1 month agoDetroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin did not practice on Friday due to an illness but will be available for Saturday's road game against the red-hot Nashville Predators. The Red Wings captain missed nearly three weeks due to a lower-body injury but returned to score two goals in a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday. Larkin will enter Saturday's contest with 28 goals and 56 points on 169 shots across 56 games on the season. He is averaging 19:48 of ice time per game and has added 21 power-play points to this ledger. The Red Wings currently occupy the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, three points up on the Washington Capitals.Source: Max Bultman
1 month agoToronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner (ankle) is progressing well but won't play the next two games, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. The playmaker has been out since falling awkwardly while attempting a shot on goal in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 7. The 26-year-old has recorded 25 goals and 76 points on 145 shots on goal across 62 games on the season, adding 24 points on the power play. The Maple Leafs have cycled through a number of wingers to the right of Auston Matthews in Marner's absence, most recently Max Domi who recorded four assists in a 7-3 win over the Capitals on Wednesday. The Maple Leafs sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 39-20-9 record on the season.Source: David Alter
1 month agoThe New York Islanders have signed college free-agent forward Cam Thiesing to a two-year, entry-level contract. Thiesing will not be joining the Islanders this season. The 22-year-old is currently playing for Ohio State University, where he recorded nine goals and 16 points across 31 games as a junior in the 2023-24 campaign. Through his first three seasons with the Buckeyes, the 6-foot, 178-pound forward has recorded 32 goals and 61 points across 108 games. The Islanders currently sit with a 29-25-15 record, five points back of the Red Wings for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.Source: New York Islanders
1 month agoToronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi was absent from Friday's practice after dealing with an illness of late. Bertuzzi was limited in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals due to a reported illness. His status for Saturday's game against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. After scuffling for a large chunk of the season, the veteran has tallied eight goals and 11 points over his last 12 games. He has returned to the team's top line alongside Auston Matthews but skated just 14:19 against the Capitals due to the illness. For the season, Bertuzzi has recorded 15 goals and 34 points across 67 games while adding 78 hits and 33 penalty minutes in that time.Source: David Alter
1 month agoCalgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom (lower body) is expected to start Saturday's game against the Vancouver Canucks. The 34-year-old has been out since March 9 due to a lower-body injury. "He has been (our MVP)," defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "He's been our backbone. He's a leader for us. It starts with him. I feel us as a D-core feel super confident when he's in the net." Markstrom will enter Saturday's contest with the high-octane Canucks sporting a 2.68 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage across 41 appearances, going 22-17-2 in that time. The Flames also announced on Friday that backup Dan Vladar will undergo season-ending hip surgery, while prospect Dustin Wolf will remain with the Flames on an emergency basis.Source: NHL.com
1 month agoCalgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar (hip) will miss the remainder of the season but is expected to be ready for next season. "It's obviously unfortunate for 'Vladdy'," Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "I think he's been dealing with that (injury) for quite a while. He's a warrior about it. The one thing we do have here is depth at goaltender." The 26-year-old worked to a 3.62 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage across 20 outings (19 starts) this season, going 8-9-2 in the process. He last appeared on March 12 while Dustin Wolfe has started the past two games with both Vladar and No. 1 netminder Jacob Markstrom sidelined, although the latter could return Saturday.Source: NHL.com
2 months agoNashville Predators goaltender Kevin Lankinen put in a big performance in his 14th start of the season on Thursday against Florida, posting a 33-save shutout in an impressive 3-0 road win. It's his first shutout since March 25, 2021, when Lankinen also blanked the Panthers as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators' backup is now riding a four-game winning streak. Lankinen has done great behind Juuse Saros all year, going 10-4-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.Source: ESPN
