Oilers Notes: Kassian, Puljujarvi, Reinhart, Jones
Zack Kassian was almost out of hockey when the Edmonton Oilers acquired him in 2015, suspended by the league’s substance abuse policy and then waived by the Montreal Canadiens without ever playing a game for them. He cost the Oilers just Ben Scrivens, who has since ripped the team apart in the media for how he was treated during his time there. Getting anything for him was a plus, and Kassian is one that is finally starting to pay off.
Drafted 13th-overall in 2009, Kassian never did quite find his footing in Buffalo or Vancouver. If last night was any indication though, he’s just starting to come into his own for the Oilers. Scoring the game-winning short-handed goal, and racking up six devastating hits, Kassian was a huge part of evening the series. A restricted free agent this summer, Kassian is still just 26 years old. A big playoff run could have him looking at a longer contract than anyone could have predicted two years ago.
- The Bakersfield Condors were eliminated from AHL playoff contention last night as they fell to the Stockton Heat, and with it Jesse Puljujarvi‘s season at that level will end today. When the AHL year ends, NHL squads are allowed to recall as many players as they want and have them practice with the team. This group, known as the “Black Aces”, will likely include Puljujarvi (as expected yesterday) and Griffen Reinhart according to John Shannon of Sportsnet. Should the Oilers suffer an injury in their top-six, you may see Puljujarvi get a chance to play on the big club at some point.
- Former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennen critiques the goaltenders around the league for TSN in “Post 2 Post”, and thinks that the Oilers have been targeting Martin Jones‘ five-hole. When Connor McDavid scored the second short-handed goal of the game to put the Oilers up 2-0, it was the third five-hole goal already in the series. If the Sharks are to take the lead again in the series, Jones will have to adjust to the attacking Edmonton forwards and close up that weakness. In the Stanley Cup final last year he took his play to another level, one that the Sharks hope he returns to before long.
Edmonton Oilers Expected To Call Up Jesse Puljujarvi After AHL Season Ends
With the Bakersfield Condors needing a win tonight to stay alive in the AHL playoff race, it’s all hands on deck for the Edmonton Oilers’ affiliate. If they’re eliminated however, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Oilers will likely call up Jesse Puljujarvi as an option in the NHL playoffs. It’s not clear if they’d use him right away, or if he’d just practice with the team as a so-called “Black Ace”. 
Puljujarvi was the fourth-overall pick in last year’s draft—somewhat surprisingly, after Columbus selected Pierre-Luc Dubois at #3—but struggled early in the season to find a place among the Edmonton forward group. After several weeks of playing sparingly on the fourth line, Puljujarvi was sent to the AHL where he has put together a nice season. Still just 18-years old and playing against men sometimes twice his age, the Finnish winger has 28 points in 37 games and has improved his play throughout the season. His big frame and skating ability project as a high-end winger in the NHL, capable at both ends of the rink.
With the Oilers just one game into their first-round series with the San Jose Sharks, there is no guarantee they’ll even last longer than the Condors. If the AHL squad wins their last two games, while the Stockton Heat lose theirs (they play each other tonight), the Condors would get into the playoffs as the final seed in the Pacific division. If they lose, or the Heat gain even a single point, they would be eliminated.
The Oilers have relied on their top-six quite a bit this season, and continued to do so in game one against the Sharks. Iiro Pakarinen and David Desharnais both played fewer than ten minutes, while Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all broke 20—the latter leading the team thanks to over six minutes of short-handed play. Should the Oilers feel the young Puljujarvi is ready to contribute, or suffer an injury to an important winger it is easy to understand why they’d want him around.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Expansion Requirements Still Needing Attention
For teams outside the playoffs, preparation for the summer months starts early. Free agency, coaching staffs, prospect profiles and this year, another interesting workload: the Expansion Draft. For many teams, much of the work to prepare for the expansion draft was already done during the season. We saw extensions for players like Michal Rozsival, trades for fringe forwards like Eric Fehr, and goaltenders given contracts without ever really making an NHL impact.
But still there remains much to be done in preparation for the draft, and contracts should come out over the next month to protect teams from an unexpected loss. Each team must expose at least two forwards and one defender who is both a) under contract for 2017-18 and b) played either 40 games in 2016-17 OR a total of 70 games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined. They must also expose one goaltender who is either under contract for 2017-18 or will be an RFA this summer. While much of this depends on who each team decides to protect, these are the situations that will likely see a move or extension handed out before the deadline.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes currently have just three forwards who could fill this requirement: Jamie McGinn, Tobias Rieder and Brad Richardson. While Richardson is an easy choice, the other two don’t deserve to be exposed even if McGinn did have a disappointing year. The easy way to solve it would be extend Josh Jooris, who qualifies but doesn’t have a contract past this season currently. Peter Holland could also be sacrificed, though it’s unclear whether the front office believes in him as a piece going forward for this team.
Playoff Notes: Zaitsev, Benning, Sanford
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Nikita Zaitsev again on Saturday night when they try to even up their series against the Washington Capitals. As Kristen Shilton of TSN reports, Zaitsev missed practice again despite Babcock lobbying for his return. All season the Maple Leafs have kept clear boundaries between the coaching staff and the medical staff, taking any decision out of the player or coach’s hands.
Zaitsev’s absence was noticeable for the Leafs, who were forced to use Matt Hunwick for over 26 minutes, often on his wrong side. As we wrote yesterday, an impressive performance from Hunwick in the first round could be very impactful for his career in the NHL, and he actually showed fairly well. While he’ll never be an elite defender, the Leafs held their own against the powerful Capitals, even holding a 2-0 lead at one point in the first period.
- Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that Matt Benning will likely make his playoff debut tonight, inserted into the lineup for the struggling Eric Gryba. Gryba played a key role in two of the San Jose Sharks goals, and the young Benning will try to fix those weaknesses as the Oilers try to get back even in the series. The 22-year old was quite a find for Edmonton this year, coming straight out of Northeastern and at times looking like a solid NHL piece. Gryba had 16 minutes of ice time in game 1; expect a similar amount for Benning tonight.
- Robert Bortuzzo and Zach Sanford will both be in the St. Louis Blues lineup tonight according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with Jordan Schmaltz and Jori Lehtera coming out. Sanford will likely skate alongside Alex Steen and Vladimir Sobotka, though Steen did miss practice today. Bortuzzo fits in beside Carl Gunnarsson on the third pairing. The Blues will have to try and reduce the number of chances they allow to the Wild, as it took an outstanding game from Jake Allen to give them the victory. Sanford was a big part of the Kevin Shattenkirk deal, and could make fans forget all about their traded all-star if he plays a big role tonight.
Snapshots: Team Canada, Luongo, Rozsival, Oilers
After Team USA announced that Jeff Blashill will lead their World Championship team earlier today, Team Canada responded by releasing their coaching staff as well. Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning will lead the squad, while Gerard Gallant, Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia) and Dave King will be the assistants.
Cooper, like Blashill, has never been the head coach of an international squad, though he was an assistant for Team North America at last fall’s World Cup. His Lightning were devastated by injuries this season and still only missed the playoffs by one point, making him an interesting candidate for the Jack Adams trophy for coach of the year—though very unlikely to win it. He’s proven his ability at every level, winning both a USHL and AHL championship before taking the Lightning to the finals two years ago.
- Roberto Luongo is worried about his hip being a chronic issue, reports Henry Fialkov of the Sun Sentinal. The soon to be hall of fame goaltender played just 40 games this season, the lowest total of his entire career (not including the lockout shortened 2012-13 season). While he’s “confident” he’ll return to his elite performance, it will be hard for a 38-year old with a bad hip to get back to a .920+ save percentage. James Reimer will be relied on even more heavily next season, after putting up a solid year.
- Michal Rozsival underwent surgery to repair facial fractures sustained when he was punched by Nick Ritchie earlier this month. Ritchie earned a two-game suspension for the punch, as it was delivered when Rozsival wasn’t ready and couldn’t defend himself. While there was no timetable given, expect the 38-year old to miss at least the first few rounds of the playoffs. He should make a full recovery.
- The Edmonton Oilers have signed Evan Campbell and Evan Polei to amateur tryouts with the Bakersfield Condors. Campbell has just graduated from the UMass-Lowell where he scored just five points in his senior season. It’s been back to back disappointing campaigns for the fifth-round winger, but he still garnered enough attention to deserve a look at the AHL. Polei on the other hand played well as an overager in the WHL with Red Deer, putting up 62 points in 69 games. An undrafted winger, Polei plays a physical game and can provide some size and strength even at the professional level. Bakersfield has just three games to try and make up three points and catch the Stockton Heat for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
McDavid, Crosby, Holtby Take Home Statistical Awards
We are still a couple months out from the naming of the majority of NHL Awards – Hart, Vezina, Norris, Selke, Calder, and more – but as the regular season came to end last night, three phenoms of the game clinched some impressive hardware.
Connor McDavid, at just 20 years old, added two assists last night in a winning effort to finish the season with an even 100 points and seal the title of Art Ross Trophy winner. Awarded annually to the player with the most points in the regular season, McDavid took the lead in the scoring race early in the season and never looked back. He faced some competition along the way, such as last year’s winner, Chicago’s Patrick Kane, Boston’s Brad Marchand, and a certain superstar on the Pittsburgh Penguins, but in the end finished with 11 more points than the nearest challenger. McDavid’s point totals were mostly due to a league-leading 70 assists, seven more than second-place Nicklas Backstrom of the Capitals, and his 30 goals were not too shabby either, placing him just outside the top 25 in that category. McDavid is the second youngest winner of the Art Ross and even more impressively, won the award playing for a team that had only one other player, Leon Draisaitl, who has both 25 goals and 25 assists or better. Edmonton recorded 247 goals this season, good enough for eighth in the league, and McDavid contributed to over 40% of that scoring. The Art Ross winner is often the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy, given to the league’s Most Valuable Player, and don’t expect it to be any different for McDavid, whose efforts have almost single-handedly turned around the franchise and transformed them into a playoff team. The scary thing: he’s just getting started.
Not to be outdone, Sidney Crosby, the youngest Art Ross winner on record at 19 years old (he added another a few years later too) fell just short of a third crown in 2016-17 with 89 points, but managed to secure the goal-scoring title and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Crosby’s 44 goals were best in the league, just ahead of Toronto rookie Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, while Crosby too was pressured by Brad Marchand for much of the season. In the end, the Penguins captain proved to be too good. The last time that Crosby scored over 40 goals was in 2009-10, when his 51 tallies earned him a share in the Richard with Lightning star Steven Stamkos. Crosby now joins Stamkos, rival Alexander Ovechkin, and former teammate Jarome Iginla as the only active players to have won the award multiple times. In a season marked by injury for the Penguins, the team still managed to lead the league in goals for with 282 and Crosby led the way, potting 16% of those goals. Amazingly, Crosby is still not even 30 years old, so fans have plenty of years left to look forward to Crosby-McDavid scoring races.
On the other end of the ice, it was Washington Capitals’ brick wall goaltender Braden Holtby who backstopped his team to a league-best 182 goals against. The William M. Jennings Trophy is awarded each year to the goalie (or goalies) on the team that allowed the fewest scores and by a wide margin of 13 less than the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington led the way behind Holtby. Holtby was near the top of nearly every statistical category for keepers this regular season with a league-best 42 wins (tied with Edmonton’s Cam Talbot), a second-place goals against average of 2.07, just one hundredth worse than the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, and a top-five save percentage of .925. Holtby has certainly put him self in the mix for the Vezina Trophy this season, but faces stiff competition from Bobrovksy. Not to be forgotten in the Capitals’ stingy winning equation is backup Philipp Grubauer. The Jennings can be awarded to multiple goalies if each plays in a minimum of 25 games. Grubauer was fantastic in 2016-17, with numbers rivaling Holtby’s, albeit in a lesser sample size, but with just 23 games under his belt failed to qualify for the award. Nonetheless, Grubauer’s 2.05 GAA and .926 SV% were astounding and should earn him a look as a starter next year, whether by Washington trade or selection by the Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming Expansion Draft.
Afternoon Notes: Vrbata, Fontaine, Khaira
Radim Vrbata is an interesting case this summer, as he heads into free agency once again following a very successful bounce-back campaign. In 81 games for the Arizona Coyotes, Vrbata scored 20 goals and 55 points showing that he is still a capable offensive player even at his advanced age. He’ll be 36 this summer, and told Craig Morgan of AZ Sports today that if he came back to the Coyotes it would be on a one-year deal.
It’s unclear whether that means he would consider a multi-year deal somewhere else, but after not trading him at the deadline it was clear that Arizona hoped he would stay past this season. The winger would be an early candidate for trade deadline fodder again, as the Coyotes will have a hard time competing again next season as they continue their rebuild.
- The New York Rangers have signed Gabriel Fontaine to an entry-level contract, despite him still being deep in a playoff run with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The sixth-round pick had 52 points in 59 games this season and projects and will likely join the Rangers’ AHL affiliate next season. Though he has the size to make the NHL one day, it is still a long way away for Fontaine as he’ll need to perfect his two-way game. Without the high-end skill that would allow him to play in the top-six, he will make it in professional hockey by continuing to play solid defensively and improve in the faceoff dot. The Huskies will continue their series against Chicoutimi tomorrow night.
- Edmonton has brought Jujhar Khaira back up prior to their playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. The 22-year old forward played 10 games for the Oilers this season, registering just a single goal. Khaira represents some center depth for the Oilers and a heavy forward who could be inserted onto the fourth line if the team feels it needs a change.
- According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the Los Angeles Kings have sent Adrian Kempe, Jonny Brodzinski and Paul LaDue back to the AHL for the Ontario Reign’s playoff run. The three have all played the majority of the season in the minors and will be a big part of any Calder Cup aspirations the Reign may have.
- In a similar move, the Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Cory Conacher, Jake Dotchin, Gabriel Dumont, Adam Erne and Yanni Gourde all back down to the Syracuse Crunch to help the AHL team in the playoffs. The sheer amount of players that Tampa Bay had pulled from their minor league team shows how decimated they were by injury this year, while still only missing the playoffs by one point. The Crunch were in first place for much of the season, but after losing almost half their starting lineup to the NHL slipped slightly in the last month. They’ll go in as one of the favorites now that they have this group back.
- Both Joe Thornton and Logan Couture were back at San Jose Sharks’ practice today according to Kevin Kurz of NBC. The two centermen were both in regular sweaters, though Couture skated with a full cage on his helmet. It wouldn’t be surprising to see both of them suit up for game one of their series on Wednesday night, which would be a huge boost to a Sharks team that struggled down the stretch.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Paigin, Starrett To Two-Year Contracts
Even though the season is over, the Edmonton Oilers front office is still hard at work. The team has signed both Ziyat Paigin and Shane Starrett to two-year entry-level contracts. Paigin was brought in on an amateur tryout from the KHL last week, while Starrett has just finished up his sophomore year with the Air Force Falcons of the NCAA.
Paigin, 22, was the Oilers’ seventh-round pick in 2015 and proceeded to break out in the KHL after being loaned to Sochi. His 27 points in 37 games for that club looked exceptional when paired with his 6’6″ frame. Back with Ak Bars this year, he fought through injuries and inconsistency to an underwhelming campaign, which may have spurred a move to North America. In a recent interview with Sport-Express (and translated by The Hockey Writers), Paigin seems to hint that he didn’t see much playing time with Ak Bars because he wouldn’t agree to a contract they had offered earlier in the year. The big defenseman was also questioned on his fitness, something that he’s worked very hard at recently.
Edmonton must think he can answer those questions, as he quickly signed a two-year deal with them. After “studying the roster”, Paigin thinks he can make an impact in the NHL at some point, and the Oilers hope he can as well. His intimidating physical presence could be a big help do their defense corps down the line, and his ability to shoot the puck and keep up with skilled players should help his transition to the North American game.
Starrett on the other hand is an undrafted goaltender who has put up two straight excellent seasons in the NCAA. Recording save percentages of .924 and .925, the 6’5″ goalie looks like a classic late-bloomer who has professional potential. Starrett actually participated in Chicago Blackhawks camp last summer but has gone to Edmonton where he’ll compete with Nick Ellis for the AHL job next season. While Cam Talbot remains the franchise goaltender, the Oilers will try to build a pipeline of talent they can use in net as they try to compete for the next decade with Connor McDavid. Remember, Talbot is already 29 years old and will hit free agency following the 2018-19 season.
Saturday Snapshots: Final Saturday Of The Regular Season
8:48pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. Despite losing goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Leafs rallied for three goals in the third to punch their ticket to the playoffs. TSN’s Bob McKenzie sums up the seedings with tomorrow’s results. If Toronto gets one point tomorrow, they will take on Ottawa in the first round while Boston faces off against Washington. Should they lose, they draw Washington and the Bruins get Ottawa.
2:54 pm: Today is the second last day of the regular season, and as such, there’s a lot going on around the National Hockey League. The entire playoff bracket can be finalized this evening, stars will be healthy scratched, and milestones hit.
Playoff Matchups:
- Two Eastern Conference matchups have already been set: Canadiens vs Rangers and Penguins vs Blue Jackets. Another could be set tonight, if Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston all win. That would mean Capitals vs Maple Leafs. Should the Maple Leafs lose while the other two win, then that would guarantee Senators vs Bruins.
- Wild vs Blues is clinched by a St. Louis win or a Nashville loss.
- Oilers vs Sharks would be clinched by:
- An Oilers extra-time loss vs the Canucks tonight, OR
- An Oilers regulation loss and a Sharks loss in any fashion.
- Blackhawks vs Predators happens if:
- The Predators lose in regulation, OR
- The Flames win and the Blues get a single point, OR
- The Flames and Predators both lose in OT.
- The Flames would take on the Ducks if:
- The Oilers lose, the Blues get a point, and the Flames win, OR
- The Oilers lose, and both the Flames and Predators lose in OT, OR
- The Oilers lose, and the Predators lose in regulation.
- The Flames would take on the Blackhawks if Calgary loses and the Predators win.
- The Ducks would take on the Predators if:
- Both Edmonton and Calgary lose, and the Predators win, OR
- Nashville gets a point, while Edmonton loses and Calgary loses in regulation.
Other clinching scenarios:
- The Oilers clinch home-ice with a single point. They visit Vancouver tonight, and host them tomorrow.
- The Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with an Oilers loss of any kind.
- To pass Anaheim and win the Pacific, the Oilers would need to sweep the Canucks this weekend and have Anaheim lose to Los Angeles tomorrow.
- Should the Toronto Maple Leafs win tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. That would eliminate the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Islanders could also be eliminated with a regulation loss or any kind of loss if the Maple Leafs get a single point.
- UPDATE: Ottawa clinched home ice by defeating the Rangers, 3-1.
- They defeat the Rangers today, OR
- Boston and Toronto lose in regulation, OR
- The Bruins and Senators each get a single point combined with a Maple Leafs OT loss.
Scratches:
- The Penguins are resting a handful of players, but not their captain. Regulars Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust will all be healthy scratches, however Sidney Crosby will dress. Forward Kevin Porter and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been called up to fill out the lineup; Jarry will back up Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, told TSN that he’s aware of what’s on the line for the Maple Leafs, but re-iterated that his priority is to do what’s best for the team “in the short-term and the long-term. Having said that the lineup we put in will be competitive.”
- The Canucks will be without the services of Sven Baertschi for this weekend’s home-and-home with the Oilers. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Baertschi may have hurt his shoulder or neck on Thursday vs the Coyotes.
- The Senators will be resting several players. Their lineup isn’t known yet, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggested Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Dion Phaneuf, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Stalberg as possibilities.
Milestones:
- Oilers captain Connor McDavid could become just the fifth player to score 100 points since 2010. He’s sitting at 97 points in 80 games, the seventh-most points in a season during in that time frame. Only Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Crosby, and Patrick Kane have cracked the century-mark this decade. McDavid is nine points ahead of Crosby and Kane for the NHL scoring lead, and looks poised to take home the Art Ross in his first full season at age 20.
