Snapshots: Ekblad, Sharks, Valimaki
While he may not be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, things are still looking positive regarding the health of Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Head coach Andrew Brunette said today that Ekblad remains week-to-week, but he has started skating and should return sometime in early May. That makes it seem likely that Ekblad will at least make an appearance during Florida’s First Round series, which will likely be against the Washington Capitals. It will be the second season in a row where Florida starts the playoffs without their star defenseman due to a lower-body injury, but this time around, it seems he’ll be ready to step in shortly after. Ekblad will have finished his regular season with 15 goals and 42 assists for 57 points in just 61 games, which is still currently eighth among all NHL defensemen.
More from around the NHL today:
- While San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson had been on a medical leave of absence since November, his departure announcement from the organization today still came as a shock. Long-time assistant GM Joe Will has taken duties since then, and he’ll remain in the interim position, but team president Jonathan Becher said today that the Sharks will hope to have a new GM by the beginning of next year. With that, it’s entirely possible that the Sharks head into a draft and free agency period with Will still at the helm of the club. That may not be an entirely bad thing, considering his familiarity with Becher and the club, but it takes away the chance for his successor to craft their roster ahead of next season.
- After being sent down early in the year and falling out of favor with head coach Darryl Sutter, the Calgary Flames have brought top defense prospect Juuso Valimaki back up to the big club from the AHL’s Stockton Heat. Valimaki played in 49 of the team’s 56 games last season, recording 11 points and never touching AHL ice. But after just two assists in eight games this season in limited minutes, the team opted to send Valimaki back down to the minors, where he had 17 points in 30 games. The team has no injuries on defense, so it’s a clear sign that the organization wants to see what effect his AHL stint this year had on him and whether he can be relied upon to play minutes for the team in the playoffs if injuries strike.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Noah Philp
Another Philp brother is on an NHL deal. The Edmonton Oilers have signed Noah Philp to a one-year contract for the 2022-23 season. No financial terms were disclosed, but he will join the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on an amateur try-out for the rest of the season.
A free agent out of the University of Alberta, Philp finished the regular season with 11 points in just eight games but tore up a four-game playoff with ten points. It was his third year in school, including the 2020-21 season that was completely lost to COVID. Prior to that, he played four seasons in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice and Seattle Thunderbirds.
Philp, a 23-year-old center, is the younger brother of Luke Philp, under contract with the Calgary Flames. The brothers will likely face off against each other this season in the AHL.
Noah will likely need a good amount of seasoning with Bakersfield before potentially getting an NHL look, especially considering the lack of hockey he’s played over the last two seasons.
Jack Hughes Shut Down For Season
An injury-plagued season for young New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes continues. Per the team, Hughes suffered a low-grade MCL sprain of his left knee during April 3rd’s game against the New York Islanders, ending his season.
The injury came as a result of this collision with Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom, who did not receive a penalty for the hit. He did, however, receive a fighting major for an altercation with P.K. Subban after the hit.
Hughes has come alive this season, smashing every career-high despite the injuries. Limited to just 49 games, Hughes still managed 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points, clearing his previous career-high by 25 points. He’s shown first-overall pick ability constantly this year, and the team and player hope injuries don’t get in the way of that continuing. He remains one of the team’s best two-way forwards as well.
For the short remainder of this season, it will fall back onto captain Nico Hischier to take over the no. 1 center spot. Hischier does have 50 points in 60 games, largely flying under the radar this year, and he’ll get the chance to improve on those totals with some more minutes.
West Notes: Reichel, Nichushkin, Gurianov
Chicago Blackhawks fans will get one more chance to see one of their top prospects in action at the NHL level this season, but it comes with an asterisk. Chicago recalled forward Lukas Reichel from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs today, presumably for the third and final time this season. But, as NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis notes, how much he plays down the stretch impacts his contractual situation in the long run. Reichel only needs to play five more NHL games to burn the first year of his entry-level contract, as the team still retains the ability to slide his contract a year forward provided he plays nine or fewer NHL games this year. But as Chicago soldiers on toward a rebuild, cost-effectiveness probably isn’t top of mind right now. While Reichel has averaged 14:10 per night in his five NHL games this year without a point, he has 49 points in 49 AHL games this year. You’d be hard-pressed to find a good argument as to why Reichel doesn’t deserve another look in Chicago during the last, inconsequential month of the season.
