3 days agoWinnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will be looking to get back on the right track in Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Colorado Avalanche. It's been a struggle for the Vezina Trophy finalist in the series as Hellebuyck has allowed 19 goals through the first four games of the series, turning in an .870 save percentage in that time while dropping three straight games. Despite taking on the league's No. 1-ranked regular-season offense, Hellebuyck's struggles remain a surprise considering he posted a 2.39 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage across 60 games. The Jets need a win on Tuesday to avoid elimination.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Mitchell Clinton
3 days agoBoston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman will be back between the pipes for Tuesday's Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. There hasn't been a confirmation on Swayman starting but Linus Ullmark stayed out for extra work in Tuesday's morning skate, strongly suggesting Swayman would again be the team's starting netminder. Swayman has dominated the Leafs in this series, stopping 87 of 91 shots (.956 save percentage) in three games, earning the win in each contest. Additionally, the 25-year-old sports a sound 2.60 goals-against average and a sterling .917 Sv% across six regular-season outings against the club's Atlantic Division rival.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Fluto
3 days agoNew York Islanders forward Matt Martin will not dress for Game 5 of the team's first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury. Martin missed Game 4 on Saturday and was replaced by forward Simon Holmstrom. "Still the same. Day to day," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said Monday. "He's a leader on our team, so guys want to be around him for sure." The veteran appeared in 57 regular-season games in the 2023-24 campaign, notching four goals and eight points along with 43 penalty minutes in just 9:19 of ice time per game. He was held off the scoresheet through the first three games of the season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
3 days agoWinnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon (hand) and forward Vladislav Namestnikov (cheekbone) will both be out for Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Colorado Avalanche. Dillon suffered a lacerated hand in an altercation in Game 3 while Namestnikov was struck in the face by a deflected Nate Schmidt point shot in Game 4 in Colorado on Sunday. Defenseman Colin Miller, acquired in a trade with the Devils on March 8, will make his series debut in Dillon's absence while Cole Perfetti will make his NHL postseason debut in place of Namestnikov. The Jets need a win on Tuesday to avoid elimination.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
3 days agoBoston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk appears to be back in the lineup for Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rear guard didn't stay out late during Tuesday's morning skate while Derek Forbort, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jakub Lauko, and Linus Ullmark did. It appears Grzelcyk will take Shattenkirk's spot in the lineup. The 30-year-old didn't appear in either of the two games in Toronto after playing in the series' first two games in Boston. For the season, Grzelcyk tallied two goals and 11 points on 59 shots across 63 games, blocking 76 shots while adding a plus-13 rating to his ledger. The Bruins can win the series with a victory on Tuesday on home ice.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Fluto Shinzawa
3 days agoWashington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie is unsure if he will be able to keep playing next season due to recurring issues with his back. Back injuries along with a concussion limited the veteran to just 52 regular-season games in the 2023-24 campaign. "I'd love to play next year, but I will need to come back with somewhat of a guarantee that my back won't be -- it's hard putting everyone through the situation," Oshie said on Tuesday. "From my family at home to the team trying to figure out a lineup to young guys getting called up and going down, I'd like to find just an answer and a fix to the problem before I make another run at it." Oshie was limited to just 12 goals and 25 points in his 52 games and notched just one assist in the team's first-round sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
3 days agoToronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren (undisclosed) will draw back into the lineup for Game 5 on Tuesday versus the Boston Bruins. The Swede didn't dress for Game 4 on Saturday, as head coach Sheldon Keefe said Liljegren wasn't 100 percent healthy as the reasoning for the scratch. It doesn't appear Liljegren agrees with that notion. "I don't know, I feel good," Liljegren said. "I was a bit surprised (to come out), but it is what it is." Liljegren is expected to take the spot of T.J. Brodie, who drew in for the first time in the series on Saturday. The 2017 first-round pick turns 25 years old on Tuesday and notched three goals and 23 points on 62 shots on goal with another 116 blocks across 55 games this season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
3 days agoToronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is expected to be the team's starting goaltender for Tuesday's Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. Woll didn't take part in the morning skate while both Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones did, suggesting Woll will indeed be between the pipes for his first start of the series. Woll replaced Samsonov for the third period of Game 4 on Saturday and turned aside all five shots he faced in his team's 3-1 loss. The 25-year-old took over the starting role from Samsonov early in the season but suffered a high-ankle sprain in early December and missed nearly three months. He worked to a 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage across 25 regular-season appearances.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
