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Atlantic Injury Notes: Bruins, Bennett, Nylander

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The Boston Bruins will get reinforcements in their upcoming series against the Florida Panthers, with general manager Don Sweeney sharing that he expects both Andrew Peeke and Danton Heinen to return from injury in the Second Round, per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Peeke suffered a finger injury in Game 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, sitting out of the third period and earning a week-to-week designation. Heinen has been recovering from an undisclosed injury and was designated as a game-time decision in Game 7, ultimately sitting out. Sweeney shared that the team is still waiting to see each player’s exact timeline.

Injuries put Boston’s depth to the test in the First Round – and the fill-ins came up strong. Rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei was the most impressive addition, recording one assist and looking well-adjusted to playoff pace in the first five Stanley Cup appearances of his career. He won out Peeke’s role over Derek Forbort, who is himself recovering from injury. Lohrei should remain the team’s go-to replacement, though he’ll need a strong start in Game 1 if he wants to fight for a role when Peeke returns. Justin Brazeau has stepped in for Heinen, also recording one assist in his three postseason games so far.

Other injury notes from around the Atlantic Division:

  • Florida Panthers’ centerman Sam Bennett is progressing from injury, with head coach Paul Maruice upgrading him to a day-to-day designation per David Dwork of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Maurice added that Bennett is progressing better than he was expecting, though he’ll still be out for Game 1 of the Second Round. Bennett suffered an upper-body injury in Game 2 against the Maple Leafs, reportedly sustaining the injury on a blocked shot. He left the ice after just 7:42 in ice time, though he made sure to leave his mark on the series – recording two points in Game 2 prior to leaving. His absence opened the door for Steven Lorentz to step back into the lineup. Lorentz has recorded two points in four postseason games – enough for Florida to get by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Panthers will surely be excited to get back the strong depth scoring Bennett brings.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander has finally revealed the ailments that held him out of the first three games of Round One, saying that he was struggling with “head issues and eye migraines” and adding that he was struggling to see at times, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox (Twitter link). Nylander returned for the final four games of Toronto’s season, recording three goals before being bounced by the Bruins. He had a career-year, scoring 40 goals and 98 points in 82 games. With the off-season now in front of him, Nylander will need to focus on nursing a migraine issue that’s followed him for the last two seasons.

Peeke Skates But Won't Play Tonight, Heinen Questionable

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  • While Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke skated today with the team, he has been ruled out for tonight, notes Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). Earlier this week, it was suggested that he’d be out for multiple weeks yet but the fact he was on the ice today suggests that he could be back a little earlier than that should Boston advance to the second round.
  • Bruins winger Danton Heinen is uncertain to play in tonight’s contest, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 28-year-old missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury.  Heinen, who had 17 goals and 19 assists in 74 games this season, did see some time during power play drills during the morning skate.

Snapshots: Smith, Schenn, Second Round, DiPietro

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Forward Cole Smith was held out of Friday night’s Game 6 lineup due to a lower-body injury, per the team (Twitter link). Smith was replaced by Juuso Parssinen making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. Parssinen took on a larger role than Smith’s received, stepping into the team’s second line and bumping Mark Jankowski down the lineup. Only three Predators forwards, including Smith, have failed to record at least one point through their first five playoff games. Parssinen will need to quickly join that list, with Nashville down 3-2 in the series.

The Predators also welcomed Luke Schenn back to the lineup, after he missed Game 5 with illness, shares The Athletic’s Thomas Drance (Twitter link). Schenn’s absence made way for Tyson Barrie to return to the lineup. Barrie brought speed and tempo to the lineup, even recording an assist in Nashville’s eventual 2-1 win. But with elimination so close, the Predators opted for the more physical and defensive presence of Schenn.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The NHL has announced the start times for the Second Round’s Eastern Conference matchups. The round will begin with Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers on Sunday, while the Florida Panthers will take on the winner of Toronto versus Boston on Monday. Start times for each of these games haven’t yet been announced. This schedule marks a quick turnaround for Boston or Toronto, while each of Carolina, New York, and Florida will have at least five days off.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to the minor leagues, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter link). DiPietro has served as Boston’s emergency third-string goalie for a handful of playoff games, though he’s yet to play his first game as a Boston Bruin. He instead spent all season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, where he recorded 18 wins and a .918 save percentage in 30 appearances. He’ll now return to a prime role for Providence, as they prepare to take on one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Charlotte, or Hartford in the Atlantic Division’s Semifinals.

Bruins/Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, McMann, Toronto Black Aces, Heinen

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Unlike Game 5, we won’t have to wait until warmups of tonight’s Game 6 to know whether star Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will be available. He’s already been ruled out of the lineup as Toronto aims to push the series back to Boston for a Game 7, head coach Sheldon Keefe said this morning (via The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby).

Matthews hasn’t played since the second period of Toronto’s Game 4 loss, missing Game 5 with what multiple reports indicate is a combination of an illness and an undisclosed injury. The Leafs responded well to keep their season alive without him on Tuesday, outshooting Boston 33-28 en route to an overtime win off the stick of rookie Matthew Knies.

After scoring a franchise-record 69 goals in the regular season, Matthews was held without a point in three of his four appearances in the series thus far. He did have a dominant performance in Game 2, though, factoring in on every goal Toronto scored in a 3-2 win.

His line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi has been the most high-event trio Toronto has iced, leading them in both expected goals for (4.68) and expected goals against (4.83) per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck. Domi shifted to center between Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner for Game 5, controlling 65.7% of shot attempts and factoring in on defenseman Jake McCabe’s game-opening goal. That trio projects to stay together tonight.

Other updates ahead of Game 6, tonight at 7 p.m. CT:

  • Leafs depth forward Bobby McMann is “progressing” in his recovery from a lower-body injury that’s kept him from making his playoff debut, but Keefe said today he isn’t close to returning and shouldn’t be expected back tonight or for a potential Game 7. McMann, 27, had 15 goals and 24 points with a +13 rating in a career-high 56 appearances in the regular season but hasn’t been a full participant in practice since sustaining the injury on April 10 against the Red Wings.
  • Toronto’s AHL club was eliminated by the Belleville Senators in a best-of-three First Round series in the Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this week. With Marlies players’ seasons done, the Leafs added nine players to their playoff roster, per CapFriendly. Forwards Nicholas Abruzzese, Kyle Clifford, Dylan Gambrell and Alex Steeves; defensemen Mikko Kokkonen, Maxime Lajoie, Topi Niemelä and Marshall Rifai; and goaltender Dennis Hildeby are now available to dress for Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Leafs if needed.
  • Switching over to the Bruins’ side, forward Danton Heinen will not be in the lineup for Game 6 due to an undisclosed injury, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports. He’s listed as day-to-day, and while he hasn’t missed any game action yet in the series, he’s missed some practices over the last few days. Now in his second stint in Boston, the 28-year-old has been riding shotgun on the first line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrňák for most of the series but has been moved down the lineup after managing a lone assist and a -1 rating in five games. Rookie John Beecher is expected to re-enter the Boston lineup in a fourth-line role alongside Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon after being scratched in Game 5.

Bruins Notes: Carlo, Peeke, DiPietro

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Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo will play in tomorrow’s Game 6 against the Maple Leafs after sustaining an undisclosed injury in yesterday’s Game 5 overtime loss, head coach Jim Montgomery said today (via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman).

Carlo’s last shift ended with 1:55 remaining in the third period. He did not come out with the team for overtime, which ended after Toronto winger Matthew Knies scored 2:26 into the extra frame to keep his team alive in the series, now trailing Boston 3-2. Carlo also did not participate in today’s optional practice, The Boston Globe’s Conor Ryan reports.

