8 hours agoToronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann (lower body) is a possibility for Game 1 of the postseason on Saturday against the Boston Bruins despite not taking part in practice on Friday, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. He suffered a lower-body injury in an awkward fall while clearing the puck short-handed during a 5-4 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on April 13 and did not return to the game. He sat out the team's final two regular-season contests. McMann broke out in the second half of the season, notching 13 goals across his final 33 games after registering just two goals in his first 23 games of the campaign.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
8 hours agoToronto Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok (hand) practiced with the team on Friday and is a possibility for Game 1 of the postseason Saturday versus the rival Boston Bruins. The veteran has been sidelined since suffering his second hand injury of the season in a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on March 14. Jarnkrok missed time earlier in the season with a broken knuckle suffered when he was hit on the hand by a shot in practice. The Swede has recorded 10 goals and 21 points on 92 shots on goal across 52 games this season after posting career highs with 20 goals and 39 points in his first season with the Leafs in 2022-23.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
8 hours agoToronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (undisclosed) did not take part in Friday's practice ahead of Saturday's Game 1 of the postseason against the Boston Bruins. No reason has been provided for his absence, while head coach Sheldon Keefe said Nylander was a possibility for Saturday's postseason opener. He had recently been skating on a line with Pontus Holmberg and Matthew Knies as Keefe has spread out his top offensive weapons. Knies was promoted to the line featuring John Tavares and Mitch Marner at Friday's practice. It was a big season the Swedish veteran matched a career-high with 40 goals and notched a career-high 98 points and 316 shots on goal while skating in all 82 regular-season games.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
8 hours agoNew York Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is listed as day to day after suffering a lower-body injury during the first period of a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. The veteran didn't take part in practice on Friday and is questionable for Game 1 of the postseason against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday in Raleigh. Kyle MacLean was elevated to the third line while veteran Cal Clutterbuck skated as the team's fourth-line center on Friday. For the season, Pageau recorded 11 goals and 33 points while skating in all 82 of the team's regular-season contests.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
8 hours agoFlorida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (lower body) will be back to take on the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the postseason on Sunday in Sunrise. The veteran missed the final six games of the regular season with a lower-body injury and appeared in just four of the team's last 17 regular-season contests. "He would have played in the last game had it been a playoff game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after practice Friday. "We just did not see a point to it. We had enough healthy and strong defensemen and were in good shape." Ekblad skated with Gustav Forsling on Friday and registered four goals and 18 points in 51 games after a late start to his season due to multiple injuries suffered in last season's playoffs.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
8 hours agoNew York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson (upper body) will be back for Game 1 of the postseason on Saturday to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The blue-liner missed the final three regular-season games due to an upper-body injury. "When you leave a game and miss the three games to finish the year, you obviously had some concern with the playoffs coming," Dobson said. "But I've just tried to focus on doing whatever I can to get myself ready. It's been a day-to-day thing, just one day at a time, and I'm just happy to be feeling a little better here." The young defenseman had a big season, notching 10 goals and 70 points across 79 games as part of a team-high 24:31 of ice time per game.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
8 hours agoToronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi (undisclosed) said he is ready to go for Game 1 of the postseason on Saturday against the Boston Bruins. The veteran sat out the team's final two regular-season games with an undisclosed injury but will be back in the lineup for another clash with the rival Bruins. Domi got off to a sluggish offensive start but has clicked recently while skating on a line with superstar Auston Matthews, tallying two goals and 17 points across his final 21 regular-season games since the beginning of March. He skated with Matthews and Tyler Bertuzzi on Friday morning.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
1 day agoColorado Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen will be the starting goaltender for Thursday's regular-season finale against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. The Avs will give No. 1 netminder Alexandar Georgiev a breather ahead of a first-round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets. For the season, Annunen has been excellent when called upon, working to a 2.35 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage across 13 outings, 11 of which were starts. The Avalanche will take on the Jets after finishing third in the difficult Central Division but will not rest any other players, according to head coach Jared Bednar.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Ryan Boulding
