The playoff picture received a shake-up last night. The Maple Leafs stormed back from down three to beat the Flyers, crushing Philadelphia’s postseason hopes in the process; the Blue Jackets blanked the Hurricanes to pull even in the wild card race; the Golden Knights held off the surging Stars, who had an opportunity to leapfrog the Blues in the Central race; and the Avalanche suffered an upset at the hands of the Ducks that may very well have wiped out their chances of a playoff run. We have entered the home stretch, as no team has more than a dozen games left on their regular season schedule. Each day’s slate of games will have more of an impact on the postseason placement than the next and today is no different, with match-ups like Blues-Penguins, Bruins-Blue Jackets, Flames-Jets, Capitals-Lightning, and Predators-Sharks that can cause four-point swings in playoff races. Even the smallest moves can be crucial the rest of the way, so keep up with all of those transactions here:
- Cody Goloubef’s stint with the Ottawa Senators lasted just one game this time around, as the team has announced that the veteran defender has been reassigned to AHL Belleville. Goloubef has played in five NHL games with the Senators this season, which is five more than he had played with the Boston Bruins prior to a mid-season trade.
- The Detroit Red Wings have made veteran defenseman Brian Lashoff an emergency recall, the team announced. The 28-year-old has not played in the NHL this season and in fact has just 17 games with Detroit to his credit since the end of the 2013-14 season, in which he started nearly every game for the team. Nevertheless, Lashoff – a leader for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins – earned a two-year extension this week and the Red Wings may be rewarding that commitment by giving the long-time defender another shot at the top level.
- Jacob Middleton’s shot at filling a gap on the Sharks’ blue line was short-lived. CapFriendly reports that the rookie defenseman has been returned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Fortunately, that just means he’s down the hall in the other locker room, so Middleton can easily be used as needed down the stretch. With Radim Simek done for the year and Erik Karlsson still sidelined, the Sharks are thin on the back end and Middleton has been a consistent defensive asset for the Barracuda this season.
- The back-and-forth continues for Jordan Kyrou, who has been reassigned by the St. Louis Blues yet again in his fourth move in about 48 hours. This time, Kyrou’s roster spot has been lost to the return of David Perron. The Blues announced that Perron has been activated from the injured reserve and will re-join the lineup. The veteran winger has missed the past 24 games with an upper-body injury, but is finally ready to get back to work. St. Louis could use the help as their hot streak has faded some and the Dallas Stars are suddenly right on their heels.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled Justin Bailey from the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It his fourth recall in the last five weeks since Feb. 10. The team needs that extra forward with Mikhail Vorobyev injured Wednesday. Bailey has played seven games for the Flyers this season with no points.
- Despite a recall Friday, the New Jersey Devils have chosen to re-assign forward Nick Lappin to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. Lappin did not play Friday. The 26-year-old forward has 16 goals and 27 points in 45 games with Binghamton.
- The Boston Bruins have assigned forward Trent Frederic to the Providence Bruins of the AHL, according to Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont. Frederic was recalled Tuesday as an emergency call-up, but several player getting healthier, including the return of Jake Debrusk, the team can return him to Providence. The 21-year-old has appeared in 13 games for Boston, but has failed to register a point.