The 27-year-old shutdown defenseman has had a good series, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 1 and averaging 21:35 per game. He’s managed a +2 rating and 44.5 CF% at even strength despite almost 90% of his zone starts coming in defensive usage. He and partner Hampus Lindholm have logged 64 minutes together in the series, the most of any pairing on either team and have controlled 55% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

Other updates from the Bruins as they gear up for their second chance to close out the Maple Leafs:

  • Defenseman Andrew Peeke is still multiple weeks away from returning to the lineup, Montgomery said (via Ryan). The deadline acquisition from the Blue Jackets sustained a broken finger in the second period of Boston’s Game 2 loss last week and did not travel to Toronto for Games 3 and 4. If the Bruins advance, he hasn’t been ruled out entirely for a second-round date with the Panthers, but today’s quote indicates he wouldn’t be ready for the beginning of the series. The right-shot blueliner began the postseason in a bottom-pairing role with Kevin Shattenkirk, who did a good job at controlling scoring chances when Montgomery deployed them together in the final weeks of the regular season. Peeke, 26, had two assists and a +1 rating in 15 regular-season games with Boston after the trade.
  • The Bruins recalled goaltender Michael DiPietro from AHL Providence to serve as their designated emergency backup before Game 5 yesterday, per CapFriendly’s transactions log. 25-year-old Brandon Bussi had held the EBUG role for the first four games of the series, but he was returned to Providence over the weekend to start in their Atlantic Division Semifinal series against Hartford in the Calder Cup Playoffs. DiPietro, 24, has a .771 SV% in three NHL appearances with the Canucks spanning from 2019 to 2022. He’s spent the last two seasons in the Bruins organization after they acquired him via trade in October 2022, locking down a full-time AHL role this season with a 2.51 GAA, .918 SV%, four shutouts, and an 18-9-2 record in 30 appearances.

Justin Brazeau Could Play In Game 5

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Matthews, 26, has been dealing with an illness for most of the last week, keeping him from being a full participant in practice with the club ahead of their losses in Games 3 and 4. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring in the series with a goal and two assists, all of which came in their Game 2 win in Boston. They now trail the Bruins 3-1 and need to win three straight to make it to the second round in back-to-back years for the first time since a four-year run between 1999 and 2002.

  • Bruins winger Justin Brazeau is an option to make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in tomorrow’s Game 5, head coach Jim Montgomery said (via The Boston Globe’s Conor Ryan). The 26-year-old rookie practiced without any non-contact designation today, a quicker recovery than expected after previously being ruled out for the entirety of the first round. He’s been out since the beginning of the month with an upper-body injury, causing him to miss the final six games of the regular season. After spending most of the season on a minor-league contract with AHL Providence, he has five goals and seven points while averaging 11:07 in 19 games with Boston since signing a two-year, two-way deal in mid-February.

Bruins Activate Derek Forbort From LTIR

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The Bruins removed defenseman Derek Forbort from long-term injured reserve yesterday, per CapFriendly. He didn’t suit up in Boston’s Game 4 win but is now officially an option for the rest of the series.

Forbort, 32, missed much of the season with a lower-body injury that had lingered since October. The Bruins shut him down semi-permanently at the trade deadline, announcing he’d be out for the rest of the regular season and was moved to LTIR to give them some additional cap space, used to acquire Pat Maroon from the Wild and Andrew Peeke from the Blue Jackets. His last NHL game was a 5-1 loss to the Islanders on March 2.

He made only 35 appearances in the regular season, his fewest since 2019-20. He also failed to score a goal for the first time since that season but contributed four assists and a +8 rating while averaging 17:48 per game.

Boston brought Forbort in on a three-year, $9MM contract in free agency in 2021 that’s expiring this offseason. He started his tenure in Boston as an above-average shutdown defender, controlling 53.1% of expected goals when on the ice in 2021-22, per Hockey Reference. He remained one of their top penalty killers throughout, but his even-strength role slowly dwindled over the life of the deal, as did his possession metrics.

