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Zach Sanford

St. Louis Blues Making Changes For Game Four

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The St. Louis Blues are down 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final after a thorough drubbing in game three, and will now make some changes to their lineup. Based on the morning skate, the team is expected to welcome back Oskar Sundqvist after serving his one-game suspension while Vince Dunn is also expected to return to the lineup and re-take his spot on the second powerplay unit. Robby Fabbri and Robert Bortuzzo are the expected scratches, while Zach Sanford will move up to the second line beside Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.

The Blues need to try something after letting game three get out of hand in a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins. The team has never won the Stanley Cup in their history and it has been nearly 50 years since they were even in the finals. They’ll have to find a way to take game four at home or face a nearly insurmountable task for the rest of the series.

Getting Dunn back is a substantial addition however. The 22-year old defenseman has become a dominant force for the team, posting seven points in 16 playoff games while continuing to post impressive possession numbers. Though he isn’t used as much as some of the Blues other more experienced defenders, he provides some punch from the third pairing that Bortuzzo cannot. That kind of offensive upside may be crucial as the team tries to topple Tuukka Rask, who still easily leads the playoffs with a .939 save percentage and is a front runner for the Conn Smythe trophy.

Four Roster Moves For St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues have made several roster moves as they prepare for their final game before the All-Star break. Zach Sanford and Tyler Bozak have both been activated from injured reserve, while Jordan Kyrou and Jordan Nolan have been sent back to the minor leagues. Sanford and Bozak had been dealing with concussions.

St. Louis will take on the Anaheim Ducks tonight in a game that actually could have some playoff implications. The Blues have played better of late under head coach Craig Berube, and now sit just five points behind the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche for the wild card spots in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for the Blues there are four teams between them and those spots, one of which being the Ducks. They’ll need to win an awful lot of games like this down the stretch if they want to make a run for the postseason.

To do that they’ll need Bozak to play a bigger role than he did in the first half. Signed to a three-year $15MM contract in the offseason, the 32-year old center was handed a hefty amount of responsibility and minutes through the early part of the year. Unfortunately he has just 18 points through 39 games, not quite the level the Blues were hoping to get from the long-time Toronto Maple Leafs forward. Still, Bozak is as reliable as they come in the faceoff dot and could be a big part of a second half turnaround by St. Louis if they start getting reasonable goaltending and can get some sustained health.

Central Notes: Crawford, Perlini, Ehlers, Perron, Bozak

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The Chicago Blackhawks got a positive piece of news Saturday when injured goaltender Corey Crawford was out on the ice before practice since suffering another concussion on Dec. 16, according to NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis. The veteran goaltender worked with goaltending coach Jimmy Waite along with both Collin Delia and Cam Ward. However, despite the first sign that Crawford is working his way back, Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton said it doesn’t mean much yet.

“Positive that he was out there, but I’m not sure it means a ton,” Colliton said. “Hopefully he continues to feel better.”

There are still a number of hurdles for Crawford to pass before there is even talk of a return. Regardless, it’s a positive development and considering it took Crawford nearly six months to return to action after his previous concussion, the fact that it’s only been a month is a good sign.

  • Sticking in Chicago, the Blackhawks announced forward Brendan Perlini missed practice today due to the fact that he’s in concussion protocol. The young forward was injured on Thursday against the New York Rangers and didn’t play in the final period. The 22-year-old Perlini hasn’t made a huge impact so far in Chicago as he has just three goals and four points in 23 games and is averaging less than 10 minutes of ATOI.
  • Winnipeg Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice said forward Nikolaj Ehlers won’t return for another week or so, suggesting that the scoring forward could return after the all-star break, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ted Wyman. Ehlers suffered an upper-body injury on Jan. 4 and was expected to miss four to six weeks.
  • The St. Louis Blues announced they will be without David Perron Saturday with an upper-body injury. He’s currently listed as day-to-day. That’s a big loss as the veteran forward is on a 13-game point streak as he has he has six goals and 10 assists over that span. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also noted the team placed Zach Sanford on injured reserve.
  • St. Louis Blues center Tyler Bozak, who has been out of the lineup since Jan. 5 with a concussion, said he’s starting to feel better and hopes to get into the lineup sometime before the all-star break, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford. Bozak has six goals and 12 assists in 39 games this season.

