Andre Burakovsky To Miss Rest Of First Round
The Washington Capitals pulled even in their first round series with the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, but announced some bad news this morning. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post relays news from head coach Barry Trotz, who says Andre Burakovsky will be out for the rest of the series. Burakovsky has missed the last two games and now needs minor surgery to correct his injury. The coach didn’t give a full timetable for his return, just ruled him out for the first round.
Interestingly enough the Capitals have won both games without Burakovsky in the lineup, and look strong enough to continue without him. The 23-year old forward didn’t record a point in the first two games and has been relatively disappointing all season. With just 25 points he failed crack 40 for the fourth consecutive year, a level he was expected to hit with ease at this point in his career. Though he is an excellent possession player, he hasn’t been able to generate shots for himself on a regular basis and now has just 50 goals through 252 regular season games.
Though his $3MM cap hit isn’t unreasonable for the contribution he has made, his next deal will be an extremely interesting negotiation. Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent once again in summer of 2019, and the Capitals will be buying out nearly exclusively UFA years on any long-term deal. He’ll have to prove that he can be a better offensive contributor before then, and these playoffs were a huge opportunity for him to step into that role.
Andrew Hammond To Start Game 5 For Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are down 3-1 in their series with the Nashville Predators, but fans can take solace in the fact that they haven’t looked completely overmatched. Even if they lose the series, it’s a huge step forward for a team that recorded a historically bad 2016-17 campaign. If they could win, it would be a tremendous upset.
That upset seems even further away now, as the team announced today that Andrew Hammond would start Game 5 after Jonathan Bernier suffered a lower-body injury. The Avalanche were already without Semyon Varlamov, meaning third-string Hammond will have to be the savior if a comeback is in store.
Hammond was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Matt Duchene deal, but was called a salary dump at the time. The 30-year old goaltender didn’t even change AHL affiliations right away, instead staying with the Belleville Senators for most of the season. That won’t matter now, as he will have the fate of the Colorado organization in his hands (or pads?) in his first playoff experience since 2015. That’s when made his presence known in the NHL with an outstanding run for the Senators down the stretch, earning him a third-place Vezina vote and even a few more for the Hart Trophy.
He played just two playoff games that season and lost both, meaning he’ll be looking for his first postseason win on Friday night.
Minor Moves: Niku, O’Reilly, Peca
The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Sami Niku as expected, now that Josh Morrissey has been suspended for Game 5. If Niku does get into the lineup, he’ll be checking another box in what has been an outstanding season. Not only did he make his North American professional debut in the AHL, he won the league’s award for most outstanding defenseman, was named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star team, and scored in his NHL debut. A playoff appearance would be icing on the cake for the seventh-round pick.
More minor moves from around the league…
- Cal O’Reilly has been recalled by the Minnesota Wild as another “Black Ace.” He’s unlikely to get into a game for the team, as Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets his recall was just delayed. O’Reilly has been an elite minor league player for more than a decade, and put up another excellent season with the Iowa Wild. 64 points in 75 games marked the fifth time he’s put up at least 60 in an AHL season.
- Matthew Peca has been returned to the Syracuse Crunch ahead of their first round playoff series, despite the Tampa Bay Lightning being in the NHL playoffs. It was unlikely that Peca was going to get into a game without an injury, so he’ll go back to the AHL to stay ready. Unlike O’Reilly, Peca could be given an opportunity in the NHL playoffs if Tampa needs an extra body at some point. He’ll start his first round AHL series against the Rochester Americans tomorrow evening.
Morning Notes: Pacioretty, Ducks, Couturier
The Montreal Canadiens had a terribly disappointing 2017-18 season, marred by constant trade speculation around their captain and star winger Max Pacioretty. The 29-year old forward escaped the trade deadline with the same address, but could still be on the move this summer. Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the value Pacioretty holds on the trade market, and in a potential contract extension.
Interestingly, what happens to Pacioretty could be a domino of sorts for the Canadiens offseason. With the team unable to really begin a rebuild thanks to the huge contracts (and strong play when healthy) of Carey Price and Shea Weber, they are expected to be big players in free agency and could go after the top names this summer and next. If they do move their captain, expect a big splash to follow shortly after.
- The Anaheim Ducks are on the brink of elimination again, and Elliotte Friedman spoke with Sportsnet Radio in Vancouver about where they are headed if they face another early exit. Friedman opines that perhaps they’ll start looking at their core forwards and consider changing things up, though points out that all three of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler have no-movement clauses. It would have seemed ridiculous to suggest the Ducks moving on from Perry a few seasons ago, but with him failing to hit the 20-goal plateau for two straight years, anything is possible.
- Sean Couturier was injured in practice yesterday when he collided with Radko Gudas, but Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol says he’s a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup. While this simply could be gamesmanship by Hakstol to hide the severity of the injury, it would be a huge boost for Philadelphia if Couturier has suffered only a minor injury. If he does miss the game, Claude Giroux could slide back to center, a role he played for nearly his whole career before moving to the wing this year.