- With one more goal this season, Auston Matthews can become the fifteenth rookie in NHL history to score 40 goals. Currently, he’s tied with Crosby, Steve Yzerman, and Peter and Anton Stastny at 39. Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, Sylvain Turgeon, and Warren Young all scored 40 goals in their rookie seasons.
Minor Transactions: 4/8/2017
With the NHL set to wrap up the 2016-17 regular season this weekend, several clubs with postseason seeds locked in are taking the opportunity to rest key players. This gives several minor league players a chance to earn a late season call-up and to see some NHL action in the season’s closing days. We’ll recap the day’s minor transactions in this post.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins announced via Twitter that they have recalled forward Kevin Porter and netminder Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Porter has spent the entire season so far with the baby Penguins but does bring plenty of NHL experience to the table with 247 regular season appearances over parts of seven seasons. For his career, the 5-foot-11, 191-pound winger has netted 29 goals and 58 points while averaging 12:39 of action per game. Porter was a key penalty killer last season in Pittsburgh and saw action in 41 game s before suffering a season-ending injury. He has 46 points in 67 AHL games this season, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earn their 15th consecutive playoff berth. Jarry, who has yet to make his NHL debut, has been outstanding between the pipes for the baby Pens. He’s won 25 of 45 decisions and posted a GAA of 2.15 and a Save % of 0.925 in 45 contests. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests the recalls mean the Penguins intend on resting “someone.” After wrapping up the second seed in the Metro Division and a first round playoff date set with Columbus, it wouldn’t be shocking if the team gave superstar center Sidney Crosby and #1 goalie Matt Murray the weekend off, though that is simply my own speculation. That scenario would give Jarry a solid shot at making his NHL debut.
- The Buffalo Sabres have inked center Sean Malone, their sixth-round draft choice in 2013, to a two-year, entry level deal, the club announced this morning. Malone, a native of West Seneca, New York, recently concluded his senior year at Harvard and finished the 2016-17 campaign with 18 goals and 42 points in 36 games. Malone and his Harvard teammates saw their season end in stunning fashion during their Frozen Four semifinal game when Minnesota-Duluth broke a 1 – 1 tie with 26.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Malone closes out his college career with 42 goals and 99 points in 115 NCAA games.
- Taylor Beck, who was recalled from Hartford yesterday, will make his New York Rangers debut tonight, the club announced via Twitter. The 25-year-old RW was acquired by the Rangers from Edmonton at the trade deadline in exchange for fellow forward Justin Fontaine. Beck has had a terrific AHL campaign, registering 63 points in 54 games split between Bakersfield and Hartford. In 9 career NHL contests, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound Beck has tallied 11 goals and 23 points. He failed to record a point in three earlier appearances with the Oilers this season. Beck will draw into the lineup for New York as the Rangers plan to rest forwards Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash, the latter three for the second straight game.
- Montreal has recalled junior defenseman and 2016 first round pick Mikhail Sergachev from Windsor of the OHL. Normally, once a prospect has been returned to junior by his parent club, they cannot be recalled but the Canadiens took advantage of a little-used provision that allows them to do so in certain scenarios. Cap Friendly, via Twitter, provides the details of this provision in the CBA. In this case, since Windsor’s season is now over following their elimination from the OHL playoffs and with Montreal having already recalled a defender from the minor leagues on an emergency basis, the Habs were able to bring Sergachev up, also on an emergency basis. Sergachev appeared in three games earlier this season with Montreal before being returned to Windsor. The blue liner, still just 18, registered 43 points in 50 regular season games and another three in the playoffs for the Spitfires.
- Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall announced this morning that the club has recalled goaltender Anthony Stolarz from Lehigh Valley of the AHL. Stolarz has appeared in six games with the Flyers on the season, starting three times. He has posted a 0.932 Save % and a GAA of just 1.93 in his first taste of NHL action. Sam Carchidi, who covers the team for the Philadelphia Inquirer adds via Twitter that Stolarz will back up Steve Mason tonight with the Flyers on the road in Columbus and will likely get the starting assignment tomorrow as the team closes out its campaign at home against Carolina.