Sam Lafferty Fined For Cross-Checking
While the Toronto Maple Leafs may have escaped their first game in Tampa Bay this series with a stunning overtime victory, not all of their players will leave last night’s game entirely unscathed.
Bottom-sixer Sam Lafferty, a trade acquisition this season from the Chicago Blackhawks, has been fined just over $3,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Lafferty follows Michael Bunting (who earned a three-game suspension for a dangerous high hit on Lightning blueliner Erik Cernak) as the second Toronto player to receive supplemental discipline these playoffs.
Lafferty’s fine is for cross-checking Tampa Bay forward Ross Colton during last night’s game. Late in the second period, with the Lightning up three-to-two, a frozen puck from Ilya Samsonov prompted a relatively regular net-front scrum between Colton and Lafferty. They gave each other a shove as they jostled for position before Colton turned around and Lafferty delivered a cross-check to his head area.
The 28-year-old Maple Leaf received a minor penalty last night in addition to today’s fine. Under contract through next season, Lafferty has scored seven points in 22 total games for Toronto and served as an important defense-first role player. He’ll look to put this fine behind him and help Toronto take a commanding 3-1 series lead on Monday.
Evening Notes: Nichushkin, Helm, Geekie
The Colorado Avalanche are getting set for Game 3 of their playoff series with the Seattle Kraken but look to be without the services of a couple of players who suited up in Game 2. When the warmup began, Valeri Nichushkin and Darren Helm were surprisingly not among the players on the ice according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
- Nichushkin scored 17 goals and 47 points in 53 games this season, proving to be a reliable top six contributor for the Avalanche. He played the first two games of the series and scored one goal.
- Helm is a depth piece for the Avalanche and has also battled injuries all season. He played just 11 games in the regular season, but returned to the lineup for Game 2. Unfortunately, he won’t be ready to go for the Avalanche in Game 3.
- Also missing this game will be Morgan Geekie of the Seattle Kraken, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Geekie scored nine goals and 28 points in 69 games for the Kraken this season and already has one goal in this series as well. He was ruled out for a maintenance day at the morning skate, but clearly whatever he is dealing with is more serious than just a maintenance from practice.
Injury Notes: Morrissey, Hedman, Ehlers
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights after playing just over a minute and did not return. According to John Lu of TSN, the news went from bad to worse for the Jets as Head Coach Rick Bowness announced the star defender will be out for the remainder of the series. He appeared to be hit with a knee as he delivered a body check and then blocked a shot early in the first period before being ruled out with a lower-body injury.
This is a huge blow for the Jets. Morrissey’s name was in the Norris Trophy conversation in a season where he scored 16 goals and 76 points in 78 games. Morrissey led the Jets in average ice time per game this season and is the quarterback of their star-studded power play. The Jets played almost all of Game 3 without him, and it resulted in their five other defenders having to play against tougher competition than they are used to facing every night. Neal Pionk played over 41 minutes in a game that Winnipeg eventually lost in double overtime.
The Jets now trail the series 2-1 and will look to even it up at home in Game 4 on Monday. It is going to be a tall task for the group of Jets healthy defenders to shut down the Golden Knights deep offensive lineup.
- Another star defenseman who is dealing with injury is Victor Hedman. Fortunately, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning defender returns to the lineup for Game 3. Hedman missed Game 2 and the team missed his presence as they fell 7-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs to even the series at 1-1. Hedman played just 6:35 in Game 1 before leaving with injury at the start of the second period.
- Jeff Hamilton of The Winnipeg News reports Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets remains out of the lineup for Game 3. The 27-year-old winger scored 12 goals and 38 points in 45 games this season but battled a few injuries during the year. His most recent injury came when he was hit by Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild late in the regular season on a play that was deemed interference since Ehlers had never touched the puck. The skilled winger is missed as the Jets try to upset the top-ranked Western Conference Vegas Golden Knights in a first round series.
Snapshots: Laine, Jagr, Perreault
Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine is heading to the World Championships per a team release. The tournament is taking place in Riga, Latvia and Tampere, Finland which is Laine’s hometown. The tournament begins May 12 and gold medals will be handed out on May 28. Laine has represented his country in the past, but not since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. He last played at the World Championships in 2016 where he scored seven goals and 12 points in 10 games.
Laine is available due to Columbus finishing the regular season near the bottom of the NHL standings. The 25-year-old sniper scored 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games this season, but the Blue Jackets ended up in 31st with 59 points in the standings. Laine dealt with a number of injuries this season, including an elbow injury that caused him to miss a couple of weeks in October, an ankle injury that knocked him out for another couple weeks in November and an arm injury that caused him to miss the final three weeks of the regular season. A trip to the World Championships in his hometown is a nice way to end a bumpy season that was filled with nagging injuries and many losses.
- Another player who will be playing again in his hometown is veteran winger Jaromir Jagr. Derek O’Brien of IIHF.com reports Jagr will return to Kladno’s lineup next season, during such time he will turn 52 years old. The veteran superstar last played in the NHL in 2017-18, but has been playing in Czech Extraliga ever since where he scored 14 points in 26 games. Jagr scored 766 goals and 1921 points in his NHL career.
- Per Chris Peters of FloHockey reports Gabe Perreault has broken an impressive USA Hockey record. The 17-year-old forward is playing at the World Under-18 Hockey Championships for USA and had a five point effort against Norway today. In the process, he broke the single-season points record by a U.S. National Team Development Player. Perreault now has 121 points on the season. The previous record of 117 was held by Auston Matthews. Will Smith, another draft eligible forward on the team this season has 113 points. The only others to ever score 100 points for the program are Jack Hughes, Clayton Keller and Cole Caufield.
Central Notes: Morrissey, Avalanche, Eriksson Ek
As the Winnipeg Jets look to take back the lead in their first-round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, they will have to do it without Norris candidate Josh Morrissey. The team announced that Morrissey will not return to Game Three due to a lower-body injury.
On the heels of far and away the best season of his career, Morrissey will be a huge missing presence on the ice for the Jets. The team hasn’t made any mention of his status for Game Four in their series, as they will likely give updates after tonight’s game or tomorrow. In two games played so far for Morrissey in the playoffs, he has managed one assist, dishing the puck to teammate Kyle Connor for the opening goal in this series.
Although it will be near impossible to replicate the kind of offense that Morrissey is able to bring from the back end, the one player who could hold down the fort in the meantime is defenseman Neal Pionk. Pionk has been a steady presence on the blue line for the Jets over the last four seasons, hovering around 30 points every year, including a 45-point season in 2019-20.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- In his media availability this morning, the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar relayed to the press that he is unsure if either Andrew Cogliano or Lars Eller will play tonight (Twitter Link). Cogliano has yet to play for the Avalanche in their series against the Seattle Kraken, as he is still working his way back from an upper-body injury suffered toward the end of the regular season. Eller, on the other hand, has played in both games so far for Colorado but did appear to be shaken up after receiving a hit in Game Two.
- Sarah McLellan of Star Tribune Sports reports that Joel Eriksson Ek is being evaluated by the Minnesota Wild, and would likely know if he will be in the lineup before their game tomorrow. Eriksson Ek returned to the Wild for Game Three and only managed to play for 19 seconds before leaving for the rest of the game. Although Minnesota has a 2-1 lead so far in the series, Eriksson Ek was one of four Wild players to score more than 60 points this season, and will certainly be missed by Minnesota.
Pacific Notes: Carrier, Pettersson, Oilers
Golden Knights winger William Carrier did not accompany the team to Winnipeg and, accordingly, won’t play until at least Game Five of their series, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury but has started skating again, albeit in a non-contact jersey. Carrier had 16 goals and 133 hits in 56 games this season, giving them some impressive depth scoring inside their bottom six while his style of play fits in well in the postseason. Head coach Bruce Cassidy hasn’t yet ruled out Carrier returning in this series so it’s possible that he gets the green light to return next week.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Canucks center Elias Pettersson is hoping to play at the World Championship next month but is still working through the insurance process, notes Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. The 24-year-old had a career year this season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games, putting him tenth in the NHL in scoring. Pettersson has one year left on his deal and will be eligible to sign an extension in July but as he’s in this situation, his agent Pat Brisson indicated that disability insurance needs to be secured for Pettersson to play in the event.
- The Oilers are expected to announce their ‘Black Ace’ recalls on Sunday, suggests Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). AHL Bakersfield was eliminated from the playoffs last night by Abbotsford. As a result, Edmonton can recall as many players as they want with forward Dylan Holloway likely to be the headliner. With Mattias Janmark out of the lineup, it’s possible that Holloway could get into their series against Los Angeles at some point.
Kings Sign Erik Portillo To Entry-Level Deal
After they acquired his rights from Buffalo, it was only a matter of time before the Kings signed prospect Erik Portillo. That move has now come as the team announced that they’ve signed the goaltender to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal, which begins this season, carries an AAV of $875K.
Los Angeles acquired the 22-year-old from the Sabres in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick at the trade deadline after Portillo indicated to Buffalo that he wasn’t planning to sign with them. He had a 25-11-2 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .908 SV% in 38 games with Michigan this season, helping to lead them to a spot in the Frozen Four. Those numbers were actually a step back from his first two college campaigns as his time at that level concluded with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 SV% in 87 appearances over three seasons.
