Snapshots: Panthers, Joshua, Honzek, Harkins

Already missing three forwards due to illness or injuries, the Panthers won’t have forward Jonah Gadjovich available to them tonight against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, relays team reporter Jameson Olive.  The 26-year-old has taken a regular turn on the fourth line so far this season, picking up a goal in Florida’s first six games.  As Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to afford a recall from the minors, they will dress just 17 skaters for this one, ten forwards and seven blueliners.

It’s not all bad news on that front, however.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that winger Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return from his illness on Tuesday while captain Aleksander Barkov should be back not long after that.  Meanwhile, Tomas Nosek is due to return early next month for their Global Series games.  With that in mind, while the Panthers will be eligible for a cap-exempt recall after tonight’s contest, they’re unlikely to actually need to use it.

More from around the NHL:

• Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.
• The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
• The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp.  Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to…