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Poll: Toughest First-Round Opponent For Tampa Bay Lightning?

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It’s been months since any team in the East other than the Tampa Bay Lightning was considered to have any real chance at the top seed in the conference. The Lightning have been one of the most dominant regular season teams in recent memory, locking up the President’s Trophy more than two weeks ago and joining the 60-win club earlier this week.

What has also been clear for some time is that Tampa would be destined to face the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the playoffs, as their two divisional rivals have been near the top of the league standings for much of the year and always on a collision course to play each other in round one due to the NHL’s current playoff format. Yet, it’s easy to forget that the Lightning too have to win in the first round. Many have taken it as a foregone conclusion that Tampa would advance, but upsets occur in sports and the Lighting are as susceptible to a collapse as any heavy favorites that have fallen in the past.

So who has the best chance to knock off the regular season champs? Well, the defending Stanley Cup winners would have been an ideal match-up, but the Washington Capitals pulled out of range of a wild card finish earlier this week and clinched the top seed in the Metropolitan Division with a win on Thursday. The New York Islanders, with their suffocating defensive style and stellar goaltending, also would have been an intriguing opponent, but they have also assured themselves of a non-wildcard spot. Finally, the star-studded Pittsburgh Penguins would have made for a difficult and highly entertaining series with the Bolts, but a win on Thursday night guaranteed that they cannot finish any lower than seventh in the conference.

That leaves three potential opponents for Tampa Bay in round one: the Carolina Hurricanes, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Montreal Canadiens. Two of these three teams will make the playoffs – Carolina has clinched a playoff berth with a Thursday night victory – but only one will be lucky enough to land the second wild card spot and go up against the Lightning. Of these three, which one could pull off the eight seed upset?

The Hurricanes are on pace to finish seventh in the East and avoid Tampa and they cannot be caught by the Canadiens. However, if the the Blue Jackets pass by Carolina, the team would have to celebrate their first postseason in ten years by playing the Bolts. The ’Canes could give the Lightning problems with their ability to suppress shots, as they are the only team in the conference that allows less than 29 shots per game on average. A defense corps that is among the deepest and most talented in the league makes offense a struggle for the opposition and the added bonus of consistent play in net explains why Carolina is eighth-best in the league in goals against per game. Despite the franchise’s lack of postseason experience of late, Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are also major assets when it comes to playing smart, tough playoff hockey. The main concern for the Hurricanes though is that they have not been as successful offensively as they have been defensively. Despite leading the league in shots per game, the team is 16th in goals for per game and 20th on the power play and they’ve lacked game-breaking scoring talent this season outside of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. It’s impossible to expect to shutout Tampa Bay, so if Carolina can’t find some secondary scoring they could struggle against the Bolts.

As of now, Columbus looks like the favorite to finish eighth and play Tampa. That might not be what GM Jarmo Kekalainen expected when he added Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, and Adam McQuaid at the trade deadline, but those moves will certainly help anyway. The Blue Jackets franchise has never won a playoff series and doing so against this Lightning team would be a tall task. However, they have both considerable talent and a chip on their shoulder. Like Carolina, Columbus does not allow many shots nor many goals and additionally have the best penalty kill in the conference. Unlike Carolina, they also have a star goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky. The Jackets would need Bobrovksy to shake off past struggles in the postseason, but if he does the Vezina Trophy-winner could be a game-changer. Offensively, Columbus has had an up-and-down year but are currently 12th in goals for per game. Duchene and Dzingel are major additions to a forward unit that already included elite talent like Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson. Unfortunately, all of this ability up front has still not led to consistent offense nor has it cured a miserable power play. Failure to capitalize on opportunities could be the Achilles heel of this team.

Then there’s Montreal, who need some help to make the playoffs, but could make waves if they do. The Canadiens can only end up in the eighth seed, so it’s Tampa or bust. Montreal can never quite be counted out with Carey Price in net and Shea Weber on the blue line, but the question is whether the other pieces are there to pull off not one but four wins against the Bolts. To their credit, the Habs have been a very balanced, consistent team this season that is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to goals and shots for as well as goals and shots against. Their power play is dead last in the NHL, which is obviously not typical of a playoff team, but it’s hard to find many other holes in their game. The problem is that nothing jumps out as being good enough for a massive upset, either. If Max Domi and Tomas Tatar stay hot and Price stands on his head as usual, anything is possible, but the Canadiens have simply been a good team and anyone who beats the Lightning will need to be great. Can they step up?

