Central Notes: Heiskanen, Johansson, Wiesblatt
Before the Round One matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars shifted to Denver for Games 3 and 4, there was some belief defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return to the Stars lineup in one of those contests, given he was traveling with the team. Heiskanen was not activated, and that will not change this evening either.
According to Brien Rea of Victory+, it’s already been confirmed that Heiskanen won’t return for Game 5 as the series moves back to American Airlines Center. Still, Heiskanen is considered on a day-to-day recovery timeline after already returning to the ice for practice, and should be back in the lineup any day now.
Fortunately, the series isn’t as lopsided as it should be for the Heiskanen-less Stars. Despite being outscored by a margin of six and having only had the lead for 62 seconds in the entire series, Dallas has still managed to keep the series split two games apiece.
Other Central notes:
- The Minnesota Wild could get a boost to their forward core for an important Game 5. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Wild winger Marcus Johansson has returned to practice after missing Game 4 with a lower-body injury. Still, Johansson wasn’t as impactful as some of his peers through the first three games of the series, as he only tallied one assist while averaging 13:54 of ice time per game.
- The AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, affiliated with the NHL’s Nashville Predators, have inked a forward to a rare three-year AHL contract beginning in the 2025-26 AHL season. Oasiz Wiesblatt, brother of Ozzy Wiesblatt, is joining the club from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. The younger Wiesblatt recently finished his fourth full major junior season as captain of the Tigers, scoring 36 goals and 103 points in 66 games.
Canadiens Recall Cayden Primeau
The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Cayden Primeau in the wake of an injury to starter Sam Montembeault. Montembeault left Game 3 during a second-period TV-timeout, after a conversation with Montreal’s director of sports medicine and performance, Jim Ramsay. He has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, did not practice on Sunday, and will formally be questionable for Game 4 – head coach Martin St. Louis shared with NHL.com. Montreal will start rookie Jakub Dobes in their next matchup, and now have Primeau as a potential backup option.
Primeau has had a near-perfect season in the minor leagues. He’s posted a dazzling 21-2-2 record, .927 save percentage, and 1.96 goals-against average. In turn, Primeau recorded the fewest losses, the third-highest save percentage, and the highest goals-against average of all qualified AHL goalies. It was a true breakout performance after Primeau posted a .909 save percentage, and varying surrounding stats, in each of the last four AHL seasons.
Primeau was the de facto starter any time he was in the AHL, though he fell three games shy of the Laval Rocket’s lead in games played after spending two months on the NHL roster to start the season. He stepped into 11 games over that tenure and managed a far less encouraging 2-3-1 record, .836 save percentage, and 4.70 goals-against-average. It continued what’s been a string of underwhelming NHL performances for Primeau, who sits with a 13-24-7 record and .884 save percentage through 55 career games. Those numbers were boosted slightly by a .910 save percentage in 23 games last year – numbers that Montreal will hope he can recreate after a flawless season in the minor leagues.
Oilers Recall Six Black Aces
With the season officially over for their AHL affiliate, the Edmonton Oilers have boosted their NHL roster by calling up six black aces. The full list of recalls includes forwards Matthew Savoie, Noah Philp, and James Hamblin; defensemen Cam Dineen and Philip Kemp; and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue – per Bob Stauffer of 880 CHED. Stauffer adds that all seven black aces took part in the Oilers’ team skate on Saturday.
The most notable member of this group is undoubtedly Savoie, who stands as one of Edmonton’s top prospects and ranked second on the Bakersfield Condors in scoring with 19 goals and 54 points in 66 games this season. It was a statement rookie season for the young winger, after he showed a glimmer of strong pro play with five points in six AHL games last year. Savoie appeared in four NHL games earlier this season. He recorded one assist and a minus-four. But he was renowned for his playoff performances throughout three years in the WHL – where he combined for 65 points in 48 postseason games, capped off with a WHL championship.