1 day agoCalgary Flames netminder Dustin Wolf will be between the pipes for Thursday's contest against the visiting San Jose Sharks. The 23-year-old has appeared in 16 games for the Flames this season, turning in a 3.30 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage while going 6-7-1 in that time. He has been excellent with the American Hockey League's Calgary Wranglers, however, turning in a 2.43 GAA and a .923 save percentage across 35 games. Wolf is firmly the goaltender of the future in Calgary but Jacob Markstrom still has two years and a $6 million annually left on his contract.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Pat Steinberg
1 day agoSan Jose Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley will be between the pipes for Thursday's series finale on the road against the Calgary Flames. Cooley and Mackenzie Blackwood have shared the crease of late but it will be the 26-year-old getting the nod on Thursday. It was a tough outing his last time out as Cooley yielded eight goals on just 22 shots (.636 save percentage) in a 9-2 loss against the Edmonton Oilers. It's been a tough go for the youngster in his brief NHL tenure this season as he sports a 4.37 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage in five games of work. He also struggled to a 3.77 GAA and an .891 Sv% across 14 games with Rochester in the AHL before a move into the San Jose organization.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Curtis Pashelka
1 day agoPittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby will discuss a contract extension with the team as he will be on the final season of a 12-year, $104.4 million deal with the team in the 2024-25 season. The average annual value of that deal was a unique $8.7 million, an homage to his No. 87 and his birth year in 1987. "Obviously, I'm going to talk to [general manager Kyle Dubas] and have a conversation with him," Crosby said. "We'll see. I think it's just something I'll have a conversation with him about." The future Hall of Famer led the Penguins with 94 points in his 19th NHL season. The Penguins fell just shy of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the 2023-24 campaign, finishing three points back of the Washington Capitals for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 day agoPhiladelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has undergone surgery to repair a triceps tendon rupture. The veteran blueliner hasn't appeared in a game since Feb. 10 against the Seattle Kraken and endured a career-worst offensive season in the 2023-24 campaign. In his age-29 season, Ristolainen recorded just one goal and four points across 31 games in an injury-shortened season. He had maxed out with six goals and 45 points across 79 games while with the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016-17 season but his production at the offensive end of the ice has dropped dramatically in recent seasons. The Finn is expected to be ready for the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Jordan Hall
2 days agoNew Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton (pectoral) said he could perhaps have made it back to the lineup for the postseason, but the club was unable to qualify for the playoffs. The blue-liner has missed the past 62 games of the regular season due to a torn left pectoral muscle suffered in a Dec. 1 contest and missed the remainder of the regular season. "I've been skating and stuff, so the plan was kind of to target playoffs," the blue-liner said. "But unfortunately we don't have that chance. It was hard not being out there with the guys, win or lose, going through it with them. It definitely makes you realize you can't take things for granted." The veteran's season will end with five goals and 16 points across 20 games for the under-performing Devils in the 2023-24 campaign.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 days agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov was able to notch his 100th assist of the season on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, matching Connor McDavid, who did it this season while he became the fifth player in NHL history to reach the milestone. Kucherov's assist came on a Tampa Bay power play in which he sent a pass to teammate Brayden Point, who fired a slot shot past Leafs goaltender Martin Jones. The Russian's season will end with 44 goals and 144 points across 81 games on the season as he embarks upon a first-round series against the cross-state Florida Panthers in Round 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet
2 days agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews was unable to reach the 70-goal plateau in the club's series finale on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The superstar entered the game with 69 goals and 357 shots on goal, and even hit a crossbar, but he was unable to be the first 70-goal scorer in 31 years. The 26-year-old ends his regular season with 69 goals and 107 points across 81 games while adding 89 hits, 91 blocks, and a plus-32 rating to his ledger. The Maple Leafs are locked into a first-round matchup with the No. 2 seed Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which starts Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: David Alter
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