What do you think? The standings might say Columbus is the most likely opponent for Tampa Bay at this point, but who would be the toughest match-up for the President’s Trophy winners?

Montreal Canadiens Sign Goaltender Cayden Primeau

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The Montreal Canadiens continue a busy day by signing yet another top prospect who could turn into a franchise cornerstone. After inking first-round forward Ryan Poehling to an entry-level contract earlier, the Canadiens have done the same with top goalie prospect Cayden Primeau. The team has officially announced a three-year ELC for Primeau beginning in the 2019-20 season. The early upset losses for St. Cloud State University and Northeastern University have been to Montreal’s gain, as Poehling will join the Canadiens immediately and Primeau will get his first taste of the pro game on an amateur tryout with the AHL’s Laval Rocket to end the season.

Primeau, still just 19 years old, has come a long way in just two years since being drafted. A seventh-round pick in 2017, Primeau was known more for his lineage than his talent as the son of former NHLer Keith Primeau. Primeau’s numbers in the USHL had been good but not great and heading to Northeastern for his freshman season was expected to be the backup to incumbent Ryan Ruck. Instead, Primeau appeared in 34 of 38 games for the Huskies last year, posting a sub-2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage. Primeau was a Hockey East First-Team All-Star and Mike Richter Award finalist and helped his team win the Hockey East Tournament. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he accomplished all three of those feats again this season, recording a .933 save percentage and 2.09 GAA in 36 games. Primeau also starred for Team USA at the World Junior Championships this year, earning the starting role over fellow top prospects Kyle Keyser (BOS) and Spencer Knight (2019). Primeau – and Poehling – led the Americans to a silver medal at the tournament, with Primeau posting an immaculate 1.61 GAA and .936 save percentage.

After two outstanding years at Northeastern and a stellar World Junior performance, there was great speculation that Primeau would turn pro despite his young age for a goaltender. For all of his amateur accomplishments, there is still plenty of work to be done for Primeau at the pro level. Fortunately, he has plenty of time and faces little pressure; the Canadiens current keeper isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Carey Price, who will be 32 before next season, is nevertheless signed for seven more years at a $10.5MM AAV. Primeau could find himself as third-string behind Price and Charlie Lindgren as early as next season, but the Habs have no expectations that he will be the starter any time soon. Primeau can take his time and develop in the AHL and maybe could become Price’s backup at some point during his entry-level contract. But with an all-world starter ahead of him, Primeau is still years away from the pressure of a top NHL role and that’s alright for a talented, young goalie.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Charlie Lindgren

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The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had a backup goaltender they can rely on lately, as Antti Niemi has struggled mightily in his last few appearances. While Carey Price will obviously carry the load down the stretch, the team today made a move to give them another option in net. Charlie Lindgren was recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, giving the team three goaltenders for the time being.

Lindgren, 25, has struggled for the Rocket this season to the tune of an .884 save percentage but also has a history of success in the NHL. Through 17 appearances with the Canadiens over the years the undrafted goaltender has recorded a .914 save percentage and two shutouts, though his overall record still sits at 7-8-2. While that may not strike you as a huge upgrade over Niemi, the team needs to find some sort of reliability behind Price should he suffer an injury. In fact, Eric Engels of Sportsnet notes that Price did take a painful shot at practice today. While he didn’t suffer any real injury it highlighted the need for depth at the position, something that Lindgren will try to provide.

The Canadiens are currently sitting outside the playoff bubble after losing their last two, and actually have played one more game than both the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets who occupy the wild card spots. With just a single back-to-back situation remaining on the schedule the team can probably get away with Price playing 12 out of the 13 games, putting him at 64 starts on the year. That’s a big number, but with the uncertainty behind him it might just be what the team requires to secure a spot in the postseason.