2 months agoEdmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid had another multi-point outing on Thursday versus Buffalo, recording four assists in an 8-3 victory. He joined Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Paul Coffey as the fourth player in NHL history to have four-plus assists in at least five games in a single season. Even if he sits out the rest of the campaign, McDavid would still finish with his third-highest scoring total. He's had 112 points across 65 games, scoring 26 goals and delivering 86 assists. 18 of his points have come during McDavid's 10 March appearances as the Oilers captain continues to chase down the top spot on the league's scoring charts.Source: ESPN
2 months agoNew Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes had it going on with the man advantage all night against Winnipeg on Thursday, finishing a 4-1 victory with three power-play assists. Jack Hughes scored a pair of goals, and Nico Hischier also benefited from Hughes' fantastic job on the power play. He's the first rookie defenseman to tally three-plus power-play assists in a single game since his brother Quinn Hughes in 2019. Throughout the season, Hughes has done most of his damage on the power play, with only 17 of his 38 points coming during even-strength play. He's tied with Minnesota's Brock Faber for the second-most points among first-year players.Source: ESPN
2 months agoNew York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin continued his fruitful season with his seventh career hat trick as the team defeated the Bruins in Boston 5-2 on Thursday. Panarin scored the first two goals for the Rangers and capped off his third hat trick of the season with a late empty-netter. He's only the second player across the last 10 years to get as many as three hat tricks in a single season for the Rangers. The big effort on Thursday gave Panarin a new career high at 97 points. He's also crushed his previous career-best mark with 41 goals and has amassed 56 assists in 70 games.Source: ESPN
2 months agoAnaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal starred with a 29-save shutout against the Blackhawks on Thursday in a 4-0 win. He fended off 12 shots in the first period alone before the Anaheim offense started to click in the season. Dostal became the third rookie netminder in Ducks history to post a shutout, following in the footsteps of John Gibson and Ilya Bryzgalov. The 23-year-old has produced more than a few outstanding performances over the course of the season, but unfortunately, there's not a lot of quality playing in front of him. Dostal continues to carry a losing record with 11-19-1 and has allowed 3.46 goals with a .901 save percentage. Source: ESPN
2 months agoAnaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson failed to complete Thursday's 6-0 win over Chicago due to a lower-body injury. He left the game in the second period following a collision with Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic. Carlsson was forced to exit after logging 11:38 of ice time. This was only his third game since returning to the lineup from a concussion. With a couple of previous lower-body injuries also making a mark, Carlsson has been limited to only 43 outings during his rookie campaign. He's notched nine goals with 15 assists. Carlsson's exit from the lineup could give Max Jones a new opportunity to work in the top six, though Trevor Zegras (ankle) would be his natural replacement at center. The latter is close to returning from injury.Source: Sportsnet
2 months agoDetroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin scored two goals in his return from a lower-body injury Thursday versus the Islanders. After missing eight contests, Larkin served up his fourth multi-goal game of the season, helping the team to a vital 6-3 win. Larkin logged 16:32 of action and had three total shots while finishing with a plus-two rating. The Red Wings captain has been productive throughout the campaign and is moving with a point-per-game pace. Through 56 appearances, Larkin has registered 28 goals and 28 assists.Source: ESPN
2 months agoToronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is likely to start Wednesday's road game against the Washington Capitals. It's the second game of a back-to-back for the Maple Leafs after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Flyers on Tuesday in Philadelphia. It's Woll's first start since March 7 as Ilya Samsonov has started the last four games. Woll initially took over the No. 1 job from Samsonov when the latter struggled early in the season but a high-ankle sprain suffered in a Dec. 7 win over the Ottawa Senators sidelined him for nearly three months. He owns a 2.89 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in 18 games (16 starts) on the season, including an .881 Sv% in three starts since returning.Source: NHL.com
2 months agoThe San Jose Sharks have signed former NHLer Akim Aliu to an American Hockey League tryout deal with the San Jose Barracuda, according to general manager Mike Grier. "We wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he can do," Grier said. The 30-year-old hasn't appeared in the NHL since skating five games with the Calgary Flames in the 2012-13 season and has just seven career NHL contests under his belt with two goals and three points alongside 26 penalty minutes in that time. He last played professional hockey in the 2019-20 season with Litvinov HC in Czechia. He currently sits as chair of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, a group of current and former NHLers fighting racism in hockey.Source: Frank Seravalli