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Evan Rodrigues In Concussion Protocol

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Bennett Durando of the Denver Post relays from head coach Jared Bednar that forward Evan Rodrigues has entered into concussion protocol. The injury came after receiving a hard hit from Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman Connor Murphy in Monday night’s game.

Continuing on with their theme of the year, the defending Stanley Cup champions will lose another player to injury. Being without captain Gabriel Landeskog all season, the Colorado Avalanche also lost forward Artturi Lehkonen last week to a broken thumb. Seemingly unable to employ a healthy roster all season, the Avalanche will once again need to look to their depth to fill the gaps.

In his first season in Colorado, Rodrigues has fit very well into the team’s style of play. With his ability to play anywhere on offense, the forward has scored 14 goals and 19 assists so far this year with the Avalanche. Rodrigues has also seen a considerable amount of ice time on the team’s power play and is producing above-average possession numbers as well, earning a Corsi For % of 57.4.

Tied with the Minnesota Wild in points, the Avalanche sit only one point back of the division-leading Dallas Stars. With one game in hand on each team, the Avalanche looked poised to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but might ultimately be without some of their better offensive contributors this year.

Brendan Gallagher Returns For Canadiens

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Although no formal announcement has been made about his activation from the injured reserve, the Montreal Canadiens will welcome back veteran forward Brendan Gallagher to their lineup tonight. Seemingly injured for this entire season, the Canadiens can now employ one of their best players, both on and off the ice.

After being a strong emotional leader for the Canadiens during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, Gallagher was rewarded with a 6-year, $39 million contract extension from Montreal. Unfortunately, for both Gallagher and Montreal, he has been wholly unable to play a full season since that contract was signed. In only 25 games played so far this year, the forward has four goals and five assists for the struggling Canadiens.

Nevertheless, with the Canadiens in rebuild mode, Gallagher is a strong leader to put around the younger players coming up to Montreal. Given his injury history lately, $6.5MM a year is quite a lot of money to spend on a player that seems unable to play a full 82 games, but Gallagher’s leadership should make the contract a bit more palatable for the Canadiens. As the Canadiens take on Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, Montreal is 1-7-2 in their last ten games, remaining in the bottom five of the NHL league standings.

Minor Transactions: Kesselring, Berard, Krygier, Pivonka

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced via a press release that they have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners. Since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade, Kesselring has now been recalled on an emergency loan for the fourth time in just under three weeks.

After having a productive season with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, Kesselring has played three games for the Roadrunners, scoring two points, and four games for the Coyotes, scoring zero points. Given the seemingly unending rotating door that Kesselring has found himself in, this will likely not be the last time he will find himself being emergency recalled this year.

Other notes:

  • The New York Rangers have signed prospect Brett Berard to an entry-level contract that will kick in next year. In the meantime, the Providence College product will join the team’s AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout basis. The contract will run until the end of the 2025-26 season, paying the forward $925K in the NHL, and $80K in the AHL. Drafted 134th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Berard capped off a solid career at Providence, playing in a total of 91 regular season games, scoring 33 goals and 39 assists.
  • Jacob Pivonka will be joining the Bridgeport Islanders on an ATO today. Drafted 104th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, the young forward played a majority of his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, but ultimately finished it at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In his four-year college career, Pivonka played in 126 regular-season games, scoring 17 goals and 29 assists.
  • Also joining Pivonka in Bridgeport on an ATO will be defenseman Christian Krygier from Michigan State University. This will be the second transaction in as many days for the Krygier family, as his brother, Cole Krygier, just had his rights acquired by the Los Angeles Kings. Christian managed to accrue five seasons in the NCAA after being given another season of eligibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to score 20 points for the Spartans.

Atlantic Notes: Brodie, Luff, Richard

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David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports that per head coach Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman T.J. Brodie will not be in the lineup tonight. Keefe confirms that Brodie has been fine for the most part, but remains a little banged up as the Maple Leafs continue their final stretch toward the playoffs. During a flurry of trade deadline activity, the Maple Leafs have added Conor Timmins, Erik Gustafsson, Luke Schenn, and Jake McCabe, while only moving defenseman Rasmus Sandin off their roster.