Elsewhere from the Western Conference tonight:
- Valeri Nichushkin isn’t playing for Colorado tonight, compounding a long list of current injuries to important players for the Avs. It’s a non-COVID illness holding him out of the lineup, as the bug that everyone seems to be catching has hit the 27-year-old forward. He’s had a breakout season in a near-constant top-six role, potting 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in 51 games. That now makes half of Colorado’s top-six out of the lineup for now, as he joins Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri on the scratch list.
- It’s a pesky non-COVID illness striking again, this time against the Dallas Stars. Denis Gurianov is out of the lineup now as the team continues to battle with Vegas and Nashville for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference. The skilled shooter has 30 points in 63 games this season.
Nils Hoglander, Tucker Poolman Could Be Out For Season
Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau spoke to reporters today, saying that he believes forward Nils Hoglander and defenseman Tucker Poolman could be done for the 2021-22 season with respective injuries.
Hoglander, 21, last played on March 15th against the New Jersey Devils. He was listed as day-to-day with a groin injury two days later, and his status was downgraded to week-to-week on March 30th. Poolman, a first-year Canuck, returned to the Canucks lineup on April 3rd after missing over two months but played just 4:25 in that game. He’s out with an upper-body injury.
While the Canucks, who now sit eight points out of the second Wild Card spot, had very little hope of making the playoffs, these compounding injuries worsen their scenario. While Hoglander has been in and out of the lineup, occasionally scratched, he still has more points this season than any current member of Vancouver’s bottom-six (10 goals, 18 points in 60 games). Not having him as an option for some depth goal-scoring takes away from a position of need.
Poolman, while many initially balked at his $2.5MM cap hit (and rightfully so), had put together by far the best defensive performance of his career so far prior to going down with an injury. He did have just three points in 40 games, but Poolman has never carried much of any offensive upside.
Philadelphia Flyers Activate Scott Laughton
The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that the team has activated forward Scott Laughton off injured reserve after missing roughly three and a half weeks with a concussion. In a corresponding transaction, the team also loaned forward Hayden Hodgson back to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Laughton suffered the concussion after playing 11 shifts in a March 10th game against the Florida Panthers. He’d been taking on his biggest role yet in Philadelphia this year prior to the injury, scoring 11 goals and 28 points in 54 games while averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game for the first time in his career.
Historically a strong play-driving forward, Laughton continued to outperform his $3M cap hit this year, and the Flyers hope that he gets back to full health and serves as a solid depth piece for years to come. While they may still be in rebuilding mode for the next few seasons, Laughton, under contract through 2025-26, can serve as a veteran leader in what could be a tough stretch of seasons for the team.
He will return to the lineup against Columbus tonight, projected to center a unit between newcomer Noah Cates and Travis Konecny.
Hodgson, meanwhile, returns to Lehigh Valley after a strong showing during his first five games in the NHL, registering a goal and an assist and a -1 rating. He won’t get a chance to make a playoff impact there, however, as Lehigh Valley sits last in their division with 13 games remaining.
Nick Ritchie Suspended One Game For Slashing
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Saturday night that they suspended Arizona Coyotes forward Nick Ritchie for one game for slashing Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk during last night’s game.
The incident occurred in the waning seconds of the first period, with the Ducks already commanding a 3-0 lead in the contest. Ritchie, who had pulled away from Shattenkirk after a clean check into the boards, raised his stick and, in the eyes of Player Safety, purposefully whacked the side of Shattenkirk’s helmet/face with his stick.
NHL DoPS’ rationale for the decision is as follows:
It is important to note that this is not a reckless or careless use of the stick, rather, this is a controlled and purposeful slash directed toward the head of an opponent that hits its intended target. And while the slash was delivered without substantial force, it is only because of the lack of force that this play is not met with more severe discipline.
Additionally, Ritchie has already been disciplined by DoPS four separate times during his seven-year, 400-game career, including one suspension and three fines.
Despite a tough start to 2021-22 after signing this offseason with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ritchie has eight goals and two assists for 10 points in 17 games since donning a Coyotes uniform for the first time. He’s one of their better offensive contributors at the moment, leaving a hole in the lineup, albeit just for one game.