Snapshots: Mock Draft, Arizona State, Jokinen

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Itching for the NHL Entry Draft already? Several fan bases are, as many teams are beyond a reasonable shot at the postseason as the unofficial second half of the season begins. After a recent rash of mid-season draft rankings were published, NHL.com writers Adam Kimelman, Mike Morreale, and Guillaume Lepage tried their hands at a mock draft of the first round for the upcoming draft. They did not conduct a lottery simulation nor did they try to predict how the playoffs would unfold, so the mock is strictly the current standings inverse. However, each of the trio made their own selections and interesting trends can already be spotted. Of course, all three had the Colorado Avalanche, using the Ottawa Senators’ first-rounder, taking U.S. National Team Development Program phenom Jack Hughes first overall. Regardless of who picks first, Hughes is the unanimous pick to go No. 1 in any scenario. There was also a consensus for Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko going second to the New Jersey Devils and Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin going third to the Los Angeles Kings. However, there was not much agreement the rest of the way. Western Hockey League centers Dylan Cozens and Kirby Dach and USNTDP forwards Alex Turcotte and Trevor Zegras went early for all three writers, but no two agreed on the fit for any one team. There was also dissent over the first defenseman taken and where, as Kimelman placed Swedish rearguard Philip Broberg at No. 6 to the New Jersey Devils, while Morreale and Lepage had Canadian blue liner Bowen Byram going No. 7 to the Florida Panthers or No. 8 to the Edmonton Oilers, respectively. One of the biggest surprises was Morreale’s selection of wunderkind goaltender Spencer Knight to the Panthers. While many consider Knight to be the best draft-eligible goalie prospect in some time, no keeper has been taken in the top ten since Carey Price in 2005. The other two writers had Knight at No. 14 to Colorado and No. 24 to the Vegas Golden Knights. Later in the round, opinions differed greatly on OHL defenseman Thomas Harley and hyped overage forward Brett Leason as well. There is still a lot to be decided about the upcoming draft board, not to mention the draft order and the impact of trades, but it is interesting to get a good look at this point in the season as the picture becomes more clear for both the teams and prospects.

  • Arizona State University continues to make waves this season in college hockey. In just their fourth year of existence as an NCAA program, ASU is currently ranked No. 17 in the country and could push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. As AZ Central’s Jeff Metcalfe writes, the play of forward Johnny Walker and goalie Joey Daccord is making all of the difference and beginning to draw national attention. After blanking the immensely talented Boston University Terriers 3-0 on Saturday night, Walker’s two tallies put him in the NCAA lead for goal scoring, while Daccord’s shutout was his NCAA-best seventh of the year. Daccord, 22, was a seventh-round pick of the Ottawa Senators back in 2015 out of Cushing Academy and it is beginning to look like the Sens’ late-round waiver on the long-term project could pay off. Daccord is a junior and could be enticed to turn pro this off-season if Ottawa hopes to avoid him becoming a free agent after another year. Walker, 22, went undrafted as a Phoenix native playing in the NAHL and is only a sophomore at ASU. However, that won’t stop NHL teams from trying to pry him away from college to get a look at his near goal-per-game pace at the pro level. A tournament run by Arizona State would only further amplify the status of these unlikely heroes of the collegiate campaign.
  • Veteran forward Jussi Jokinen has been unable to find NHL employment this season. The fact is somewhat amazing considering Jokinen played in 14 or more games with four different NHL teams last season. The well-traveled 35-year-old signed a PTO with the Detroit Red Wings this summer, who would have become his tenth different NHL team, but it did not pan out and no one else has come calling. Finally, Jokinen has decided to move on. Finnish reporter Pasi Tuominen reports that Jokinen is set to sign with Karpat of the Liiga in his native Finland for the remainder of the season. Jokinen will be a valued mentor for top NHL prospects like Rasmus Kupari (LAK) and Aleksi Heponiemi (FLA) while with Karpat and may even lead the first-place team to a championship. Regardless, it is highly likely that Jokinen’s days in the NHL are done. The well-liked and respected forward leaves a great legacy behind him in North America, but will surely continue to play overseas for a few years to come.

 

Atlantic Notes: Price, Matthews, Skinner

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The Atlantic Division will be without a top star tonight at the All-Star game in Carey Price. While the Atlantic team should do fine with Andrei Vasilevskiy taking his place, the Montreal Canadiens are happy that their franchise goaltender is getting the rest he needs. The team has been very careful with Price this season as he hasn’t appeared in a back-to-back games since early December and have given him several therapy days.

However, Sean Gordon of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that he needs more than just rest, pointing out that the 31-year-old is a player who goes into the butterfly more than most goaltenders and is overworking himself whether its in a game or in practice. He points to a week in early January when he went to the butterfly 112 times in an overtime game on Jan. 14 against Montreal. The following day, he went into the butterfly 92 times in just 55 minutes in practice. By the end of the week, he had taken 301 shots, just in practice. That’s too many shots, according to Gordon.

The scribe adds that teams, especially Montreal, need to use more practice goalies, especially at this point in the season to alleviate some of the wear and tear on goaltenders’ bodies.

  • Despite recent meetings with his agent and general manager Kyle Dubas, The Toronto Sun’s Michael Traikos writes that Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews isn’t feeling any pressure to signing a contract quickly, even if Toronto wants to get it done as quickly as possible. In fact, Matthews said that he doesn’t worry about his contract, nor does he talk about it with teammate Mitch Marner, who will also be a restricted free agent this summer. “It’s not really something that comes up, I guess,” said Matthews. “If we do talk, it’s not really hockey-related, it’s really just anything. I think it’s just a big distraction as far as with the media and Toronto and the way they play it out and everything. But I don’t think it’s something that either of us stresses about too much in our minds. I just think we want to go out and play hockey and have fun. That’s why you have agents that take care of this stuff.”
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that there is no real news yet of whether Jeff Skinner and his agent are negotiating an extension, but the scribe believes with the year he is having, Buffalo might be forced to shell out $9MM per year and $70MM total to get Skinner locked in for the next eight years. Jack Eichel, who has bonded with Skinner on the ice this season, has made it clear he wants the team to extend him. “He’s gotten closer and closer with our group all year,” said Eichel. “You can see his performance, his compete and work ethic. The way he’s jelled and meshed with our group has been awesome. He’s scored some really big goals and it’s been a lot of fun to have him in the room. You can’t say enough good things about him.”

 

Andrei Vasilevskiy Named Replacement All-Star

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have another player going to the All-Star game, this time as a replacement. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been named the replacement for Carey Price, who decided to not attend the game due to nagging injuries. That leaves the Montreal Canadiens without a representative unless Shea Weber wins the fan-voted “Last Man In” contest. Tampa Bay meanwhile will have three players there with Vasilevskiy joining Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, not to mention Jon Cooper as coach and Brayden Point who is also in the fan vote.

It’s easy to understand why Vasilevskiy would be chosen for the game, especially when fellow Atlantic Division goaltender Frederik Andersen is dealing with an injury of his own. The Tampa Bay netminder has been excellent again this season recording a .920 save percentage through 22 starts, a total broken up by injury. The Lightning have proven to be the league’s best team through the first half and that’s in no small part to the excellent goaltending they’ve received, though Vasilevskiy has allowed five goals in three of his last five games.

Still, there are few goaltenders in the history of the game as athletic as the 24-year old and he should put on an incredible show in the 3-on-3 All-Star format. After being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season, Vasilevskiy is ready to really become one of the faces of goaltending in the NHL and make his mark among the best in the league. A Stanley Cup appearance would do just that, but the All-Star game will have to be first.

Carey Price Will Not Participate In 2019 All-Star Game

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The Montreal Canadiens have decided that the long-term health of Carey Price is more important than his appearance at this year’s All-Star game. GM Marc Bergevin announced today that Price will not attend the event scheduled for later this month, instead will use the time to rest an injury.

We took the time to discuss the situation with Carey and the medical group earlier today, and we all agreed that the best decision for him would be to rest and recuperate during the upcoming All-Star Break. Carey has had a nagging injury for some time, and we want to make sure to have him healthy and rested for the second half of the season. Carey is honored to once again have been named to the NHL All-Star Game, and he is on board with the Club’s decision. 

Like Alex Ovechkin who made a similar decision, Price will be forced to miss the game immediately prior to or immediately after the All-Star break. With the team playing in a back-to-back situation coming out of the break, it seems likely that Price will miss the game on February 2nd against the New Jersey Devils as punishment.

Price’s decision brings up an interesting decision for the NHL, as he was to be the team’s lone representative at the upcoming event. Every team is supposed to send at least one player, but unless Antti Niemi is going in his place there doesn’t seem to be room for Montreal to send someone else. Shea Weber is involved in the fan voting for the “Last Man In” from the Metropolitan Division, but seems like a distinct underdog against the likes of Morgan Rielly, Mark Stone and Brayden Point (among others).