Keefe did not specifically use the word “maintenance”, but with nine defensemen on the active roster ready to fill in, this is exactly what it seems like for Brodie tonight. Having been placed on the injured reserve twice already this year, Brodie is having a down year for his standards. Playing in only 47 games so far this season, Brodie has two goals and nine assists for the Maple Leafs. Although his point scoring is down, Brodie has still been racking up the blocked shots and serving valuable minutes on Toronto’s penalty kill.

Other notes:

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have recalled forward Matt Luff from their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Playing in his first season in the Red Wings’ organization, Luff actually missed over two months of play from an injury at the beginning of the season. Playing in only seven games for Detroit, the forward has scored one goal this year. In the minor leagues, Luff has been a very productive forward for the Griffins, scoring 25 points in 28 games.
  • Being recalled on emergency loan on March 9th, the Montreal Canadiens have sent forward Anthony Richard back to their AHL affiliate Laval Rocket. Playing in 13 games this season for the Canadiens, Richard has scored three goals and two assists. Unlike his production in the NHL, Richard has been one of the best players in Laval this season, if not one of the best players in the minor leagues altogether. In 49 games played for Laval, the forward has scored 24 goals and 31 assists.

Ryan McDonagh Returns For Predators

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During this morning’s meeting with the press, head coach John Hynes confirms that defenseman Ryan McDonagh will be back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Not having played since March 12th, McDonagh returns after missing four games. Hynes also confirms that after missing the team’s last game against the New York Rangers, captain Roman Josi will remain out of the lineup with an upper-body injury.

McDonagh’s steady presence on the back end will be a welcomed return for the Predators, especially with Josi out of the lineup. McDonagh does not have the same point-scoring ability that Josi has, but McDonagh’s ability to block shots and limit mistakes makes him a valuable defender nonetheless. Even off the ice, a recent winner of two Stanley Cup rings with the Tampa Bay Lightning, McDonagh will be a solid veteran piece to put around Luke Evangelista and Egor Afanasyev as they look to fully graduate to the NHL long-term.

Cooling down a bit of late, the Predators are still well within the playoff race in the Western Conference. They currently sit five points behind the last wild card team, Winnipeg Jets, and have three games in hand against their central division rival. As the season comes to an end, they still have one remaining game against the Jets, and will also play another wild card team twice, the Seattle Kraken.

Ethan Bear Activated From IR

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Before their game against the Los Angeles Kings kicks off, the Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Ethan Bear has been activated from the injured reserve. Bear is been out of the Canucks lineup for almost a month now, having not played since the team took on the Boston Bruins on February 25th.

Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Bear played three seasons in Edmonton, scoring a career-high 21 points during the 2019-20 season. After a down year in 2020-21, Bear was shipped off to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Warren Foegele. With an already deep defensive core, Bear decided to request a trade away from the Hurricanes, waiting until he was traded to the Canucks on October 28th.

In his first full year in Vancouver, Bear has managed to score three goals and 11 assists through 46 games played. Although he has managed to secure a +5 +/-, Bear is also on the Canucks penalty kill, which is currently a league-worst 68.18%. Things haven’t been all bad for the Canucks in Bear’s absence, as the team has gone 7-3-0 in their last ten games, beating strong teams such as the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Goalie Notes: Thompson, Brossoit, Skinner, Brkin

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As the Vegas Golden Knights took the ice for practice this morning, injured goalies Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit participated with the team. After a short media availability, Jesse Granger of The Athletic mentions that head coach Bruce Cassidy remains cautious on both, but that he expects both of the goalies to travel with the team in their upcoming western Canadian road trip.