Colorado Expects Nazem Kadri To Be Back Before Playoffs
During his postgame availability today after a nail-biting 3-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said center Nazem Kadri will “miss some time” with injury but should be back for the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kadri appeared to sustain an upper-body injury during Colorado’s 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on March 31st. Converged on by Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, Kadri was sandwiched between the two and was attended to on the ice by a member of the team’s medical staff. Kadri missed a few shifts but returned and played the rest of the game with a pair of bandages on his face, getting two assists on the Avalanche’s third and fourth goals of the game.
Smashing his career-highs in assists (57) and points (83) as one of the team’s most consistent forwards this year, he now joins Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon as other top Avalanche forwards to miss time with injury this season. His production as the No. 2 man behind MacKinnon on the Colorado center depth chart is crucial for the team’s playoff success, and with the team being virtually a lock for the Western Conference regular-season title, let alone a playoff spot, the team will likely take his recovery slowly.
With less than a month left in the 2021-22 campaign, more will be asked of the team’s checking forwards to intensify their game. New acquisition Artturi Lehkonen could find himself in a top-six role for the time being with injuries to both Kadri and Landeskog.
San Jose Sharks Activate Mario Ferraro Off Injured Reserve
The San Jose Sharks activated 23-year-old top-pairing defenseman Mario Ferraro off injured reserve today, as the team announced on Twitter.
Prior to the injury, Ferraro was in the midst of a solid follow-up to his pseudo-breakout campaign in 2020-21. San Jose’s 49th-overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Ferraro had two goals, nine assists, 11 points, a -7 rating, and an average time on ice of 23:19.
Ferraro sustained a leg injury on February 26th that was expected to keep him out of the lineup for six weeks, meaning his return to the lineup comes ahead of schedule. Ferraro played just 13 shifts in that night’s game against Boston before suffering the injury, landing on the injured reserve list two days later.
The Sharks went 6-7-2 with Ferraro out of the lineup, but their goals against per games played average was 3.27 during that timeframe, up from the team’s season-long mark thus far of 3.15. Ferraro has continuously been thrown to the wolves the past two years, commonly playing alongside Brent Burns, but the young defenseman has held his own despite seeing some of the toughest minutes in the league.
Ferraro could return tonight when the Sharks host the Dallas Stars.
Poll: Do The Vegas Golden Knights Make The Playoffs?
2021-22 has been anything but smooth sailing for the (still) new kids on the block. Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Reilly Smith, Robin Lehner, William Karlsson, and Zach Whitecloud are just some of the names that have missed significant time due to injury for the Vegas Golden Knights this year.
With all of that, the team that was projected to be Presidents’ Trophy hopefuls at the beginning of the year now sits out of a playoff spot with under a month left to go in the regular season. They now have just 13 games left to make one last push to re-enter the top eight teams in the Western Conference.
Vegas’ best hope is likely to catch the Dallas Stars and take the second Wild Card spot out from under them. Dallas is one point ahead of Vegas, but they have 16 games remaining as compared to Vegas’ 13 left. The Stars are 6-4-0 in their past ten, and if that .600 points percentage keeps up for the rest of the regular season, the Stars would finish with 98 points. In order for Vegas to reach the 98-point plateau, they would need 20 points out of a possible 26, or roughly a 10-3-0 record in their final 13. Something like 8-3-2 would also get the job done, but the bottom line is that the Golden Knights can’t afford to lose more than three games in regulation the rest of the way.
If they were to try and catch the Edmonton Oilers for the third divisional spot in the Pacific Division, they’d likely need to do even better than that. The Oilers have a slightly worse points percentage than the Stars, but they’re much hotter with a 7-2-1 record in their past 10. If that keeps up, there’s no chance Vegas can catch them.
Now, the Knights don’t have the hardest schedule for the rest of the way. Tonight begins a five-game stretch against non-playoff teams in the West (Seattle, Arizona, and three games against Vancouver). After that, three of their remaining eight games are against-non playoff teams, so eight out of 13 games left in total are against non-playoff teams. One date to undoubtedly circle on the calendar is April 26th, where Vegas heads to Dallas to play their 80th game of the season, one that could ultimately decide their playoff fate if they can bank points.
So, we ask you, PHR readers: is this even a reality worth entertaining? Can the Knights overcome unprecedented injury-related adversity to be one of the 16 teams in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs? Make your voice heard below: