five game-winning tallies since Jan. 1.
Grade: A
Playmaking
Jim McIsaac / Getty Images Sport / Getty
While his goal-scoring surge attracted most of the attention, Hall remained a premier playmaker over the course of his Hart Trophy campaign, finishing the season with 54 assists, including 20 helpers in 26 games over the course of a historic point streak that ran from January to March.
Hall manufactured chance after chance for his teammates, particularly with the man advantage. He ranked fourth league-wide with 16 assists from January onward to help lead the Devils to the NHL's 10th-ranked power play, marking the first time since the 2004-05 lockout that New Jersey operated on the man advantage at a 20 percent clip or higher.
Grade: A
Skating
Under Armour Newsroom
Since his days as a highly-touted prospect in junior, Hall's greatest strength has been his speed. Few can match his highest gear in a straightaway race, and his ability to handle and distribute the puck without slowing down is essential to what makes him such an offensive threat.
"Every time he's got the puck, he's not trying to slow down to make a play, he's speeding up," teammate Travis Zajac told Sportsnet's Ryan Dixon. "I think there's only a few (NHLers) who can really do that, and he's one of them."
This, too, is a result of Hall's determination. He's been hard at work since he was nine years old.
"When I was (a) kid, it was a lot of fun playing ball hockey, roller hockey, street hockey, and on my backyard rink," Hall told Under Armour. "As I got older, I started training, I started running, and I started doing push ups and sit ups when I was 9 years old. In my teens, I got more serious and started weight training and having a more concrete schedule of workouts."
Today's NHL is all about speed, and Hall's wheels are a benefit to the Devils in all areas of the rink. He can fly through the neutral zone in transition, hound loose pucks in the offensive end, and take chances while knowing in the back of his mind he has the necessary speed to get back on defense if need be.
"I've never been the guy who just relies on his current skills," Hall said. "I work to improve myself every day."
The 35-year-old will be placed on injured reserve, creating a roster spot for Nicolas Deslauriers, who's been cleared to play after suffering a facial fracture in the preseason, per TSN.
After being shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs at last season's trade deadline, Plekanec returned to the Canadiens on a one-year deal over the summer. He recently celebrated his 1,000th career game, but was a healthy scratch for the season's first three contests.
He's scored one goal in three games while logging just under 11 minutes of ice time per game.
The Calgary Flames appear to have avoided a substantial scare, as star winger Johnny Gaudreau is feeling "no significant effects" Thursday from the hit that led to his removal from Wednesday's game, reports Sportsnet's Eric Francis.
Concussion spotters pulled Gaudreau as a result of this hit by Boston Bruins blue-liner Charlie McAvoy in the third period of Calgary's 5-2 win.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have their No. 1 netminder back in the crease Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Matt Murray has been cleared to start for the first time since being diagnosed with a concussion Oct. 9, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the morning skate, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.
Murray missed nine games with a concussion last season. This time, he was ruled out on a day-to-day basis and has served as the Penguins' backup for each of their past two contests without seeing any action.
In his two starts so far in 2018-19, Murray is 1-1 with a .831 save percentage.
"I've watched the clip numerous times and I definitely understand what they saw and why they thought it was worth two games ... but it wasn't my intent," Matheson said, per Jason Botchford of The Athletic. "It's two-fold. I see why people think it was malicious and deserving of (a) suspension. I see that point of view. But I know how I was feeling in the moment and it wasn't that."
Prior to the collision, Pettersson had scored a goal - the fifth of his debut season in just five games.
"He's a skilled player," Matheson said. "He makes good plays. When you're in a battle with someone, you want to play them hard and make sure they can't beat you back to the net. There was no point in my frame of mind where I was thinking 'I got to injure this guy.'"
Matheson added that he reached out to Pettersson via text to apologize and ensure he's OK.
The Panthers blue-liner is eligible to return from his ban Saturday, while an exact timetable for Pettersson's recovery isn't yet clear.
Dotchin will need to clear waivers on Thursday to join his new club, LeBrun adds. The Tampa Bay Lightning placed the 24-year-old on waivers in September for the purpose of contract termination.
Dotchin has recorded three goals and 19 assists over 83 NHL games.
Throughout his contract impasse, Nylander's been training in his native Sweden while the Maple Leafs have begun the 2018-19 season with a 6-1 record.
Speculation has run wild about what lies in Nylander's future with the organization, but both sides have stated they'd prefer to come to a long-term agreement rather than a bridge deal.
The Maple Leafs currently have over $11 million in projected cap space for this season, per CapFriendly, but will face a significant squeeze beginning next year when the entry-level contracts of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner expire.
In his first two full campaigns in the NHL, Nylander recorded back-to-back 61-point seasons.
