The Vegas Golden Knights are dealing with a puzzling situation as forward Ivan Barbashev heads to injured reserve with an upper-body injury that’s already kept him out for six games.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Vegas. Barbashev’s been on fire this season, racking up 30 points in 31 games before getting hurt.
What’s strange is that nobody seems to know exactly when or how the injury happened. Barbashev left during the first period of the December 15 game, but there wasn’t any obvious hit or incident that caused it.
He’s tied for second in team scoring with Mark Stone and Shea Theodore, which shows just how valuable he’s been to the Knights this year.
The really impressive part? Barbashev was on pace for 79 points this season – way above his previous best of 60 points with the St. Louis Blues back in 2021-22.
To fill the gap, Vegas has called up Tanner Laczynski from the minors. It’s actually his second stint with the team this month – he was just sent down four days ago after playing five games on the fourth line.
Laczynski’s still looking for his first point with the Golden Knights, though he did pick up six penalty minutes during his earlier games. He’s mostly been a minor league player, with 94 points in 111 AHL games over five seasons.
Before joining Vegas, he spent three years with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2016. He played 38 games for Philly, finally getting his first four NHL points last season.
The good news for Vegas fans is that Barbashev can return as soon as he’s healthy, thanks to the retroactive IR placement dating back to December 16. When he does come back, expect him to jump right back into his top-six forward role.