Minor Transactions: 01/03/19

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The Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs kick off a busy NHL schedule today with an afternoon game which will see Michael Hutchinson suit up with his new organization, while the Los Angeles Kings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a David vs Goliath matchup to wrap things up. Six other games will be played around the league, and as teams prepare we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor movement.

  • Tomas Jurco has landed a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the rest of this season, giving the minor league squad some extra firepower for the second half. It wasn’t so long ago that Jurco was an up-and-coming forward prospect with the Detroit Red Wings, and even last season he recorded 10 points in 29 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Speaking of forward prospects, the Dallas Stars have sent Denis Gurianov back to the minor leagues after he played just 7:44 last night. Gurianov has looked like a completely different player this season in the AHL, but still can’t seem to establish himself at the NHL level.
  • The St. Louis Blues have recalled Zach Sanford from San Antonio, but will play with seven defensemen tonight after activating Carl Gunnarsson. Sanford will sit out for now, but could get into some action if Vladimir Tarasenko misses any more time with the illness that will keep him out tonight.
  • Stefan Elliott has been returned to the minor leagues by the Ottawa Senators, leaving them with just six active defensemen on the roster currently. The Senators don’t play again until Saturday, giving them a chance to activate another player or recall someone tomorrow.

Minor Transactions: 12/17/18

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The Boston Bruins versus the Montreal Canadiens in the middle of December. You can’t get much more classic than that when it comes to the NHL, making tonight some must-see television for hockey fans. The two clubs will take part in one of five games scheduled this evening, before the week really kicks off tomorrow night. As always, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Dean Kukan from his conditioning stint in the AHL, where he registered two points in five games. The 25-year old defenseman will try to work his way back into the Blue Jackets lineup and help push them closer to a 2019 playoff berth.
  • Zach Sanford is on his way back up to the St. Louis Blues after a very short minor league trip. The young forward was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday, but is already back up after the Blues were pummeled by the Calgary Flames yesterday.
  • Matt Tennyson has been reassigned by the Buffalo Sabres and will be heading down to the AHL to join the Rochester Americans. The Sabres made several adjustments to their defense corps this weekend, including recalling Brendan Guhle and putting Lawrence Pilut on injured reserve. Tennyson has been bouncing up and down all season, and will likely be up again before long.
  • Cory Schneider has been placed on injured reserve with an abdominal strain, leading to a recall of Mackenzie Blackwood from the minor leagues. Blackwood has good numbers in the minor leagues but has yet to make an appearance at the NHL level.

Minor Transactions: 12/15/18

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As always, Saturday features a busy slate on the NHL schedule with 20 teams in action.  As a result, there is bound to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • The Panthers announced a series of roster moves, recalling center Henrik Borgstrom and forward Jayce Hawryluk from Springfield of the AHL while returning wingers Dryden Hunt and Anthony Greco to the Thunderbirds. Borgstrom is one of Florida’s top prospects and is off to a good start in his first full professional season with 19 points in 21 games.  He did get into four games late last year so this won’t be his first NHL action.  That isn’t the case for Hawryluk, who is up for the first time following a great start to his season that sees him tied for the AHL lead in assists with 21.  Hunt has split the season between nearly equally between the NHL (13 games) and the AHL (15 games) but has been much more productive in the minors while Greco made his NHL debut earlier this week.
  • Defenseman Tyler Lewington is getting his first NHL shot as the Capitals have promoted him from AHL Hershey per a team release. The 24-year-old is in his fourth professional season and is among the AHL leaders in penalty minutes this season with 67.  He will likely serve as a reserve defender in the absence of Christian Djoos who underwent surgery on his thigh on Friday.
  • Veteran blueliner Kyle Cumiskey has inked a minor league deal with Boston for the rest of the season, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). He had previously been with them on a PTO deal but did well enough to earn a guaranteed contract.  He’ll give the Bruins some extra depth in the minors and they have five remaining NHL contract slots if they ultimately need to bring him up to the big club.
  • The Sabres announced that they have recalled defenseman Matt Hunwick from his conditioning stint with AHL Rochester.  The veteran has yet to play this season for Buffalo due to a neck injury but played in two games with the Americans on the conditioning stint.  The team has an open roster spot so they won’t need to send someone down in order to activate the 33-year-old off of injured reserve. The team also announced they have activated defenseman Marco Scandella off of injured reserve and he is expected to play tonight. Scandella has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury.
  • The Blues have assigned winger Zach Sanford to San Antonio of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions Page.  The 24-year-old has been relatively productive in a limited role in St. Louis with nine points in 24 games but the assignment will give him an opportunity to play considerably more than the 11:39 per night he’s averaging with the big club.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Flyers Defense, O’Reilly, Holden, Gurianov