Injury Notes: Hornqvist, Couturier, Jets
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Kris Letang in the lineup despite missing practice as a “maintenance day” but won’t be as lucky with Patric Hornqvist. The high-energy winger is out for Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers and has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Hornqvist has three points in the first three games for the Penguins, and is an integral part of their powerplay unit as the net front presence. The team certainly has enough firepower to get by without him, but any loss to their forward group will test the depth of the lower lines.
- While Pittsburgh deals with an injury to Hornqvist, the Flyers might be missing an even more important player after Sean Couturier left practice following a collision with Radko Gudas (video from Jamie Apody of 6abc Sports). Head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t have an update after practice but said he’d have an answer at game time tomorrow. He did still list Michal Neuvirth as day-to-day, though the goaltender isn’t expected to start even when he is deemed healthy.
- With Tyler Myers already ruled out, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that Toby Enstrom was also still missing from practice today and isn’t expected to play. That means Tucker Poolman will make his playoff debut, in his first professional season. The Jets were also without Adam Lowry and Matthieu Perreault at practice, though Wiebe expects Lowry to be in the lineup when they take on the Minnesota Wild tonight.
Winnipeg Jets Recall Sami Niku From AHL
Fresh off being named the AHL’s most outstanding defenseman, Sami Niku could get his first taste of the NHL playoffs. The Winnipeg Jets have recalled the defenseman ahead of Game 4 tonight against the Minnesota Wild as they deal with an injury to Tyler Myers.
Niku, 21, has dominated in his first taste of North American professional hockey, registering 54 points in 76 AHL games and even scoring in his single NHL contest. The seventh-round pick is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the minor leagues, and is set to make an impact in the NHL before long.
The Manitoba Moose start a playoff series on Saturday, which could be enough time for Myers to return so that Niku can go back down. The Jets are cautiously optimistic about their big defenseman, though there’s no clear return set. Even without Niku, the Moose are a powerhouse that could be capable of taking home the Calder Cup in the AHL, but will have to get through the defending champion Grand Rapids Griffins in the first round.
Injury Notes: Burakovsky, Myers, Komarov
The Washington Capitals are down 2-0 in their first round series after two heartbreaking overtime losses on home ice, and now they have injury trouble to deal with as well. Andre Burakovsky will be out at least two games with an upper-body injury and is not travelling with the team to Columbus.
Burakovsky didn’t take the step forward that many had hoped for this season, registering just 25 points in 56 games while dealing with injury. The 23-year old first-round pick has now failed to crack 20 goals or 40 points in each of his first four seasons, while suiting up for just 252 games. Washington will have to try and climb out of the hole without him, a tough task as they head on the road to an arena that smells blood.
- The Winnipeg Jets wouldn’t offer a real update on Tyler Myers‘ status after leaving yesterday’s game with an apparently lower-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice instead deferred to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun for an update, who jokingly announced Myers to be day-to-day. Maurice disagrees with the decision that Marcus Foligno‘s hit on Myers isn’t worth supplementary discipline, but wouldn’t go further on his thoughts regarding it. If Myers is forced from the lineup, Tucker Poolman could draw in for the Jets as they look to bounce back from a 6-2 loss.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will go without Leo Komarov in tonight’s matchup with the Boston Bruins, after the veteran forward suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2. That means, when combined with the absence of Nazem Kadri who is still serving his three-game suspension, that Tomas Plekanec will suddenly be promoted to the second line. Plekanec will center Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner in an attempt to slow down the Boston offense, which has scored 12 goals in two games and dominated the Maple Leafs in scoring chances. Komarov could be back for Thursday’s tilt, but head coach Mike Babcock couldn’t confirm his status either way.
Western Notes: Coyotes Free Agency, Perron, Jarnkrok, Fowler
With the team comfortable at both goaltending and defense, the Arizona Coyotes are expected to be add to their forward lines this offseason. Don’t be surprised if Arizona looks into the free agent market this summer and attempts to grab itself a top-six forward, according to AZCentral’s Richard Morin.
A team with ample cap space, Arizona has spent the last few years building through the draft and then this past season made multiple trades to upgrade its roster, acquiring the likes of Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Richard Panik. The scribe writes the franchise, especially after an impressive second-half run, might look to dip its feet into the free agency market. While acquiring center John Tavares is not a likely scenario, the team might be able to snag an elite winger such as James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Maroon or Rick Nash. The team will have a couple of their own free agents they must sign, including veteran Brad Richardson, Zac Rinaldo, Kevin Connauton and Luke Schenn (as well as try to extend defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson), but the team should have the assets to upgrade their offense.
Morin does also admit that general manager John Chayka might also go back to the trade route as well, but at the same time, the team believes they will see an uptick in production from rookie Clayton Keller and now believe that prospect Dylan Strome is ready to handle full-time duties in the NHL.