After Michigan was eliminated in the tournament earlier this month, he signed a tryout agreement with AHL Ontario. However, he didn’t see any game action and the Reign were eliminated by Colorado in the first round last night. In order for Portillo to be eligible to play in the playoffs, he needed to have his AHL tryout converted into an NHL deal which has now occurred.
Portillo is likely earmarked for the Reign again next season where it’s possible that he teams up with Cal Petersen if the Kings run him through waivers again. If that happens, Ontario’s goalie tandem will be two players who were originally picked by Buffalo, went to college, and ultimately chose not to sign with the Sabres; Portillo was a 2019 third-rounder while Petersen was a 2013 fifth-round selection.
Wild Fire Most Of AHL Coaching Staff
The Wild will have close to a new coaching staff at the AHL level next season as they announced that the contracts of head coach Tim Army and assistants Nate DiCasmirro and Nolan Yonkman will not be renewed for next season.
Iowa had a 34-27-11 record this season but they were quickly eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs, dropping their best-of-three series against Rockford (Chicago) in two straight games. Top prospects Marco Rossi (51 points in 53 games) and Jesper Wallstedt (.908 SV% in 38 contests) both had good seasons but their improvement evidently wasn’t enough to keep the coaching staff intact.
Army has led Iowa for the past five seasons but they haven’t had a lot of postseason success in that stretch, winning just one series back in 2019. The 59-year-old also has some NHL coaching experience having spent six years as an assistant with Colorado which could help get him some interest elsewhere this summer.
As for DiCasmirro, he was in his second season as an assistant with the team, his first full-time coaching role after a long playing career that ended in 2019. He also served as an assistant for Austria at the most recent World Juniors. Yonkman, meanwhile, was also in his second season with the team in what was his first full-time coaching role since returning in 2019.
This will be GM Bill Guerin’s first opportunity to hire an AHL head coach as Army had completed his first season before Guerin took over running Minnesota in 2019. The only coach believed to be returning is goaltending coach Richard Bachman. Iowa joins Grand Rapids (Detroit), Henderson (Vegas), and San Diego (Anaheim) as teams looking for a new head coach at the AHL level.
Michael Russo of The Athletic was the first to report that the coaching changes were being made.
Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Ekblad, Fabbri
Speaking with reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald after Friday’s victory, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery indicated that center David Krejci is 50/50 to play in Sunday’s fourth contest against the Panthers. Krejci is dealing with an upper-body injury, meaning that Boston played last night without their top two middlemen with Patrice Bergeron not expected to make his series debut until Wednesday. Krejci was an important secondary scorer for Boston this season with 16 goals and 40 assists, a solid return to the NHL after spending last season in Czechia and his return would certainly help a thinned-out center group. However, he did not take part in today’s morning skate with a final answer on his availability not expected until tomorrow; he’s officially listed as questionable.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- After leaving last night’s game early with an injury, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad took part in an optional skate this morning, relays George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Notably, he wasn’t wearing a no-contact sweater which suggests that he’ll be good to go on Sunday although he’s officially listed as a game-time decision. Ekblad had a down year by his standards but still picked up 38 points in 71 games while logging over 23 minutes a night and is a key part of Florida’s back end.
- Although Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri missed the final six weeks of the season after undergoing another knee surgery, he told MLive’s Ansar Khan that he would have been able to return had Detroit made the playoffs. This latest procedure was more of a cleanup instead of a full ACL reconstruction which means that the 27-year-old will have a full offseason to train and be ready for training camp in the fall. Fabbri was limited to just 28 games this season but did fairly well when he was in the lineup, picking up seven goals and nine assists.
Panthers Recall Lucas Carlsson
After Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left last night’s loss to Boston early with an injury, they’ve opted to bring up some extra depth on the back end. Florida has recalled blueliner Lucas Carlsson from Charlotte of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 25-year-old spent the majority of this season with the Checkers and was one of the top-scoring defensemen in the minors, collecting 20 goals and 34 assists in 61 games. That helped earn him a spot on the second All-Star team. For context, his career goal total in the AHL heading into this season was 18 in 143 contests. He’s off to a nice start to the playoffs as well, picking up four points in three games in their first-round victory over Lehigh Valley.
However, despite how well Carlsson performed in the minors, it didn’t translate into much NHL time as he played just twice for Florida this season. By comparison, he suited up in 40 contests for the Panthers last year, a career-high.
Even if Ekblad isn’t able to play, there’s a chance that Carlsson won’t be the one taking his place in the lineup. The Panthers also have Casey Fitzgerald and rookie Michael Benning on the active roster and one of them could get the nod as well. But if they’re looking for someone to play on the power play especially, Carlsson could be an interesting addition to the lineup with how things have gone for him this season in Charlotte.