While Savoie could offer a home run swing, Edmonton will also receiver quainter NHL impact from Philp, Rodrigue, and Dineen. Philp appeared in the first 15 games of his NHL career this season, recording two assists and a plus-one. He coupled those modest numbers with 19 goals and 35 points in 55 AHL games – matching his goal-scoring and falling two shy of his point totals from 70 AHL games last season. Dineen appeared in four NHL games and Rodrigue in two – both to quiet effect – but they were major pieces of the AHL lineup all season long. Dineen led all Condors defensemen in scoring with 43 points in 59 games. Rodrigue handled the AHL starting role and managed an 18-16-7 record and .897 save percentage in 41 games. All three players will offer clear bottom-of-the-lineup translatability should Edmonton be forced to lean on their depth.
The group of call-ups is rounded out by Hamblin and Kemp, who each received NHL minutes last season but spent the entirety of this year in the minors. Hamblin managed an encouraging 45 points in 51 games while rotating through a top-line wing role, while Kemp found himself down the lineup and only managed 12 points in 56 games. Both will likely be the last Black Ace tapped on, should Edmonton need to turn towards any of them.
Capitals Assign Ilya Protas To AHL
One of Washington’s top prospects could soon be getting his first taste of playing in the pros. The Capitals announced that they have reassigned winger Ilya Protas from OHL Windsor to AHL Hershey.
The 18-year-old was a third-round pick last June, going 75th overall after a solid first season in North America with USHL Des Moines after previously playing in Belarus’ junior program. Having had some success with his brother Aliaksei (who had a breakout year with the Caps this season), Washington felt Ilya, who stands 6’5, was worth a mid-round look as well, making them the second set of brothers to be drafted by the team in franchise history (the others being Yvon and Rick Corriveau).
It’s a pick that certainly looks promising not even a year later. Protas moved to the major junior level this season with the Spitfires and was nothing short of dominant, notching 50 goals and 74 assists in just 61 games, good for second in the OHL in scoring. He became the first player since Alex DeBrincat to pot 50 goals in his first OHL campaign.
That production didn’t slow down in the playoffs either. He is the leading scorer of the postseason thus far after tallying five goals and 20 assists in just a dozen postseason contests.
Hershey has yet to begin its playoff run as the team is awaiting the end of the opening round (or play-in series) to see who their first opponent will be. It will be interesting to see if Protas will get a look at some point or if he’ll primarily serve as injury insurance.
Senators Recall Twelve Players
With the Senators in the playoffs and their farm team in Belleville not making the playoffs, Ottawa has determined which players will be joining the team as their Black Aces. The team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Zack MacEwen, Angus Crookshank, Stephen Halliday, Cole Reinhardt, Jan Jenik, Tyler Boucher, Garrett Pilon, and Wyatt Bongiovanni, along with defenseman Donovan Sebrango and goaltender Mads Sogaard have all been recalled from Belleville.
In addition, the Sens have also recalled two players from the major junior ranks. Defenseman Carter Yakemchuk was brought up from WHL Calgary while blueliner Tomas Hamara was recalled from OHL Brantford.
Among the recalls, MacEwen saw the most game action with Ottawa this season, playing in 21 games where he had three points and 49 hits in a little under eight minutes a night of action. Reinhardt had two points in 17 outings while Crookshank had an assist in eight contests. Jenik, Sebrango, and Sogaard all got into a pair of games and were held off the scoresheet while Sogaard allowed eight goals on just 40 shots.
Looking at the AHL recalls who didn’t play with Ottawa this season, Halliday and Pilon were Belleville’s top scorers, checking in with 51 and 48 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Bongiovanni tied Crookshank for the team lead in goals with 22. Boucher, meanwhile, had just 10 points in 47 games this season, not a great showing for the tenth overall pick from 2021.
Yakemchuk very briefly made Ottawa’s roster out of training camp before being sent back without playing a game. He was the seventh pick in last year’s draft and had a solid year with the Hitmen, picking up 49 points in 56 games. As for Hamara, he also checked in just below the point-per-game mark with the Bulldogs, notching 55 in 58 appearances.
These recalls could be short-lived, however. Ottawa is down 3-0 in their opening round series against Toronto so the series could be over as soon as tonight. But regardless of how long their postseason push lasts, the Sens now have their extra skaters in place.
