2 months agoOttawa Senators center Tim Stutzle (undisclosed) will miss his second straight game on Tuesday when the team pays a visit to Florida to take on the Panthers. The German pivot was injured when he was hit by Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola in a loss on Thursday and was slow getting to his feet. Stutzle leads the Senators with 70 points on the season, 18 of which are goals, while he has added 192 shots, 100 hits, and a minus-17 rating to this resume. It's fair to wonder if Stutzle will return before the end of the regular season. The Senators sit 14th in the Eastern Conference and will miss the postseason for the seventh consecutive campaign with just five games remaining.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoDetroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider is still expected to play on Tuesday against the visiting Washington Capitals despite dealing with the flu, according to head coach Derek Lalonde. The German blueliner has yet to miss a game in his nearly three-year NHL career, appearing in 241 consecutive contests to begin his career. Under normal circumstances, perhaps Seider would take a breather but Tuesday's game carries massive playoff implications. The Red Wings sit just a single point ahead of the Capitals for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are also tied with the Penguins with 83 points but have a game in hand while they sit one point ahead of the Flyers while once again sporting a game in hand.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Ansar Khan
2 months agoMontreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj will undergo surgery to repair his left shoulder and will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season. It's a similar circumstance for the rugged blueliner who underwent surgery on his right shoulder late last season that limited him to 51 games as a rookie. The 23-year-old recorded three goals and 10 points across 44 games but also recorded a hefty 125 hits and 81 penalty minutes in that limited time. Interestingly, he was also a plus-six on a Canadiens team sporting a minus-55 overall goal differential. The Canadiens will miss the postseason for the third straight season in 2023-24.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoMontreal Canadiens center Christian Dvorak (pectoral) will make his long-awaited return to the lineup on Tuesday when the team takes on the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. The pivot hasn't appeared since Dec. 30 due to a torn pectoral muscle. "I thought there was potential [for a return] but I wouldn't say for sure," Dvorak told the Canadiens website. "I knew it would be close, and I kind of set a goal for myself to try and make it back. I just tried to rehab as hard as I could and luckily it worked out." Indeed, it appears the veteran will try and play in the Habs' final five games of the regular season. He has recorded three goals and seven points on 32 shots on goal across 25 games on the season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoFlorida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the visiting Ottawa Senators due to rest. The Panthers just completed a stretch of 10 games in 17 days and Ekman-Larsson has appeared in all 78 games for the team to this point in the season. He has been a variable addition to the Panthers' blueline as both Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad missed notable time to begin the season while Ekblad is once again on the shelf and won't likely return until the postseason. Ekman-Larsson has tallied nine goals and 30 points with 105 hits and 121 shots on goal across 78 games with the Panthers this season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoNew Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (upper body) won't be in the lineup Tuesday when the team takes on the hosting Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The young pivot is dealing with an upper-body injury, and it's unclear if he will miss additional time moving forward. "We'll see how long he's out," interim head coach Travis Green said. "I've already said what I'm going to say about Jack, he's not in tonight." It's been another big season for the American center, as he's tallied 27 goals and 74 points across an injury-shortened 62 games after recording 43 goals and 99 points in 78 games last season. The Devils' playoff hopes are hanging on by a string, as they sit five points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with four teams to leapfrog and just four games remaining.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoVancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes had two power-play points in Monday's 4-3 win over Vegas. He produced a goal and an assist in the first period to reach 36 power-play points for the season. Only Colorado's Cale Makar (37) has been more productive among defensemen with the man advantage. Hughes' most recent work includes three multi-point efforts in the past four games. He's pushed his scoring total to 88 points (17 goals, 71 assists), with four more games left to improve his career-high tally.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoVancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller became the seventh player in franchise history to post a 100-point campaign when he finished Monday's 4-3 win over Vegas with three assists. A couple of Jack Eichel goals put the Canucks in an early two-goal hole, but Miller's elite playmaking helped Vancouver to grab the victory in the end. Two of his assists came with the man advantage. Miller, who has registered 35 goals and 65 assists in 78 outings, likely won't settle for 100 points for the season as he enters the final four contests with an eight-game scoring streak.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoVancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland scored twice in Monday's 4-3 victory over the Golden Knights. He hit a power-play goal in the first period to spark a Canucks comeback from a 2-0 deficit and took care of the game-winning goal at the 18:31 mark in the second frame. Garland is finishing off the campaign strongly, having notched 14 of his 42 points since the start of last month. He's had seven goals and seven assists in 16 games over the stretch. The 28-year-old has managed 18 goals and 24 assists in 78 contests for the season.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoVegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel continued his good start to the month with a three-point effort in Monday's 4-3 loss to Vancouver. He scored a couple of early goals and collected an assist, with two points coming on the power play. Eichel has scored in all three April outings, averaging two points per game for the month. The late-scoring spurt has pushed the American star to 63 points (29 goals, 34 assists) with 58 games played. Nineteen points (10 goals, nine assists) have come in Eichel's last 14 appearances.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoToronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies bagged his 15th goal of the season as the team snuck past Pittsburgh 3-2 in overtime on Monday night. The 21-year-old has hit top gear near the end of the regular season, scoring in three of his last four appearances and averaging a point per game for the last seven games. Knies has had a couple of bad scoring slumps, but it's still been a decent rookie campaign for him, with 35 points collected in 75 games. He also leads all forwards on the Maple Leafs squad with 159 hits.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews tallied a goal and an assist against the Penguins in Monday's 3-2 overtime win. He scored a power-play goal early in the third period and helped to set up Jake McCabe's game-winning goal 1:30 into the extra frame. Matthews found the back of the net for the 65th time already this season, tying Alex Ovechkin for most goals in a single season by an active player. The Maple Leafs star has scored in each of his last five outings. It's been an extraordinary year for Matthews in front of goal, and it's helped him to register his second 100-point campaign.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoNew York Rangers forward Jack Roslovic was back skating on the top line in Monday's practice to the right of Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Roslovic has been a healthy scratch at times this season and skated just 8:07 in a 4-3 win over the Red Wings on Friday. Acquired from the Columbus Blue Jacks prior to the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline, the former first-round pick has tallied two goals and seven points in 15 games with the Blueshirts and eight goals and 30 points across 55 games overall on the season. The Rangers take on the rival Islanders on Tuesday as they look to build on their lead for the Presidents' Trophy.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Vince Z. Mercogliano
2 months agoWashington Capitals defenseman Vincent Iorio will draw back into the lineup for just the second time this season for Tuesday's crucial contest against the Detroit Red Wings. The 21-year-old takes the spot of the injured Rasmus Sandin while Trevor van Riemsdyk will slide over to the left side of the blueline. It's just the fifth game of the 2021 second-round pick's NHL career with one assist through his first four while he has appeared in 60 games with the AHL's Hershey Bears this season, tallying four goals and 14 points in that time. The Capitals are one of three teams, along with the Penguins and Flyers, that sit just one point back of the Red Wings for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Tarik El-Bashir
2 months agoPittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will make his ninth straight start between the pipes when the team takes on the hosting Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Nedeljkovic has come out of nowhere to take over starting duties from the struggling Tristan Jarry and is a key reason why the Pens sit just one point back of the Red Wings for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The 28-year-old owns a 2.82 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 33 games this season but has also posted a 2.50 GAA and a .917 Sv% across four games in the month of April. The Penguins are one of three teams sitting just a single point out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Pittsburgh Penguins
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