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This offseason could be a very interesting one assuming that teams don’t lock all the potential unrestricted free agents to contract extensions in the coming months. The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) breaks down the top 25 UFA’s this coming offseason with an update on how contract negotiations are going.

One interesting note is for the No. 3 UFA in Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who is rumored to be asking for Carey Price money (around $10.5MM). That might be too much money for Columbus to offer, especially for a 30-year-old goaltender. Custance adds that the team could easily get outbid for the netminder’s services by the New York Islanders who might be extremely aggressive in adding a franchise-changing goaltender. Islanders’ general manager Lou Lamoriello is known to be a big fan of impact goaltenders, which goes all the way back to Martin Brodeur when he was in New Jersey.

After all, in 315 games between Philadelphia and Columbus, Bobrovsky has a .922 save percentage, two Vezina Trophies and has finished in the top 10 in Vezina voting four times.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers had lost four of six games before Saturday’s game and Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that head coach Dave Hakstol decided to make a change as he separated his top pair defensemen in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov which turned out to be key in their 5-2 win over New Jersey. Gostisbehere was matched with Christian Folin, while Provorov was paired with Robert Hagg. The top four held to the Devils to just 21 shots on goal in the victory. Provorov was also much more noticeable on the offensive end of the ice. Previously held to just one point in the first seven games of the season, the 21-year-old posted two assists on Saturday. “(Hagg) is a little heavier body to play with Provy in some of those situations,” said Hakstol. “He obviously has a different look than Ghost. He doesn’t do as much with the puck, but he provides a heavier presence, so that changes the look of that pair.”
  • Speaking of lines, the St. Louis Blues shook up their lines Saturday as well as center Ryan O’Reilly found himself with two new wingers Zachary Sanford and David Perron on the second line, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. After his line put up two goals and three assists Saturday (including O’Reilly’s first goal as a member of the Blues), that line may not break up any time soon. “I thought ’O’Ry’ was outstanding obviously in all areas of the game,” Yeo said. “So that line gave us some really good minutes.”
  • NHL.com’s Gary Lawless writes that some of the Vegas Golden Knights’ success in their last three games comes from moving defenseman Nick Holden into the top-four. The veteran defenseman was originally signed to serve as a third pairing defenseman this offseason, but with Nate Schmidt (suspension) and Deryk Engelland (injury) both out, Holden has filled in admirably, averaging 18:54 ATOI. Holden did have a similar role back in 2016-17 when he was with the New York Rangers, so the 31-year-old already has quite a bit of experience playing in that role.
  • After a postseason run last year where Dallas Stars prospect Denis Gurianov was often a healthy scratch and was beginning to look like a bust, the 21-year-old seems to have turned the corner early this season as he has been dominant as he enters his third year with the AHL, writes SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. The 12th-overall pick in the 2015 draft is starting to show off his potential as he is riding a five-game scoring streak and has five goals and seven points in seven games.