3 days agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (illness) is a game-time decision for Tuesday's Game 5 contest against the Boston Bruins. The superstar has been dealing with an illness that forced him out of the third period of Saturday's 3-1 Game 4 loss. "Obviously he was on the ice today, so he's working through things to try to make himself available to play," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "No determination at this time." The head coach declined to answer when asked if there is something else other than the illness bothering Matthews. Matthews led the league with 69 regular-season goals but has just a single tally through the first four games of this series.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
4 days agoNew York Islanders forward Matt Martin (lower body) will not dress for Tuesday's Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 34-year-old traveled with the team to Raleigh but will not suit up for Tuesday's contest. Martin has been sidelined for the past two games due to a lower-body issue. "Still the same. Day-to-day," head coach Patrick Roy said on Monday. "He's a leader on our team. so guys want to be around him for sure." Martin tallied four goals and eight points to go along with 43 penalty minutes across 57 games during the regular season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
4 days agoBoston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (undisclosed) could be an option for the team ahead of Tuesday's Game 5 tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 32-year-old has been sidelined due to a pair of undisclosed injuries and hasn't played in a game since March 2. He then underwent surgery and played in a pair of AHL contests and practiced with fellow blue-liner Parker Wotherspoon on Monday. The veteran appeared in just 35 games for the Bruins this season, tallying four assists and a plus-eight rating in that time. The Bruins can close out the series with a win on home ice on Tuesday night on home ice.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
4 days agoNew York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad collected two points on Sunday while helping his team to a four-game sweep of the Washington Capitals in their first-round playoff series. The Swede notched two assists on the night, the first of which came on a power play with just 16 seconds to go in the first period. He notched another power-play helper on Artemi Panarin's third-period, game-winning goal just 3:21 in the third period. It was the third straight two-point game for the veteran who finished the series with a goal and six assists through four games. The Rangers will now take on the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders series with the 'Canes sporting a 3-1 series lead with Game 5 set for Tuesday in Carolina.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoNew York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin tallied the game-winning goal in Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Washington Capitals, eliminating the Caps in a four-game sweep. The Russian beat netminder Charlie Lindgren with a wrister 3:21 into the third period, notching his second point of the night in the process. It had been a pretty quiet series for Panarin prior to Game 4 as he had just one goal across the first three games and was held off the scoresheet entirely in games two and three. The Rangers will now face either the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Islanders in round two but it will likely be the Hurricanes who hold a 3-1 series lead over New York with Game 5 set for Tuesday in Raleigh.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews' status for Game 5 of the team's first-round series against the Boston Bruins is up in the air as the pivot continues to deal with an illness. Matthews has played through the issue for the last two games but was pulled by team doctors prior to the third period of Saturday's Game 4 loss. The Maple Leafs now trail the Bruins 3-1 in the series with Game 5 set to go Tuesday in Boston. "Not much of an update there (but) luckily, again, we've got a couple of days here," head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Sunday. "We thought the last couple of days would help us. For whatever reason it's not one of those run-of-the-mill, everyday type of illnesses that sort of come and go." The superstar has three point through the first four games of the series.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
4 days agoVancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser notched a hat trick and willed his team to a monumental come-from-behind victory over the Nashville Predators to take a 3-1 stranglehold in the first-round on Sunday. Down 3-1 late in the third period, Boeser got the Canucks within one goal with his second tally of the game with less than three minutes remaining in the game. He then buried the tying goal with just eight seconds left in the final frame, sending the game to overtime before Elias Lindholm scored just 1:02 into the extra frame to hand the Canucks a 3-1 series lead. The outstanding performance carries over from a fantastic regular season that saw the 27-year-old record a career-high 40 goals and 73 points across 81 contests.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
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