Western Conference Notes: Landeskog, Pickard, Poturalski
After recently playing for the first time in 1,032 days, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is set for a bigger role in game four of their matchup with against the Dallas Stars, per an NHL release.
The veteran is expected to join the top power-play unit and slot in on a line alongside Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin. In his game three return, a 2-1 lost, Landeskog remarkably led all players with six hits in 13:16 of total ice time. He skated on the Avs third line next to Charlie Coyle and Joel Kiviranta.
After captaining the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, the winger, 32, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, which put his career in jeopardy. But after nearly three years of intense rehab, the Swedish-born forward has made his return, something that has greatly inspired the organization.
As head coach Avalanche Jared Bednar stated today: “It’s remarkable, really. When you think about the time he’s been away, and then you see the way he played the other night, I thought he was incredible under those circumstances.”
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- The Edmonton Oilers have announced goalie Calvin Pickard will start game three of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, per TSN. Pickard replaced Stuart Skinner in the third period of the team’s 6-2 loss in game two. Coach Kris Knoblauch noted the team will need a big game from Pickard, adding that the Oilers need “big saves at big times.” Pickard had a solid showing in the regular season, finishing with 22-10-1 record and .900 save percentage. Skinner, meanwhile, struggled for a starter with a .896 save percentage on the year through 51 appearances. And through two playoff starts, the 26-year-old holds a rough .810 save percentage and staggering 6.11 goals against average. If the Oilers have any hope of making another deep playoff run, they’ll need significantly better play between the pipes.
- While not much went right for the San Jose Sharks this season, their AHL-affiliate does have something big to celebrate. San Jose Barracuda forward Andrew Poturalski was announced as the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player, per a league release. Poturalski, 31, scored 73 points in 59 games to lead the Barracuda to their best record since 2019 (while missing the final three weeks of the regular season due to injury). Poturalski has had a phenomenal AHL career, securing three scoring titles and two Calder Cup championships. However, he has never been able to showcase that success in the NHL, appearing in just nine games with three assists.
Snapshots: Protas, DeMelo, Lightning, Miettinen
5:30 PM: Protas will not play in Game 3 on Friday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He will target a Game 4 return, while the Capitals will continue forward with Taylor Raddysh in the lineup.
4:00 PM: The Washington Capitals could be in store for a major addition to their postseason lineup, as top forward Aliaksei Protas continues to work his way back from a foot injury. Protas returned to full-contact practice on Friday morning and could step back into the lineup in Game 3, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. He has missed Washington’s last eight games after being cut by a skate on April 4th.
Protas was on the tail end of a loud breakout season at the time of his injury. He ranked third on the Capitals in scoring at the time, with 30 goals and 66 points in 75 games. He’s confidently lapped the six goals and 29 points he scored in 78 games last season. That rise in scoring has been largely helped along by Protas’ shooting percentage rising from 5.3 percent to 21.1 percent this season. But despite the inflated shooting percentage, Protas looked perfectly at home in the Capitals’ top-six and should return to a major role as soon as he’s back to full health. Protas recorded two assists in four playoff games last season – and will look to carry his booming shooting percentage into must-win games.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- It has been revealed that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo missed Game 3 due to illness per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Jets were bullied by the St. Louis Blues in DeMelo’s absence, dropping their first game of the postseason with a 7-3 loss. DeMelo was a major part of the Jets gameplan through Game 1 and 2. He averaged over 20 minutes of ice time between the two games and recorded one assist and a plus-two. DeMelo appeared in all 82 games of the Jets’ regular season. He scored 19 points and averaged 21:31 in ice time. Veteran defenseman Colin Miller stepped into the lineup for DeMelo and recorded one assist. But the Jets weren’t able to make up for the booming physical presence DeMelo brings. They’ll hope for a quick return to health before Game 4 on Sunday.