Zach Sanford Activated Off Injured Reserve

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The St. Louis Blues are among those looking for help at the trade deadline, but they may just have found it from an internal source. Zach Sanford, the prospect included in last season’s Kevin Shattenkirk deal, has been activated off injured reserve and assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. Sanford hadn’t played yet this season as he worked his way back from a shoulder injury. Though he’s headed to San Antonio to make his season debut, he could be an option for the Blues down the stretch if he proves healthy and ready to contribute.

The 23-year old forward played 13 games for the Blues last season after the trade, registering five points and generally looking capable of making an impact in bottom-six. Though he suited up for just four playoff contests, he could find himself in the lineup with more frequency this time around. Sanford is a big body at 6’4″ and gives the team another option on the left side as they make their final push towards the playoffs.

Central Injury Updates: Niederreiter, Sanford, Stars, Mason

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Minnesota is set to get a key player back in their lineup as winger Nino Niederreiter is expected to return tonight after missing the last eight games with an ankle injury, notes Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press.  The issue has been a lingering one for Niederreiter who sustained it early in the season and has been battling it since then.  Despite that, he has still been one of the more productive scorers for the Wild with 13 goals in 31 games this season; his goals-per-game average ranks tops on the team.  As the team didn’t place him on injured reserve, they don’t need to make a corresponding roster move to get him back on the active roster.

More injury notes from the Central:

  • Although Blues winger Zachary Sanford is with the team for their road trip, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the youngster is still a long way away from returning. Sanford stated that he’s unsure if he will be able to get back into the lineup at some point this month but it appears that he will be ready to play down the stretch.  The 23-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September and could make a push for a third line spot when he does return.
  • Although he did not suffer a concussion after being hit on the side of the face with the puck on Thursday, Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has been ruled out of Saturday’s contest against Minnesota, notes Mark Stepneski on the Stars’ team website. They are expected to recall a goalie to serve as the backup tomorrow.  Meanwhile, center Martin Hanzal (muscle pull) and defenseman Marc Methot (knee) skated with the team as they continue to work their way back from their respective injuries but head coach Ken Hitchcock does not have a timeframe for when the veterans may get the green light to play.
  • Jets goaltender Steve Mason skated on his own on Thursday for the first time since being diagnosed with his second concussion of the season, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe.  As a result, he is still a while away from returning which could very well take Michael Hutchinson out of the equation as a possible trade option as they may prefer to keep him around as insurance if Mason’s recovery goes slower than expected.

Snapshots: Olympics, Sergachev, Sanford

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Ken Campbell of The Hockey News is reporting that despite no official announcement, CHL players will be allowed to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. That goes along with what Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted earlier today, regarding Victor Mete and his potential selection to the Canadian squad after the conclusion of the World Juniors.

Nothing has been decided on Mete yet by the Montreal Canadiens, who would have to send him back to junior for the remainder of the year in order for him to be eligible to play in the Olympics. Other potential options for Team Canada would be Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues and even Colorado prospect Cale Makar after his powerplay performance at the junior tournament.

  • Mikhail Sergachev played in his 40th NHL game last night, which meant the additional draft picks involved in the trade that brought him to Tampa Bay in the offseason will now be staying put. It also means that Sergachev is one year closer to free agency, as this season now counts as a full NHL campaign. Players can become unrestricted free agents after seven accrued seasons in the league, meaning Sergachev could potentially hit the open market just a few days after his 26th birthday.
  • In the wake of a season-ending injury to Robby Fabbri and subsequent long-term maladies for Jaden Schwartz and Jay Bouwmeester during the season, some may have overlooked Zach Sanford’s absence from the St. Louis Blues roster. The organization sure didn’t, and Sanford was back on the ice skating with assistant Steve Ott yesterday and continues to try and work his way back from shoulder surgery. There’s no clear timetable on when he’ll return, other than the original estimate of five to six months (which puts him somewhere in February or March), but getting back on the ice is a good sign. The young forward, acquired as part of the Kevin Shattenkirk deal last season, comes with excellent potential as a power forward that could fit into the Blues’ top-nine at some point down the road.

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