Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny told media Saturday morning that star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will miss some time with an upper-body injury.
Sergachev, 26, has played the second-most minutes per game of any NHL skater this season. He has also blocked the 34th-most shots.
He is listed as day-to-day.
Sergachev missed 51 games, regular season and playoffs combined, due to a fractured tibia and fibula last season.
Utah HC’s lineup vs. Blues
Per Tourigny, Nick DeSimone will make his third appearance with the team on Saturday in Sergachev’s absence. Through his first two games, he has an assist and a +1 goal differential.
DeSimone will be paired with Juuso Välimäki while John Marino will move into Sergachev’s spot on the top defensive pairing. It will be a test for Marino, who, like DeSimone, is playing his third game of the year. He missed the first half of the season with a back injury.
Marino will slot in as the defenseman on the second power play unit to replace Michael Kesselring, who moves into Sergachev’s role on the top unit.
The injury bug
Sergachev is the fifth Utah HC defenseman to miss time due to injury this season. Among those five defensemen are Utah’s three highest-paid blue liners.
Marino, as mentioned, missed the first 42 games of the season.
Sean Durzi suffered an upper-body injury in the fourth game of the season and has been out since.
Robert Bortuzzo is on the injured reserve for the second time this season, both due to lower-body injuries.
Rookie defenseman Maveric Lamoureux recently returned from an upper-body ailment that sidelined him for more than a month. Upon his return, he was assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners.
Also on the IR is forward Dylan Guenther, who leads the team in goals. It has been an adjustment for Utah to figure out how to generate offense without him.
Although Sergachev is a defenseman, he’s Utah’s fifth-highest scorer in terms of points. He initiates a lot of offense with the way he moves the puck up the ice.
If Marino can do the same, this transition will be much easier for the team.