If Forbort is called upon for playoff action, he won’t come in completely cold. He posted a -1 rating in two appearances with AHL Providence on a recent conditioning stint that ended last week. The 2010 first-round pick of the Kings has played in all 14 Boston playoff games in 2022 and 2023, posting two assists and a -2 rating while averaging 16:54 per game.

Ty Gallagher Transfers To Colorado College

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  • Bruins blueline prospect Ty Gallagher has transferred to Colorado College, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). Boston selected the 21-year-old in the seventh round in 2021, taking him 217th overall out of the U.S. National Team Development Program.  Gallagher has spent the last three seasons at Boston University but saw his role and numbers drop this season, going from 21 points in 40 games in his sophomore year to just five assists in 37 contests this year.  He’ll hope that the move will give him a bigger role and thus a better chance at landing an entry-level deal.

Forbort Closer To Returning Than Brazeau, Both Won't Play Saturday

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  • Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort and winger Justin Brazeau both skated with the team today as they work their way back from their respective injuries but aren’t expected to play on Saturday, notes Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Forbort is believed to be a little ahead of Brazeau in terms of their potential game readiness so it’s possible that Boston could have another option available to them on their back end at some point this round.  Forbort was limited to just 35 games this season where he had four assists while Brazeau picked up five goals and two helpers in just 19 appearances after having his contract converted to an NHL deal back in February.

11 Teams Face Cap Overage Penalties Next Season

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With the salary cap largely being flat the last few years, more teams have had to dip into LTIR when injuries have come up.  Accordingly, the number of teams facing bonus overage penalties has also risen.  This year is no exception as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports in collaboration with CapFriendly that 11 teams are currently facing cap overage penalties for 2024-25 as a result of bonuses achieved this season.

When a team finishes up the season using LTIR to stay cap-compliant, they don’t have any regular cap space to which bonuses can be applied against.  Accordingly, that results in LTIR teams that have incentives that are met finishing over the cap, yielding overage penalties.  Whatever amount they finished 2023-24 over by is then deducted off the Upper Limit for next season.

The teams that are confirmed to have bonus overage penalties are as follows:

Edmonton Oilers: $3.45MM*
Dallas Stars: $2,595,407
Washington Capitals: $2.2525MM
Los Angeles Kings: $1.85MM
New Jersey Devils: $1,538,897
Montreal Canadiens: $1.0225MM
Ottawa Senators: $850K
New York Rangers: $512.5K*
Minnesota Wild: $425K*
Philadelphia Flyers: $245K
Boston Bruins $50K*

Teams denoted with an asterisk could see their bonus overage increase if the following happens:

Edmonton: Corey Perry’s contract calls for $50K if the Oilers make the Western Conference Final and another $50K if they reach the Stanley Cup Final.

New York: Theirs would increase by $25K if they win the Stanley Cup, a bonus in Jonathan Quick’s deal.

Minnesota: Marco Rossi can make $212.5K if he makes the All-Rookie Team which would then be added to the Wild’s carryover penalty.

Boston: Milan Lucic will receive $200K if the Bruins win the Stanley Cup as part of his contract.

In addition to the above, Carolina and Florida also have the potential for an overage contingent on the playoffs.  The Hurricanes would have a $50.45K penalty if Jackson Blake plays in 20 games between the regular season and playoffs.  Meanwhile, the Panthers would take a $500K hit if they win the Stanley Cup to cover that bonus in Kyle Okposo’s contract.

Team-by-team details with specifics on how each one got to the point of an overage were covered separately by PuckPedia.

It’s the first time that multiple teams will carry overage penalties of more than $2MM into the following season.  With the cap expected to go up by closer to $4MM this summer, that could in theory take some pressure off from the bonus overage perspective but only if teams leave themselves a bit more wiggle room to work with.  There’s a good chance that won’t happen so we’re quite likely to see these penalties again next season though with perhaps fewer teams getting the hit next time around.

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