The Islanders expect veteran center Jean-Gabriel Pageau back tonight as they try and even their first-round series against the Hurricanes at one apiece. He practiced today and took line rushes in his usual third-line role, per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. After missing Game 1 with a lower-body injury sustained early in the final game of the regular season, the 31-year-old will center a line with captain Anders Lee and Pierre Engvall. Winger Hudson Fasching is projected to come out of the lineup after riding shotgun with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri on the second line on Saturday, while 22-year-old Simon Holmström will be reinstated into the top-six on his natural wing after suiting up at center over the weekend. Center Kyle MacLean, who scored the Isles’ only goal in the 3-1 loss, slides down to fourth-line duties with Pageau returning. The Ottawa native had 11 goals and 33 points in the regular season, skating in all 82 games.
Other updates ahead of a pair of Game 2s in the East tonight:
- Maple Leafs winger William Nylander took a big step toward returning from an undisclosed injury today, participating in practice after participating in an optional skate yesterday. However, he didn’t take line rushes and will be a game-time decision against the Bruins tonight, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via ESPN’s Kristen Shilton). If Nylander can’t go, no lineup changes are coming for Toronto, which dropped Game 1 Saturday 5-1 despite outshooting Boston 36-25. He skated nearly an hour today, a good sign for his availability when the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 3 on Wednesday.
- The Bruins brought defenseman Derek Forbort back from his LTI conditioning loan to AHL Providence this morning, but he won’t be coming off long-term injured reserve just yet. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters today that the veteran isn’t an option for tonight’s contest but will travel with Boston north of the border (via The Boston Globe’s Conor Ryan). Even if healthy, it’s unclear whether he’ll draw into the lineup ahead of Andrew Peeke or Kevin Shattenkirk on the Bruins’ bottom pairing.
- Capitals defensemen Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin remain in non-contact jerseys in today’s practice, NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports. It’s not a good sign for the pair’s availability for Game 2 against the Rangers tomorrow. Both have been sidelined for at least a few games with upper-body injuries, and the Caps have already been forced to dip deep into their defensive well by playing rookie Vincent Iorio and farmhand Dylan McIlrath in Game 1’s 4-1 loss. Iorio left that game with an injury as well, which may force yet another player from AHL Hershey to suit up in postseason action for Washington. He’s now listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is questionable to play tomorrow, head coach Spencer Carbery said.
Nylander was injured with a few games remaining in the regular season, He was also sitting on 98 points for the year, Nylander and management decided to let him play those remaining regular season games so he could have a chance to reach 100 points for the season. As a result, He missed game one of the playoffs, And likely won’t be 100 percent healthy for game 2, More bad decision making in Toronto.