Posting almost identical numbers to his first season in the NHL last year, Thompson has appeared in 36 games, going 20-13-3 with a .914 SV% and a 2.66 GAA. Brossoit on the other hand, seemingly injured for the entire season so far, has only appeared in three contests, going 1-0-2 with a .936 SV% and a 2.20 GAA. Although for most teams it would be a welcome return to have these goaltenders back in the lineup, recent trade acquisition Jonathan Quick has given the Knights a good problem to have. In 31 games this season for the Los Angeles Kings, Quick went 11-13-4 with a .876 SV% and a 3.50 GAA. Since coming over to Las Vegas, Quick has made five appearances, producing a record of 4-1-0, posting a .904 SV% and a 2.98 GAA.

Other notes:

  • After the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Seattle Kraken earlier today, the NHL announced that after securing the 29th win of his career, Stuart Skinner has broken an Oilers’ rookie goalie record, which was previously held by Oilers’ legend Grant Fuhr. After signing goaltender Jack Campbell to a 5-year, $25MM contract this past offseason, Skinner has seemingly come out of nowhere to take the net in Edmonton. This season specifically, Skinner has gone 21-14-4 in 41 appearances, producing a save percentage of .912, and a goals-against average of 2.87.
  • In correspondence with the recall of goaltender Zachary Fucale, the Hershey Bears have announced that they have signed Bailey Brkin to a professional tryout contract. Spending this season with the Iowa Heartlanders, the Wheeling Nailers, and the Reading Royals of the ECHL, Brkin has posted an overall record of 10-14-4.

Kaiden Guhle Will Sit Out Tonight

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As their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning gets underway, the Montreal Canadiens announce that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will sit out of tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. With quite a large amount of injuries already, Guhle will join the list of Canadiens unable to play.

In his first-ever season in the NHL, Guhle has fit in very well with Montreal this year. Drafted 16th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, the Edmonton Oil Kings alumni has put up 18 points in 44 games for the Canadiens this year. Although these may seem like rather modest numbers from a defenseman, he actually sits second on the Canadiens’ defense in points scored. With a list including Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj, Guhle complements a list of Montreal defensemen 22 years of age or younger.

As he has primarily played on a unit with David Savard, it appears that Mike Matheson will move up to the top unit tonight against the Lightning, and defenseman Chris Wideman will fill in for Guhle in tonight’s lineup.

Jeff Petry Will Sit Out Tonight

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After recalling defenseman Mark Friedman earlier today, Rob Rossi from The Athletic reports Jeff Petry will be out tonight with an upper-body injury. As the Penguins look to pick up two crucial points against their division rival, New York Rangers, they will be without one of their better puck-moving defensemen.

In Pittsburgh’s last game against the Rangers on Thursday night, Petry received an elbow to the head from Rangers’ forward Tyler Motte. In playing just over a minute and a half of that game, Petry left the ice and did not return for the remainder of the game. According to Rossi, Penguins’ head coach Mike Sullivan did not give any updates as to how long Petry would be sitting out.

After being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens late last summer, Petry is currently second on the Penguins in scoring by defensemen, putting up 26 points in 52 games. After posting a statistically down year with possession numbers in his final season with the Canadiens, Petry has rebounded nicely, once again putting up strong Corsi For % with the Penguins this year. As the Penguins continue to fight for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the injuries are starting to accrue, making their goal that much more difficult to reach in the final stretch.

Washington Capitals Recall Zachary Fucale

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Following up on an earlier report from Tom Gulitti of the NHL announcing that Darcy Kuemper is out with an upper-body injury, the Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Zachary Fucale from their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Fucale was last recalled to the Capitals on an emergency loan back in December of 2022, also filling in after Kuemper sustained an injury.

So far this season in the AHL, Fucale has managed to produce a record of 19-10-2, with a .899 SV% and a 2.57 GAA. Leading a Bears team that looks poised to make the playoffs, Fucale’s win totals are good for the sixth highest in the minor leagues. In his absence, goaltender Hunter Shepard will likely receive much of the starting minutes between the pipes.

Fucale’s only action in the NHL in his career came last year with the Capitals, posting a 1-1-1 record, with a .924 SV% and a 1.75 GAA. Famously, Fucale became the first goalie in team history to record a shutout in his first-ever start, stopping all 21 shots in the team’s victory against the Detroit Red Wings.

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