One can imagine the league would not have chosen Price for the game had they known he would decide not to attend, especially given the backlash that erupted from his selection in the first place. Not only has Price missed time due to injury this season, but he had a .904 save percentage at the time of selection—one of the worst numbers of his career. In comparison, Jaroslav Halak (.926), Frederik Andersen (.923), Andrei Vasilevskiy (.920), Carter Hutton (.917) and Tuukka Rask (.917) all have started at least 20 games and have better save percentages than Price’s current .908 mark in the Atlantic Division right now. The Canadiens needed a representative though, and the league decided goaltender was the best bet.

Regardless of the All-Star implications, the decision to rest is likely a good one for Price and the Montreal organization. Notorious for playing through minor injuries, the franchise goaltender will get a good amount of rest and hopefully be able to stay healthy for the second half of the season. The Canadiens are battling for a playoff spot this season despite low expectations, and need their goaltender at his best down the stretch.

2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

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The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

Montreal Canadiens Activate Carey Price From Injured Reserve

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Good news for the Montreal Canadiens today, as the team activated goaltender Carey Price from injured reserve. Price practiced with the team and is at least healthy enough to serve as backup when the Canadiens take on the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night. Michael McNiven has been sent back to the AHL.

Price admitted to Stu Cowen of the Montreal Gazette that he had been playing with his lower-body injury for about seven weeks, and that it wouldn’t have stopped him from getting on the ice if it were playoff time. That’s a familiar story from a goaltender that has repeatedly played through injury, and one that might frighten Canadiens fans who remember when he played an entire game and set himself back in 2017. Still, this injury seems minor—and conspicuously timed with the birth of his second child—and hopefully will not affect the goaltender moving forward.

The Canadiens find themselves just one point behind the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division, a position very few expected them to hold this late into the season. With surprising performances from players like Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the team has found a level of competition that should put them in the playoff race right down to the wire. Price is perhaps the biggest key to whether they actually qualify or not, as he has shown the ability to be a difference-maker in the past.

That past performance is what the team hopes returns before long, as the 31-year old goaltender is only in the first year of an eight-year, $84MM deal. He has just a .904 save percentage this season, a number that didn’t look any better seven weeks ago when the injury supposedly happened. In fact December was the best month of his season so far, with an 8-3-0 record and .916 save percentage. Even that level isn’t what’s expected of him though, meaning he’ll have to continue to improve as the season moves along.

Goalie Notes: Price, Bachman, Hill

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The Montreal Canadiens announced today that starting goaltender Carey Price will not travel with the team to Florida as he deals with a lower-body injury, something that immediately set off alarm bells among the fan base. Price has dealt with several lower-body issues over the last few seasons that kept him from playing up to his potential, something that certainly still hasn’t been reached this season. The 31-year old goaltender now carries a .904 save percentage on the season which, while better than last year’s totals, is simply not good enough for the Canadiens to really challenge for a top spot in the Atlantic Division.

In Price’s place, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports speculates that Michael McNiven will be recalled given Charlie Lindgren is dealing with an injury of his own. McNiven has an .884 save percentage in 12 AHL games this year, and still hasn’t made his NHL debut. That leaves Antti Niemi as the goaltender to carry the load until Price can return, whenever that may be.

  • The Vancouver Canucks have some enviable minor league goaltending depth, but Thatcher Demko may have to carry even more weight for the Utica Comets going forward. Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweets that Richard Bachman could be out long-term with an Achilles injury, meaning Dmitri Kulbakov will be the backup tonight. Kulbakov has been bouncing between the ECHL and AHL this year, but could end up sticking with the Comets depending on what Vancouver does to address the injury.
  • Adin Hill has been recalled by the Arizona Coyotes once again, giving them three goaltenders on the current roster. Amazingly Calvin Pickard hasn’t played in a single game for the team since being claimed a month ago, while they continue to give opportunities to the young Hill. He’s done well with those spots, but one has to wonder how long the team will continue to employ three without giving Pickard any work. He very well could find himself on waivers for the third time this season in the near future. Arizona also recalled Michael Bunting and Conor Garland, who had been sent down as a cost saving measure over the holidays.

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