- While the Los Angeles Kings are expecting back defenseman Jake Muzzin from injury, the Vegas Golden Knights might get back an injured player of their own as head coach Gerard Gallant said winger David Perron is a game-time decision, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Perron, who has been out since Mar. 26 with an undisclosed injury is expected to return and start on the team’s third line if he returns to the game. “There’s a chance he might play tonight,” Gallant said.
- Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes the Nashville Predators might be getting Calle Jarnkrok back from injury soon. The forward hasn’t played since Mar. 13 due to an upper-body injury. He scored 16 goals this year as a bottom-line forward.
- Orange Country Register’s Eric Stephens reports that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler is not expected to go on the team’s road trip to San Jose. Fowler has been out with a shoulder injury since early April.
Playoff Notes: Zaitsev, Muzzin, Letang, Beagle, Kempny
With the Boston Bruins dominating their playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs so far, it’s quite obvious the team needs to shore up their defense quite a bit more if they want to get back into the series. With the team’s defense having been a sticking point all season, it has been exposed even more by the Bruins.
What Toronto needs is to get defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to play like they need him to do, according to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel (subscription required). The blueliner was not just on the ice Saturday for each of the Bruins’ four goals in the first period, but was part of each of the plays. Now in his second season, Zaitsev is still trying to prove that he is worthy of the seven year, $31.5MM deal he signed last summer. While he had a promising rookie campaign of four goals and 32 assists last year, his assists took a nosedive as he had just eight assists this year and a total of 13 points. And while his plus/minus rating has improved from a -22 to a +8 this year, his defensive play has not helped helped him in the playoffs. If the team has any chance of coming back, it must start with Zaitsev.
- The Los Angeles Kings not only get back defenseman Drew Doughty from suspension tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, but the team also got the good news that defenseman Jake Muzzin will be back as well, according to Fox Sports Jon Rosen. Muzzin, who has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury, is a key part to the team’s defense as the team attempts to fight back from an 0-2 deficit to Vegas.
- While Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who took a hit from Philadelphi’s Claude Giroux Friday in Game 2, is considered a game-time decision for today’s game. Pittsbugh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey writes coach Mike Sullivan revealed that Letang did not have to go through concussion protocol Friday when he was injured during the game. The veteran defenseman missed all of the playoffs last year on the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run.
- Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports writes that center Jay Beagle and defenseman Michal Kempny are both expected to play Sunday. Both players have played key roles behind the scenes in Washington who hopes to even their series with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Beagle, a faceoff specialist, was badly missed in Game 1 after the Capitals lost 10-of-11 draws in the third period. He has missed four straight games with an upper-body injury. Kempny was hit from behind by Columbus’ Josh Anderson in Game 1, but did not suffer a concussion.
Western Notes: Bennett, Murphy, Girard, Perron, Bieksa, Fowler
The Calgary Flames have a lot of questions this offseason after a disappointing season that leaves them wondering what happened. However, the biggest question probably falls on what to do with Sam Bennett. The former fourth-overall pick in 2014 should be improving every season, but that hasn’t been the case for the 21-year-old who has seen his numbers drop every year.
After putting up 18 goals and 18 assists in a promising rookie season, he has put up only 26 points in each of the last two seasons and his goals have dropped from 13 in 2016-17 to 11 this year. The Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes the team must decide whether he can take his game up several notches or whether to use him as trade bait. Of course, you don’t want to be the general manager that trades him away only to thrive with another team, but the team needs production out of the forward and is running out of time to figure out if he is the star they thought they drafted. He has one year left after this one at $1.95MM before hitting restricted free agency again.
- The Chicago Blackhawks think they have found something in defenseman Connor Murphy. The 25-year-old, who was acquired in the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade last season from Arizona, struggled early on in the season with Chicago, according to Chicago Sun Times’ Mark Potash, but was one of the team’s better defensemen in the second half and the team believes he can develop into a top-four defenseman. “If you look at the way he played over the last 30 to 40 games, I think there’s reason for excitement,” said Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman.
- The Colorado Avalanche is without defenseman Samuel Girard today as the young defenseman is out with an upper-body injury sustained in a hit from Nashville’s Filip Forsberg during Thursday’s game. The rookie defenseman is day-to-day.
- Vegas Golden Knights winger David Perron, who has been out since Mar. 26 with an undisclosed injury, says he hopes to play before the series with the Los Angeles Kings is over, but did not give a timetable on a potential return, according to SinBinVegas.
- The Anaheim Ducks expect defenseman Kevin Bieksa to play in Game 2 tonight against the San Jose Sharks, according to Orange Country Register’s Eric Stephens. Bieksa has been out since Mar. 12 after having hand surgery. Stephens also notes that defenseman Cam Fowler is no longer wearing a sling on his shoulder and will resume skating shortly. The blueliner has missed 13 straight games, but no timetable is set for his return.