2 months agoColorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon recorded a hat trick and an assist in Tuesday's easy 5-2 win over Minnesota. He produced a whopping 10 shots on goal and was on target once in the first period and two times in the second. MacKinnon's assist came in a power-play situation early in the game. The Avalanche superstar set a new franchise record with a 43rd multi-point game of the season and became only the sixth player to score 50 goals for the team in a single season. MacKinnon has made scoring look easy all year, going for 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists) in 79 appearances.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoMontreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky produced his first career hat trick as the team demolished Philadelphia 9-3 on Tuesday. He opened the scoring with just 1:05 played and grabbed two more goals in the second period. Slafkovsky is now one of only six players to score a hat trick with the Canadiens at age 20 or younger. Following a tough start in the NHL, Slafkovsky has finally started to produce at a high level -- he's gone scoreless just twice in his last 14 appearances. The first pick of the 2022 draft has tallied 19 goals and 49 points in 78 games for the season.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoAnaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish (knee) could be out for the rest of the season. He has missed three games and Anaheim has three more to come. McTavish's performances have made up one of only a few bright spots for the Ducks during a season filled with frustration. The 21-year-old has totaled 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists) in 64 outings. Following a dry spell, McTavish scored in back-to-back games before landing on the shelf at the start of the month.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Derek Lee
2 months agoDetroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp suffered a broken cheekbone in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Washington. He was injured late in the game on a high stick that went uncalled by the officials. Copp finished scoreless in the contest across 13:48 of action. The Red Wings, who are in the midst of a fierce battle for a playoff spot, return to action on Thursday against Pittsburgh. Copp would mainly be missed for his defensive presence, although he has also produced 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 77 games this season. Joe Veleno and Austin Czarnik are the candidates to take over the third-line center role.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Ansar Khan
2 months agoNew Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday, the team has announced. The news came after Hughes dropped out of the lineup for Tuesday's matchup against Toronto. Hughes ends the 2023-24 campaign with 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists) in 62 appearances. Despite missing nearly 20 games this season, Hughes is still the team's top goal-scorer, and only Jesper Bratt (79) has more points than him. Shane Bowers landed in the top six with Hughes out on Tuesday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 months agoArizona Coyotes forward Nick Bjugstad (undisclosed) may not return again this season, as he has returned to Arizona from the team's current road trip. He is expected to be sidelined longer than day to day, and head coach Andre Tourigny said, "It's a little bit longer than that." Rushing the veteran back to action makes little sense at this point since the Coyotes will miss the postseason for the 10th time over the last 11 seasons, only entering via the qualifying round in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season in that time. For the season, Bjugstad has tallied a solid 22 goals and 45 points while earning a career-high 17:27 of ice time per game across 76 contests.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Craig Morgan
2 months agoArizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott will miss the remainder of the season after being hit from behind by San Jose Sharks forward Luke Kunin on Sunday. The 27-year-old has been in and out of the club's lineup this season as he has only appeared in 50 games with two goals and seven points in that time. He has added 52 hits, 64 blocked shots, 38 shots on goal, and a minus-14 rating on the campaign. A veteran of 329 career regular-season contests, notching 16 goals and 62 points between the Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Coyotes. The Coyotes will miss the playoffs for the 10th time over the last 11 seasons, only entering via the qualifying round in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Craig Morgan
2 months agoSt. Louis Blues forward Jake Neighbours (upper body) will not be in the lineup Wednesday when the team takes on the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. The 22-year-old sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of Saturday's contest against the San Jose Sharks and is listed as day-to-day moving forward. "As of today, he's feeling normal," Bannister said of Neighbours. "Obviously yes, we're going to be cautious and we'll go through the protocols of getting him back on the ice here working out, getting back on the ice and then skating with us." The first-round pick has broken out with 27 goals on 145 shots across 77 games on the season after tallying just seven goals through his first 52 NHL contests over parts of his first two seasons in the league.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoSt. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk will miss the remainder of the season due to an upper-body injury. Faulk was injured in the second period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks on Saturday following an altercation with Sharks forward Luke Kunin. He missed a game against the Ducks on Sunday. "I think he's week to week. We want to be cautious with his injury," St. Louis coach Drew Bannister said after practice on Tuesday. Even if this was two months ago, it would still be week to week with him. It is what it is. The veteran has tallied two goals and 30 points in 60 games on the season after posting 11 goals and a career-high 50 points across 82 games a season ago. The Blues sit five points back of the Golden Knights for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference but Vegas holds a game in hand.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoEdmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid is listed as day to day with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Tuesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The superstar suffered the injury late in a win 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday and did not take a shift in the final five minutes of the contest. "We'll find out (the severity) tomorrow, definitely the weekend, but it's day to day," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said on Tuesday. "There is a chance [he doesn't play]. He's day to day. It's a maintenance thing." McDavid is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season, tallying 31 goals and 130 points across 74 games, sitting third in NHL scoring.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoSan Jose Sharks forwards Mike Hoffman and Kevin Labanc are both back in the lineup on Tuesday night against the visiting Calgary Flames. Both players have served as healthy scratches of late but will return Tuesday to battle the Flames. It's been a tough offensive season for both wingers as Hoffman has registered 10 goals and 22 points on just 70 shots on goal across 65 games while Labanc has struggled mightily to just two goals and nine points across 45 games on the campaign. The two are a combined minus-47 on the last-place Sharks who are the front-runners to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Curtis Pashelka
2 months agoNew Jersey Devils defenseman John Marino (undisclosed) will be back in the lineup for Tuesday's road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The right-shot blue-liner has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old is just one point shy of tying his career-high from his 2019 rookie season, as he has recorded four goals and 25 points across 71 games on the season, although he posted that career-high of 26 points in just 56 games while with the Penguins in the 2019-20 campaign. The Devils will need to win out as they sit five points back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with many teams to leap and just four games to do it in.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
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
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