Minor Transactions: 4/6/19

The final day of the regular season one is certainly a busy one with everyone aside from Anaheim in action.  While the 16 playoff teams are locked in, several seedings have yet to be determined so there is still plenty at stake.  There is bound to be a lot of roster movement today; we’ll keep track of those moves here.

• With Corey Crawford leaving Friday’s game early due to injury, the Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled goaltender Kevin Lankinen from Rockford of the AHL. The 23-year-old is in his first year in North America and has split the season between the AHL and ECHL levels.  He’s expected to back up Cam Ward in their season finale against Nashville.
• A day after being sent down, Matt Tennyson is once again back up with Buffalo, per the AHL’s Transactions page. The 28-year-old has been shuttled back and forth from the Sabres and AHL Rochester on a daily basis for the last week and a half but he hasn’t seen any action with the big club during that time … and several hours later, the Sabres announced that they assigned Tennyson back to Rochester.
• The Bruins announced that they’ve recalled winger Anton Blidh and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.  It’s Blidh’s second recall of the season although he didn’t get into a game with Boston in his first stint with the team.  He has 20 points and 92 penalty minutes in 71 games with Providence.  Meanwhile, Lauzon has split the season between the two teams, suiting up in 15 games with the big club and 28 with Providence.
• The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Jacob Middleton to San Jose of the AHL.  He played in San Jose’s last two games, picking up an assist while logging a little more than 12 minutes a game.  His spot in the lineup is expected to be filled by Erik Karlsson who is set to return after missing nearly six weeks due to a groin injury.  Their AHL team also announced that blueliner Ryan Merkley, their 2018 first-rounder, has been assigned to the minors following his elimination from the OHL postseason.
• The Dallas Stars have announced they have assigned forward Joel L’Esperance to the Texas Stars of the AHL for the team’s potential playoff run. The 23-year-old forward had been recalled in late Februrary and has two goals in 18 games, although he did score Friday for Dallas. L’Esperance has potted 29 goals in 50 games for Texas this season.
• The Los Angeles Kings have assigned forward Michael Amadio to the Ontario Reign to make room for Blake Lizotte, according to Fox Sports’ Patrick O’Neal. Amadio was recalled in late February and scored six goals and 13 points in 43 games. However, the Kings intend to give Lizotte, recently signed out of St. Cloud State, a chance to play in their final game of the season. Lizotte scored 14 goals and 42 points in 37 games.