- Tampa Bay Lightning fans can breathe a sigh of relief after head coach Jon Cooper shared that both Yanni Gourde and Anthony Cirelli are expected to stay in the lineup, per NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce. Both players missed Friday morning’s practice for undisclosed reasons. Neither player has found any scoring through two playoff games so far, though they’ve continued to serve physical roles from the team’s second-line. The band could be without their third in Tampa Bay’s next matchup, with left-winger Brandon Hagel facing a suspension after a dirty hit on Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
- Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen has signed an amateur try-out with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the remainder of the season per the AHL Transactions Log. Miettinen sustained a lower-body injury at the World Junior Championship that held him out of a handful of games. Even through the injury, he managed a strong 11 goals and 39 points in 36 WHL game this season – a 0.06 point-per-game increase over his 67 points in 66 games last season. The six-foot-three Finn will bring a boost of heft and instinctive offense to the Firebirds lineup as they prepare for a series against the Calgary Wranglers.
Kings Assign Liam Greentree To AHL
The Los Angeles Kings have reassigned top prospect Liam Greentree to the AHL after the end of his OHL season. Greentree ranked third in OHL scoring this season with a dazzling 49 goals and 119 points in 64 games. He also ranked second in playoff scoring with 14 goals and 24 points in 11 games, before his Windsor Spitfires were eliminated by the Kitchener Rangers in a seven-game series.
The Kings drafted Greentree with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Many pundits expected him to go much earlier, after he scored 36 goals and 90 points in 64 games of his draft season. Greentree was revered for his ability to control possession and tempo through the neutral zone, boosted by a strong drive towards the net and a physical six-foot-two frame. Those attributes shined even brighter this season, after Greentree was paired with star Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas at center.
Protas’ ability to spark plays up the ice and crash into the low-slot complimented Greentree beautifully, and actually led to the former earning five more points than his winger this season. The two were inseparable for much of the year – and the experience with a burly, puck-hogging center could be a nice setup as Greentree sets his sights on a lineup already featuring Quinton Byfield.
For now, Greentree will look to carry his tremendous scoring into the pro flight. He will join the Ontario Reign ahead of their first games of the Calder Cup Playoff matchup against the San Jose Barracuda this weekend. The turnaround might be too quick for Greentree to play his pro debut on Saturday, though it’ll be tough to not consider the star scorer in what could be a must-win game on Monday.
Flames Assign Adam Klapka To AHL
After sustaining an injury in the final game of the regular season, Flames winger Adam Klapka wasn’t cleared to be assigned to the minors with the rest of his eligible teammates last week. However, that clearance has now come as the team announced that he has been assigned to AHL Calgary.
The 24-year-old signed with the Flames as an undrafted free agent back in 2022 and made his NHL debut last season, getting into six appearances. This season, he was utilized much more often, having six different stints with the Flames over the course of the year, including making the team out of training camp.
Klapka played in 31 games with the big club this season, potting six goals and four assists while averaging 9:39 per night. He also chipped in with 108 hits and 25 blocked shots. With the Wranglers in the minors, he was much more impactful offensively, tallying 14 goals and 12 assists in 33 games.
Klapka’s waiver exemption expires after this season so this final stretch with the Wranglers could help his cause to push for a roster spot in 2025-26. However, to get that chance, Calgary will have to win the next two games over Coachella Valley or their playoff run will come to a quick end.
Blackhawks Assign Colton Dach To AHL
Colton Dach’s first NHL season came to an early end when he suffered an elbow injury last month. However, it appears that injury has healed as the Blackhawks announced that the forward has been assigned to AHL Rockford. The assignment couldn’t have been made until he received a clean bill of health.
The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by Chicago back in 2021, going 62nd overall. After injuries took out most of his final WHL season, Dach was limited to just 48 games in his first professional season, spent entirely with the IceHogs. Nonetheless, he put up a respectable 11 goals and 16 assists in those outings.
This season, Dach got off to a strong start with Rockford, earning himself a recall in early January. Aside from a pair of brief stints in the minors after that, he spent the bulk of the second half with the Blackhawks, getting into 25 games where he had two goals and five assists while logging a little over 12 minutes a night. Meanwhile, with the IceHogs, Dach had a strong half-season, tallying 12 goals and 14 helpers in 33 outings.
Dach was papered down at the trade deadline, keeping him eligible to play in the minors for this very reason. Rockford took the opener of its best-of-three series on Wednesday and will look to punch their ticket to the next round with a win on Friday.