With the playoffs underway, the taxi squad shuffle will start to look a little bit different. Instead of constant swapping between the active roster and taxi squad, teams will likely just make mass additions the way they usually recall “Black Aces.” That is, players who will practice with the playoff roster but aren’t expected to actually suit up for any game action. We’ll still keep track of any moves right here:
- With an injury to Vitek Vanecek and no word on the progress of Ilya Samsonov, the Washington Capitals are forced to make a roster move to bring in an extra goaltender in case neither can go. The team therefore, announced they have recalled Zach Fucale from the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Fucale, once considered an elite goaltending prospect, had fared quite well in the AHL, posting a 1.80 GAA and a .932 save percentage in 16 appearances.
- Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated forward Ryan Reaves from LTIR and is ready to join the lineup in his familiar fourth-line role. Reaves’ numbers haven’t been overly impressive, but the forward brings intimidation that Vegas needs on the ice. The 34-year-old has one goal and five points in 37 games to go with 141 hits. Reaves has missed the last 16 games with an undisclosed injury.
- With their AHL season complete now, the Florida Panthers recalled four players to their NHL squad to serve as Black Aces, including defenseman Chase Priskie, Lucas Carlsson, Vladislav Kolyachonok and John Ludvig, according to FloridaHockeyNow’s George Richards.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled goaltender Alex D’Orio from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, according to PGSportsNow’s Matt Vensel. D’Orio will serve as the emergency third-string goaltender with Casey DeSmith out.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that goaltender Carey Price and winger Brendan Gallagher have been sent to Laval of the AHL on an LTI conditioning loan. Both players will be in uniform for Monday’s game against Toronto. Price, who is slated to play half the game, will be making his first AHL appearance since 2008 while Gallagher will be seeing his first AHL action since 2013.
- The Buffalo Sabres assigned forward Arttu Ruotsalainen to the minors, per CapFriendly. The move is basically procedural at this point as the rookie is on his way to play for Finland at the World Championships.
- The Calgary Flames have brought up defenseman Connor Mackey plus forwards Dominik Simon and Adam Ruzicka from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. All three players are expected to be in uniform tonight against Vancouver.
- Speaking of Vancouver, the Canucks have recalled Jonah Gadjovich from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The forward will make his NHL debut against Calgary.
- The Edmonton Oilers have brought up forwards Kyle Turris, Tyler Ennis, and Patrick Russell plus defenseman Philip Broberg from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. With their regular season over, they don’t need to carry a taxi squad any longer.